How can we leverage work design as an intervention to reduce/prevent psychological injury in the NSW Healthcare & Social Assistance (H&SA) Industry?
This crucial question underpinned the fascinating and informative presentations at our Design for Care virtual launch. This online event introduced attendees from predominately NSW-based H&SA workforce to our exciting new research project, Design for Care. Funded by icare NSW, the project is a consortium of partnership between the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin, The University of Sydney, and Monash University.
Our keynote speaker, ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design and lead Design, highlighted the need for organisations to shift their focus to the full spectrum of mental health, beyond mitigating employees’ mental ill health, to taking active steps to prevent mental ill health. Using the SMART Work Design model, the research team will explore ways to design better work as a preventative strategy and to reduce psychosocial risks, with a focus on employees in the NSW H&SA industry.
We also heard from our industry partners: Karn Nelson (Whiddon), Jacky Hopwood (Whiddon) and Paula Holden (Key Assets) about their experiences and challenges in the H&SA Industry, and why their organisations have chosen to participate in the Design for Care project. Raashi Kumar (icare NSW) highlighted that icare have funded this project to help reduce psychological injury in the H&SA industry.
Towards the end of the launch, we had the pleasure of hearing from Associate Professor Anya Johnson and Associate Professor Helena Nguyen from the University of Sydney. Together, they unpacked the PARRTH process which underpins the Design for Care research project and introduced the Design for Care Community of Practice initiative.
