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Dr Fiona Crawford-Williams

2022 Deeble Institute Scholar

Research Fellow, Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University

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My experience with the Deeble Institute Summer Research Scholarship Program provided me with a valuable opportunity to understand how health policies can impact on the delivery of care and to connect with key policymakers in my research field.

I am a post-doctoral researcher investigating the supportive care needs and follow-up care experiences of cancer patients. Previously, my research has focused on improving care at the individual level, by understanding how to provide better education and support to cancer patients. However, the complexity of cancer care means that changes to the healthcare system could be of greater benefit to improving the patient journey. Therefore, research into the health policies that support or hinder the delivery of quality cancer care was something that I was keen to explore further.

My project with the Deeble Institute has focused on the implementation of shared care teams into cancer follow-up care models. Shared care follow-up is where some aspects of patient care are undertaken by the specialist oncology team and some are taken on by a local GP which can provide greater support for holistic needs, comorbidity management, and health promotion. Shared care follow-up can be safe, effective and is known to have benefits for cancer patients particularly as care can be provided closer to home. However, little is known about how shared care follow-up models are being delivered across Australia, the roles of the healthcare providers involved, and the subsequent outcomes for patients. The main policy issues that my project focuses on are the lack of data to understand and monitor follow-up care practices, the distribution of the cancer care workforce involved in follow-up care, and the inclusion of care-coordination and referrals to allied health as integral aspects of quality follow-up care.

Working with the Deeble Institute has provided me with a greater understanding of the health policy environment and the complex nature of the health system. The opportunity to connect with policymakers in my field gave me a chance to discuss barriers to the implementation of shared care teams from different perspectives and identify possible solutions. I look forward to using the skills I have learnt through this summer scholarship program to improve my academic research, in particular I hope the knowledge I have gained in writing for policymakers will help me to disseminate my research findings to a wider and more diverse audience. I highly recommend the Deeble scholarship program to researchers who wish to broaden their understanding of health policies and do impactful research.

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