Inclusive Health Communication for SDA
Welcome to the website for our research on Inclusive Health Communication in Specialist Disability Accommodation (Group Homes).
This national research project examined health-related communication practices in disability group home settings, with a particular focus on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. We worked alongside accommodation providers, residents and supporters to find out how information about COVID-19 and other diseases had been shared and understood in group homes. We also wanted to know what additional information and communication resources were needed.
Findings and Resources
Please watch the video summary of our complete project findings and recommendations below:
You can access our project report and resources here:
Final Report (Full): AndersonEtAl_InclusiveHealthCommunication-DiseaseOutbreaks-DisabilityGroupHomes_FinalReport_June2023
Executive Summary: AndersonEtAl_ExecutiveSummary_InclusiveHealthCommunication
Submission to COVID-19 Inquiry (January 2024): AndersonEtAl_COVID-19Inquiry_DisabilityGroupHomeCommunication
Inclusive Outbreak Communication in Group Homes: Evidence-based Practice Guidelines EvidenceBasedPracticeStatements_InclusiveHealthCommunication
Conversation Guide: Let’s Talk About Infectious Disease AndersonEtAl_LetsTalkResource_InclusiveHealthCommunication
Model of Change for Inclusive Health Communication: ModelOfChange_InclusiveHealthCommunication
Literature Summary: AndersonEtAl_LiteratureSummary_InclusiveHealthCommunication
Our Approach
This project involved several research activities. Follow the links below to learn about each project arm.
- Project Advisory Group: This project followed a Participatory Action Research design. Our advisory group included people who worked or lived in specialist disability accommodation.
- Interviews with Support Workers: We talked to support workers to learn how they are involved in COVID-19 communication.
- Interviews with Residents: We talked to group home residents about their health communication needs and preferences.
- Group home tours and case studies: We visited some group homes over video, to see how communication about COVID-19 had taken place.
- Delphi study: We conducted a community survey to establish research priorities and good practice for inclusive health communication in SDA.
- Knowledge Translation Working Group: A group of community members worked with us to design inclusive health information resources and strategies for specialist disability accommodation.
We used a range of inclusive research methods to make our project more accessible to participants with intellectual disability and low English literacy. You can check out our blog post on Doing Inclusive Research for more information.
Our Research Process
Meet the Team:
Our Research Team includes:
- Dr Kate Anderson
- Dr Joanne Watson
- Dr Meredith Prain
- A/Prof Nathan Wilson
- A/Prof Angela Dew
- A/Prof Patsie Frawley
- Dr Amie O’Shea
- A/Prof Melissa Bloomer
- Prof Catherine Bennett
- Dr Muyiwa Omonaiye
- Mr Dion Williams
- Dr Jennifer David.
Our project partners are Able Australia, Northcott, Inclusion Melbourne and Agosci. The project is funded by the national Medical Research Futures Fund (MRFF), under the 2020 Communication Strategies and Approaches during Outbreaks grant opportunity. For more information about the funding scheme, please view this link.