Research
We use research to improve care and create better health outcomes.
Research and evaluation help us understand how to provide the most effective care to our communities.
Our research focus
We focus on research that makes a real difference to people's health and wellbeing. This includes:
Finding better ways to deliver healthcare in the community
Understanding what helps people stay healthy and well
Making sure services work for everyone, especially those facing barriers to care
Testing new ideas that could improve health outcomes
Looking at how services can be more connected and effective.
Our partnership with Monash University
Through ASPIRE (A Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Research and Education), we're partnering with Monash University, one of Australia's leading universities. Together, we’re combining research capability with real-world service delivery, finding new, evidence-based ways of improving outcomes for customers and communities.
Our focus areas include mental health support, chronic disease management, improved services for older adults and community partnerships. We're bringing this work to life through:
- A dedicated Senior Research Fellow who is helping lead this work at Each and creating opportunities for staff to get involved across the organisation.
- A research plan that outlines what we aim to achieve, how we'll approach it and how success will be measured.
- Professional development opportunities, tools and resources that help staff build research skills and turn ideas into action.
- Work experience and placement opportunities for Monash University students to develop their skills in the community, including those studying nursing, midwifery and allied health.
- Collaborative research projects that help shape how healthcare and support services are delivered.
Learn about our first joint research paper with Monash University here.
Supporting better treatment for medication dependence
Through Reconnexion, we work with Federation University and Deakin University to improve support for people experiencing dependence on benzodiazepine medications (like Valium, Xanax and sleeping tablets). Our research explores:
- ways to prevent and treat medication dependence more effectively
- what helps people recover successfully how to make support services easier to access
- working directly with people who have experienced dependence to create better care.
By combining research with real experience, we can develop treatments and support that work better for people who want to reduce their dependence.
Explore our research papers
Explore other research relating to Each's services and programs.
Addressing Financial Abuse in Australian Small Businesses: The Role of Industry Stakeholders
Read the first research paper from our five-year partnership with Monash University.
Effectiveness of tailored public health messages for vulnerable populations: A randomised controlled trial
Research exploring the effectiveness of different public health messaging approaches for vulnerable communities.
Supporting General Practitioners to Deprescribe Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs in Primary Care: Findings From a Modified Delphi Study
An exploration of the strategies Australian GPs believe are most useful for helping patients safely reduce and stop long-term use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in primary care.
‘Let’s talk about sleep health’ within primary care
A qualitative study of patients’ willingness to engage in psychological interventions for insomnia. Published in the British Journal of General Practice.
BDZ Digital Health evaluation paper
Exploration of the preliminary effectiveness and acceptability of a self-help digital intervention to support benzodiazepine cessation and improve mental health and wellbeing: A one-group pilot trial.
Protocols for scoping review examining the factors that support GPs to implement deprescribing interventions or guidelines within primary care
This scoping review aimed to identify what had previously been done to support GPs to deprescribe benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs.
Community-based counselling for benzodiazepine withdrawal: A mixed-methods study of client outcomes
This study investigated the effectiveness of focused counselling in facilitating benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Role of the prescriber in supporting patients to discontinue benzodiazepines: a qualitative study
Published in the British Journal of General Practice, this study looked to understand what hindered a person's ability to come off these benzodiazepanes and also what might support them to do this.
Episode 034: Supporting patients to discontinue benzodiazepines
Reconnexion's Dr Erin Oldenhof and Deakin University Associate Professor Petra Staiger discuss the importance of increased support and guidance to ensure GPs improve on deprescribing practice.
Interventions for benzodiazepine withdrawal: Perceptions of benzodiazepine counsellors
This study looked at what the work looked like between benzodiazepine counsellors and their clients, to understand what they were doing to support such great outcomes.
Beyond prescriptions monitoring programs: The importance of having the conversation about benzodiazepine use
Published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, the paper highlights the potential for unintended consequences to occur in the wake of real-time prescription monitoring across Australia (SafeScript in Victoria).
A mixed methods evaluation of the Reconnexion benzodiazepine support and counselling service
The study by Monash University aimed to see how effective the Reconnexion program was at supporting individuals to cease their medication and if they also experienced improvement to their quality of life.
