Eligible research projects for ACU Nursing Honours Scholarships



Exploring the efficacy of digital applications in enhancing cardiovascular health literacy: A systematic review 

Established Supervisor: Dr Brandon Cheong <Brandon.Cheong@acu.edu.au> 
Established Supervisor: A/Prof Louisa Lam <Louisa.Lam@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Mary Huynh
Third Supervisor: Dr John Oldroyd

Project Description

This project aims to identify gaps in current knowledge and effective strategies that can be employed to further the development of cardiovascular health education through digital platforms. The study will assess the effectiveness of mobile applications and online platforms on their impact to disseminate knowledge, motivate behavioural change and communicate perceived risks. By synthesising existing literature, this research will conduct a comprehensive systematic review of digital applications used to raise awareness and improve health literacy related to cardiovascular disease.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Working within the Group for Digital Health Research and Education (GDHRE), this research opportunity offers students the opportunity to work in both digital health and health promotion related to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Students will learn how to prepare a systematic review for publication and hone their skills in written and verbal communication through the dissemination of research findings. The honours student will gain the opportunity to develop themselves as an emerging leader in digital health/health promotion with the potential to do further studies as a HDR student at the Australian Catholic University.



Consumer and Clinician Experiences of Utilising the My Health Record for Antenatal Care

Established Supervisor: Dr Brandon Cheong <Brandon.Cheong@acu.edu.au> 
Established Supervisor: Dr John Oldroyd <John.Oldroyd@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Jennifer Hocking
Third Supervisor: A/Prof Rebecca O'Reilly and Professor Evelyn Hovenga

Project Description

Timely access to patient records is crucial to improving health outcomes and understanding a patient’s health journey. “My Health Record” is an electronic health record that enables individuals in Australia to maintain an online health record that can be shared with the healthcare professionals involved in their treatment. This is particularly important in antenatal care. This honours project will explore the application of My Health Record in antenatal care. It will use a qualitative research approach to gain insights into the experiences of both consumers and clinicians regarding the utilisation of My Health Record in the care of pregnant women.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Through a collaboration with the Group for Digital Health Research and Education (GDHRE) and the Global eHealth Collaborative (GeHCo), this research project offers students the opportunity to work in a digital health context focusing primarily in antenatal care. Students will engage in a review of the literature and will learn to conduct their own qualitative studies by submitting an ethics application, conducting interviews, thematic analysis and dissemination of findings. The honours student will gain the opportunity to develop themselves as an emerging leader in the digital health space, providing opportunity for further studies as a HDR student at ACU.


Exploring Climate Change Awareness and Action Among Australian Nurses and Midwives

Established Supervisor: Dr Brandon Cheong <Brandon.Cheong@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Ms Mary Huynh
Third Supervisor: A/Prof Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins, Dr John Oldroyd and Professor Evelyn Hovenga.

Project Description

The threats posed by climate change on human health, and well-being requires a collective response from health professionals particularly in an era of digital health and digital transformation. Frontline caregivers such as nurses and midwives not only play a pivotal role in delivering patient-centred care but also have a responsibility in promoting sustainability practices that mitigate the impact of climate change. This honours project will employ a qualitative research approach to explore the awareness, roles and challenges faced by nurses and midwives in their efforts to advance climate change mitigation sustainability within healthcare organisations in Australia.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Through a collaboration with Group for Digital Health Research and Education (GDHRE) and the Global eHealth Collaborative (GeHCo), this research project offers students the opportunity to address an important issue faced by healthcare organisations: climate change mitigation. Students will engage in a review of the literature and will learn to conduct their own qualitative studies by interviewing healthcare professionals, engaging in thematic analysis, and dissemination of research findings. The honours student will gain the opportunity to develop themselves as an emerging leader in climate stewardship within the healthcare domain with potential for further study as a HDR student at ACU.


Incidence and characteristics of perioperative pressure injury in adult cardiac surgical patients.

Established Supervisors: Professor Paul Fulbrook <Paul.Fulbrook@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Adam Burston 

Project Description

Surgical patients are an at-risk group for the development of PI with up to 21% of surgical patients developing a PI within 2 days of surgery; primarily associated with the period spent on the operating table. Cardiac surgical patients are a high-risk sub-group.

The main aim of this retrospective quantitative study is to describe the incidence of perioperative hospital-acquired pressure injury in cardiac surgical patients. The results of this study will provide evidence to contribute to research knowledge about the incidence of PI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. It will also provide benchmarking data and help inform clinical practice guidelines and policy development.


Description of the research internship opportunity

The student will be situated within the Nursing Research & Practice Development Centre and as such will be able to access additional research opportunities. These opportunities may include involvement with a systematic literature review, preparation of human research ethics applications, involvement with data collection using quantitative or qualitative methods, or collaboration on a journal paper with named authorship.


A systematic review of the psychometric properties of the Braden scale for assessing risk of pressure injury in the acute care setting.

