Mission
Healthtalk Australia is a group of academic researchers dedicated to improving the health of Australians by harnessing the power of patient / service user, carer and health professional stories. Our mission is to use the power of individual stories to understand and improve health and social care for all Australians, placing the person at the centre stage of health and social care improvement and reform.
Using rigorous qualitative research methods, we collect and analyse in-depth narratives on film and audio from people experiencing various health or related conditions, carers and health professionals from a wide range of backgrounds and with varied experiences of different health conditions. The interviews are used to produce innovative, publicly available health experience targeted online resources. These online resources offer audio, video and textual clips from people who were interviewed, usually talking about their experience of illness, wellness and care – clips reflective of a rigorous scholarly analysis of a wide range of stakeholder perspectives.
Our online resources provide support and information to other patients and carers, and are a resource for health professionals and health educators. In combination with our academic outputs, they are also a source of evidence for service providers, policymakers and researchers about what is and isn’t working in the Australian healthcare system. A commitment to knowledge translation, research independence, research excellence, and respect for research participants informs our work.
We work in collaboration with the Health Experiences Research Group (HERG) at the University of Oxford, healthtalk.org (the DIPEx Charity UK), and DIPEx International.
Aims
- Conduct research using the methodology developed by HERG – University of Oxford and DIPEx UK, thus ensuring a high quality evidence-based approach to personal experiences of health and illness.
- Ensure quality and integrity are maintained according to established criteria outlined by DIPEx International Quality Control Manual.
- Supervise, mentor and train other researchers in Australia via workshops and one-to-one buddying system, as developed by DIPEx UK.
- Disseminate research findings via Healthtalk Australia, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, invited presentations to health services, and the media.
- Promote Healthtalk Australia through seminars and conferences to our colleagues and professional associations and through the media to members of the public.
- Raise funds for research into personal experiences of health and illness in Australia.
Potential uses of our websites and research:
- Information and support for patients, carers, family members and friends
- Clinical education and professional development
- Service provider quality improvement / experience-based health service co-design
- Policy development and clinical guidelines