Associate Lecturer
Overview
Susan Nunan is Associate Lecturer and Undergraduate Course Coordinator for the Professional Practice 1, Health Across the Lifespan and Older Adults' Health courses for the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland. Susan joined the School in 2010.
Susan has extensive clinical nursing experience in General Medical, Coronary Care and Surgical Units in major hospitals in Brisbane and Sydney, as well as in QLD and NSW rural hospitals where she has also facilitated undergraduate nursing students. In addition, her clinical experience includes; Community Nursing, Gerontological Nursing and Dementia Care in both city and rural settings in QLD and NSW. Susan is a Registered Nurse Division 1 with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, and is a member of the Australian College of Nursing. Susan has a Masters of Health Professional Education, a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice, a Bachelor of Arts, Research Master of Arts, and has undertaken post-graduate course studies in Wound Management and Mental Health.
Susan’s current research interests include falls risk assessment and management, and she is currently a PhD candidate within the UQ, School of NMSW, with thesis entitled:Evaluating the validity, reliability and feasibility of a falls risk assessment tool recommended for use in Australian residential aged care facilities. A mixed methods study.
Other areas of research interest for Susan are in Healthy Ageing and Older Adults' Health.
Research Interests
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Falls risk assessment and management
Susan is a current PhD candidate within the UQ, NMSW with thesis entitled: Evaluating the validity, reliability and feasibility of a falls risk assessment tool recommended for use in Australian residential aged care facilities. A mixed methods study. - Healthy Ageing and Older Adults' Health.
Research Impacts
Falls have significant consequences for older adults including mortality, fractures, and contribute to loss of confidence, pain, reduced mobility and dependence. This presents a major burden on the individual and the health care system, with up to 1.5% of the health care budgets in Australia used on costs related to falls. Fall rates for older adults are greatest in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) also known as nursing homes (NH) or long term care facilities (LTC). Rates of falls are one in two residents experiencing a fall in every six month period or 1.7 (0.6-3.6) falls per bed per year, which is a rate of about three times that in the community.
Susan’s research results will help address a significant clinical pathway to reduce burden on the individual residents of RACFs as well as assisting RACFs to align with policy that aims to improve quality of end of life for the older adult. This in turn would reduce the burden of care on clinicians and care staff. The wider repercussions of the research would impact on reducing health care spending in relation to falls injuries.
Qualifications
- Master of Health Professional Education, C.Qld.
- Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts), The University of Sydney
- Graduate Diploma of Health Professional Education, C.Qld.
- Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice, C.Qld.
- Master of Arts, University College Cork
Publications
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Conference Publication: Feasibility and face validity of a falls risk assessment tool
Nunan, Susan, Peel, Nancye and McCutcheon, Helen (2019). Feasibility and face validity of a falls risk assessment tool. In: AAG Published Abstracts. 52nd Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Sydney, Australia, (). 5-8 November 2019.
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Conference Publication: A falls risk assessment tool tested in residential aged care
Nunan, Susan, Henwood, Timothy, Peel, Nancye and McCutcheon, Helen (2018). A falls risk assessment tool tested in residential aged care. In: AAG Published Abstracts. 51st Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (7-7). 21 - 23 November 2018.
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Journal Article: Fall risk assessment tools for use among older adults in long-term care settings: A systematic review of the literature
Nunan, Susan, Brown Wilson, Christine, Henwood, Timothy and Parker, Deborah (2017) Fall risk assessment tools for use among older adults in long-term care settings: A systematic review of the literature. Australasian Journal of Ageing, 37 1: 23-33. doi:10.1111/ajag.12476
Publications
Journal Article
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Nunan, Susan, Brown Wilson, Christine, Henwood, Timothy and Parker, Deborah (2017) Fall risk assessment tools for use among older adults in long-term care settings: A systematic review of the literature. Australasian Journal of Ageing, 37 1: 23-33. doi:10.1111/ajag.12476
Conference Publication
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Feasibility and face validity of a falls risk assessment tool
Nunan, Susan, Peel, Nancye and McCutcheon, Helen (2019). Feasibility and face validity of a falls risk assessment tool. In: AAG Published Abstracts. 52nd Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Sydney, Australia, (). 5-8 November 2019.
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A falls risk assessment tool tested in residential aged care
Nunan, Susan, Henwood, Timothy, Peel, Nancye and McCutcheon, Helen (2018). A falls risk assessment tool tested in residential aged care. In: AAG Published Abstracts. 51st Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (7-7). 21 - 23 November 2018.
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Nunan, Susan, Brown Wilson, Christine, Peel, Nancye and Henwood, Timothy (2017). Evaluating the validity, reliability and feasibility of a falls risk assessment tool recommended for use in Australian residential aged care facilities. In: ERA Published Abstracts. 16th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing (ERA), Perth, WA, Australia, (). 6 - 7 November 2017.
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Investigating falls and falls risk practice in residential aged care
Nunan, Susan, Brown Wilson, Christine, Peel, Nancye and Henwood, Timothy (2017). Investigating falls and falls risk practice in residential aged care. In: AAG Published Abstracts. 50th Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Perth, WA, Western Australia, (49-49). 8 - 10 November 2017.
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Nunan, Susan, Brown Wilson, Christine, Parker, Deborah and Henwood, Timothy (2016). Fall risk assessment tools for use among older adults in long term care settings: A comprehensive review of the literature. In: AAG Queensland Published Abstracts. Australasian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Queensland: Annual Student and Early Career Researcher Event., Brisbane, QLD, Australia, (). 26 October 2016.