Established Supervisors: Professor Paul Fulbrook <Paul.Fulbrook@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Adam Burston 

Project Description

The first step of pressure injury (PI) prevention is a structured, comprehensive risk assessment to identify individuals at risk of PI. In acute care settings this is especially important, given that PI prevention knowledge is often sub-optimal. Several risk assessment scales are used commonly in acute care settings, with evidence supporting variable degrees of reliability and validity. This systematic review aims to explore the psychometric properties of the Braden risk assessment scale within the acute care hospital setting. Results of the study will add to the existing evidence-base informing clinical practice.

Description of the research internship opportunity

The student will be situated within the Nursing Research & Practice Development Centre and as such will be able to access additional research opportunities. These opportunities may include involvement with a systematic literature review, preparation of human research ethics applications, involvement with data collection using quantitative or qualitative methods, or collaboration on a journal paper with named authorship.


Pressure injury preventative intervention use following the integration of a risk level-based prevention bundle into practice: A cross-sectional audit.

Established Supervisors: Professor Paul Fulbrook <Paul.Fulbrook@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Adam Burston 

Project Description

Hospital-acquired pressure injury is a largely preventable adverse outcome of hospitalisation, which is associated with negative consequences for afflicted patients and increased burdens for admitting health care facilities. However, it is unclear whether use of the prevention bundle has improved preventative intervention use to date. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional audit is to examine whether preventative intervention prescription and implementation use relative to assessed risk has improved following integration of the prevention bundle into practice.  

Description of the research internship opportunity

The student will be situated within the Nursing Research & Practice Development Centre and as such will be able to access additional research opportunities. These opportunities may include involvement with a systematic literature review, preparation of human research ethics applications, involvement with data collection using quantitative or qualitative methods, or collaboration on a journal paper with named authorship.


Mental Health, Resilience, Engagement, and Retention in the Helping Professions

Established Supervisors: Theresa Dicke <thdicke@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Kim Foster
Third Supervisor: Emma Bradshaw

Project Description

We are currently developing a new interdisciplinary research program on how to improve mental health and wellbeing, resources, engagement, and retention in the helping professions (e.g., nurses, teachers, aged-care workers). A key aspect will be developing, piloting, implementing, and analysing an Occupational Wellbeing questionnaire for nurses. The survey will be co-designed with peak nursing bodies and end-users (i.e., nurses) but will in part be based on an already successful national and longitudinal survey with Australian school principals. The survey results will then feed into a) policy evaluation and b) developing evidence-based interventions to improve nurses’ mental health, wellbeing, and retention.

Description of the research internship opportunity

As part of this there are several additional projects including a meta-analysis, developing research focused marketing materials, presentations, pitch decks, research proposals, testing survey items, where we could use your support.


Digital Nursing Documentation

Established Supervisors: Dr Brandon Cheong <Brandon.Cheong@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Adam Burston
Third Supervisor: Professor Evelyn Hovenga

Project Description

This honours project aims to establish a digital health workshop to actively contribute to the scoping, benchmarking, development and publication of an ACN position paper on the adoption of a Standardised Nursing Terminology in Australian Digital Health Systems. The research project aims to evaluate an ISO standard that identifies a categorial structure (information model) that represents nursing practice against current nursing documentation practices. This will be made possible by accessing samples from a real-world de-identified medical records repository (eHRoL) made available by the Global eHealth Collaborative, a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on bridging data silos

Description of the research internship opportunity

The internship research experience offers students the opportunity to work with The Global eHealth Collaborative to learn and develop skills in best practice point-of-care data collection, management of health data and the use of ISO standard nursing categories to develop clinical models and standard data value sets that will enable the aggregation and comparison of documentation for nursing services. Students will understand the value of adopting terminology standards best able to support digital documentation designed to meet nursing professional practice requirements and gain essential clinical and IT skills that will prepare them for HDR study in health information research.  


An investigation into the pitfalls associated with data-driven decision making in healthcare

Established Supervisor 1: Dr Brandon Cheong <Brandon.Cheong@acu.edu.au> 
Established Supervisor 2: Dr John Oldroyd <John.Oldroyd@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Ms Mary Huynh
Third Supervisor: Professor Evelyn Hovenga

Project Description

With the increasing prevalence of technology in the healthcare industry, the rate at which healthcare data is being used for clinical decision making is increasing rapidly. Digital transformation has forced health organisations to adopt a contemporary approach to patient care and adapt to the changes that come with it. But what are the drawbacks to this new approach? This honours project will investigate the pitfalls and challenges associated with data-driven decision making in healthcare. Through a review of the literature and empirical qualitative research methods, key aspects of data-driven decision making will be explored, including data quality, data governance, and the impact these have on patient outcomes.

Description of the research internship opportunity

This internship research experience offers students the opportunity to work with eHealth Education Pty. Ltd. to learn and develop skills in evidence-based research in an educational context. Students will contribute to a review of the literature in data-driven healthcare and will learn to conduct their own qualitative studies by submitting an ethics application and engaging in data collection, data analysis and the presentation of results. The honours student will gain the opportunity to develop themselves as a leader in the digital health space, with the potential to do further studies as a HDR student at the Australian Catholic University.