Research at Calvary

About

Our mission, vision and values

As a Catholic Health, Home and Aged Care provider, our vision is to excel, and to be recognised, as a continuing source of healing, hope and nurturing to the people and communities we serve.

The Spirit of Calvary expresses how we care for each other, and how we care for our patients, our residents and our clients by ‘Being for others’.

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Calvary Health Care research strategy

Our research reflects a commitment to better understand the physical and social environment in which we live, and to create and share new knowledge that can be translated into improved service delivery for our patients, residents and clients. It respects diversity and promotes sustainable partnerships with all stakeholders.

Calvary is dedicated to the delivery of our values and acknowledges that research is an essential component to successfully fulfil the following:

Vision

Improve the lives of the individuals and communities we serve through evidence-informed services.

Purpose

To inspire, promote and support a culture of research excellence.

Aspirations

We aspire to be research leaders by being:

Responsive	Understanding and responding to client, community and stakeholder needs
Ethical	Upholding the mission and values of Calvary, being transparent, having integrity, and abiding by legislative codes of conduct and guidelines
Integrative	Incorporating research into all areas of clinical and social care
Collaborative	Working respectfully to co-design with our partners, stakeholders, and the community
Innovative	Fostering a culture of creativity, translation and redesign
Impactful	Evaluating and measuring outcomes to improve services, clinical practice, and broader socioeconomic health of individuals and communities
Culturally informed	Embedding culturally safe practices, and cultural competence into our work
Significant	Influencing change in the wider health and social care sectors
Sustainable	Planning, through awareness of environmental, ecological, social and economic sustainability principles

Research Action Framework

To achieve our vision of improving the lives of people we serve, Calvary’s Research Strategic Plan is underpinned by action in Leadership and Governance, Growth and Partnerships, Influence, and Sustainability.

These actions help to drive better health outcomes, engaged consumers, communities and workforce, and influence within systems and the wider health and social sectors.

To achieve this, Calvary will focus on strategies to increase engagement, education and upskilling, visibility, and research impact, within our priority research fields.

Research priorities

Calvary research contributes to the improvements in clinical, health and social care, enhanced digital technology, and workforce retention & diversity.

To be responsive, Calvary will focus actions within our priority research fields, specifically on increasing:

Engagement
Education and upskilling
Visibility
Research impact

Calvary has identified eight (8) priority research fields which focus on improving patient, resident and client wellbeing and quality of life, optimising Calvary client care and workforce wellbeing.

Research Domain	Research Field
Optimal clinical, health and social care	Palliative and end-of-life care: Palliative Care focuses on supporting patients who have a progressive incurable disease. The goal is to respect patient, resident and clients’ dignity, help comfort and maximise the quality of life for the patient, family and loved ones. Neurodegenerative disease: Progressive neurological diseases require multidisciplinary assessment and management. Disease inclusive of, but not limited to, Huntington’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, multiple system atrophy, Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, spinocerebellar ataxias and others. Cancer care: A focus is on patient, resident and clients’ care through the entire cancer journey, including clinical and social care. This includes opportunities to be engaged with clinical trials. Medical and clinical practice: Support innovation in clinical practice and service development that is research driven. Ageing well: A person-centred approach to care offers residents and community clients the opportunity to live a safe and enriched lifestyle. Dementia care: Calvary’s higher level, specialised care supports people living with dementia to continue living life in a safe, home-like caring environment.
Digital technology	Digital technology enhances the human experience in healthcare across diverse platforms. Technology supports the right care for the right patient at the right time and in the right setting. To capitalise on this opportunity for improvement, Calvary’s approach to s to implement new technologies for optimised service delivery.
Workforce retention	Recruitment and retention of qualified researchers and health care workers is essential for optimal patient, resident or client care. Healthcare staff are supported with their work through the provision of healthy work environments and with staffing levels that promote safe, high-quality care.

Research sites

Hospitals

ACT

NSW

TAS

VIC

Calvary Health Care Bethlehem

Residential Aged Care

Find your nearest Calvary Aged Care Home

Home Care

Find your nearest Calvary Home Care service centre