Breaking Ivory Towers: A Web-based Gateway for Dynamic Community-Research Collaboration and Consumption
Tracks
Federation Ballroom / Plenary
Community
Innovation
Meaningful engagement
Technology
| Wednesday, November 13, 2024 |
| 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM |
Speaker
Dr Gordana Dermody
Senior Lecturer, Academic Lead Healthy Ageing Hub, Gympie
University Of The Sunshine Coast
Breaking Ivory Towers: A Web-based Gateway for Dynamic Community-Research Collaboration and Consumption
Abstract
Title: "Breaking Ivory Towers: A Web-based Gateway for Dynamic Community-Research Collaboration and Consumption"
Background
The value of community participation and engagement in research is well understood(1). However, community-dwelling older people have limited access to and knowledge about research conducted by university researchers, leading to a considerable gap in understanding and engagement. Researchers lack consistent, streamlined platforms to engage with, and disseminate findings to older adults, undermining efforts to improve health literacy, engagement, and translation to practice(2).
Methodology
The web-based gateway, “Healthy Ageing Community Alliance” (HACA), was co-designed with community members and researchers to provide a platform to engage in ageing research. Researchers from multiple disciplines (IT, nursing, OT, nutrition, psychology, biomedicine, exercise physiology, Gerontechnology), collaborated on the project. A co-design framework was used to ensure that HACA empowers older people to contribute to research outcomes, shaping interventions that directly address their needs and preferences.
Outcomes
HACA offers a user-friendly interface, providing access to current and relevant research-based content, interactive engagement, and collaboration opportunities. Facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration, HACA has facilitated engagement and growth of its user base, fostered impactful knowledge exchanges, contributing to more real-time dissemination of research outcomes.
Recommendations
To maximise impact, ongoing efforts will focus on promoting accessibility, and fostering a culture of active engagement and collaborative research that prioritises the needs and preferences of older adults. Additionally, partnerships with external stakeholders and continued support from funding bodies will be essential for the project’s continued success.
(1)Gough C, (2021) doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10592-4
(2)Wadsworth D, (2024) doi:10.1093/reseval/rvae006.
Background
The value of community participation and engagement in research is well understood(1). However, community-dwelling older people have limited access to and knowledge about research conducted by university researchers, leading to a considerable gap in understanding and engagement. Researchers lack consistent, streamlined platforms to engage with, and disseminate findings to older adults, undermining efforts to improve health literacy, engagement, and translation to practice(2).
Methodology
The web-based gateway, “Healthy Ageing Community Alliance” (HACA), was co-designed with community members and researchers to provide a platform to engage in ageing research. Researchers from multiple disciplines (IT, nursing, OT, nutrition, psychology, biomedicine, exercise physiology, Gerontechnology), collaborated on the project. A co-design framework was used to ensure that HACA empowers older people to contribute to research outcomes, shaping interventions that directly address their needs and preferences.
Outcomes
HACA offers a user-friendly interface, providing access to current and relevant research-based content, interactive engagement, and collaboration opportunities. Facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration, HACA has facilitated engagement and growth of its user base, fostered impactful knowledge exchanges, contributing to more real-time dissemination of research outcomes.
Recommendations
To maximise impact, ongoing efforts will focus on promoting accessibility, and fostering a culture of active engagement and collaborative research that prioritises the needs and preferences of older adults. Additionally, partnerships with external stakeholders and continued support from funding bodies will be essential for the project’s continued success.
(1)Gough C, (2021) doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10592-4
(2)Wadsworth D, (2024) doi:10.1093/reseval/rvae006.
Biography
Dr. Dermody has over 20 years of gerontologic nursing experience. Her research program integrates healthcare, technology, and ageing, specifically focusing on the field of gerontechnology. She is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast and serves as the academic lead for the Healthy Ageing Hub in Gympie. Her contributions to gerontechnology include advancing smart home technologies to support ageing-in-place enhancing the lives of older adults and easing family caregiver burden. Currently she is working on overcoming the complexities of integrating smart home technology into a new model of “smart homecare”.
She is deeply committed to bridging the gap between academic research and practical applications, a commitment that is clearly reflected in her recent work "Breaking Ivory Towers: A Web-based Gateway for Dynamic Community-Research Collaboration and Consumption." This initiative addresses a critical flaw in the traditional academic system, where the dissemination of research findings often fails to reach community-dwelling older adults (or reaches them years later), leaving them uninformed and disconnected from developments that could significantly impact their lives. This conventional model typically sees research outputs flowing in one direction—from universities to publications with little engagement or input from the very communities these findings aim to benefit. Older adults often feel that they have limited opportunities to influence or direct the research agenda, resulting in delays in the translation of research into tangible benefits. As an advocate for community-dwelling older adults, Dr. Dermody seeks to dismantle these barriers by enabling two-way near real time communication between researchers in the ageing space and older adults, to ensure that older adults are not only informed recipients but also active contributors in shaping and directing research.
Session Chair
Joanna Sun
Lecturer
University of Tasmania
