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Clinic

Design for Care

Designing better work for the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry

Our mission is to improve the well-being of H&SA employees through the co-creation of SMART work design interventions.

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About us

Design for Care is a research project aimed at developing and assessing work design interventions to create mentally healthy work in the NSW healthcare and social assistance (H&SA) industry. The project is led by Professor Sharon Parker at Curtin University’s Centre for Transformative Work Design, with Professors Anya Johnson & Helena Nguyen at the University of Sydney, and Professor Alex Collie at Monash University. The project is supported by a team of research and professional staff across the three universities, and is funded by icare NSW.

We collaborate with multiple organisations in the aged care, disability care, and out-of-home care sectors to co-create mentally healthy workplaces. Together, we're working to understand how work design can be leveraged as an intervention to prevent psychological injury (e.g., burnout).

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Our approach

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We focus on prevention and sustainability

The Design for Care Program seeks to prevent psychological injury by identifying SMART work design opportunities and challenges in collaboration with individuals, teams, and team leaders in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.​​

Sustainability is about building the work design capabilities in individuals, teams, team leaders, and organisations to continue to co-create mentally healthy workplaces.

How do we achieve this?

Our research program - the PARRTH Process – involves working collaboratively with individuals, teams, and leaders to develop practical work design interventions that target prevention and sustainability and could be adapted by the H&SA industry more broadly. 

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Design for Care Showcase: A Journey to SMARTer Workplaces in the H&SA Industry

Wednesday 30 April 2025 | Novotel Sydney Parramatta

Designing work to better support mental health and well-being in the H&SA industry

Our Design for Care Showcase brings together researchers, industry professionals, and organisational leaders to share

our key findings, preview new resources and take away

actionable strategies to improve work design and employee well-being in the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry.

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NEW RESEARCH REPORT
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Unpacking the Enablers and Hindrances on the PARRTH to SMART Work Design

This report unpacks the enablers and barriers to change across partner organisations in the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry. It identifies factors at multiple levels: organisational, leadership, group, and individual, and provides examples of activities and actions for organisations that can help address challenges at each level.

Download our latest report

To download the report, please provide your details below.

Personal information collected is handled in accordance with Curtin University’s Privacy Statement. Further information is available on Curtin University's privacy webpage.

SMART animations

Design for Care - SMART

Tolerable - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

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Tolerable - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

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Mastery - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

Mastery - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

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Agency - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

Agency - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

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Relational - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

Relational - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer

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Event recording

Event photo highlights

Camera Recording in the House

To see more photos from the event

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Want to learn more about our research findings?

Explore our past research findings, reports and events, focused on enhancing outcomes in the HSA industry and supporting the well-being of frontline workers.

Interested in SMART Work Design?

To design meaningful and motivating work, visit our SMART Work Design page to learn what SMART Work Design is and how to get the most out of your work

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We partner with organisations and individuals in the NSW H&SA industry

Our research partners

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Testimonials from partner organisation senior leaders:

"What a great project to be involved with. Can only see positive things eventuating from this."

The PARRTH process​​

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The PARRTH process involves:

  • Preparing an organisation for change;

  • Assessing work design and well-being;  

  • Reflecting with the organisation staff and management about the assessment results;  

  • Redesigning work and/or organisational processes where appropriate and feasible;  

  • Tracking the effect of the redesign; and  

  • Habituating the change into the daily functioning of the organisation.  

Helping care workers

Design for Care research project will produce work design strategies to aim to prevent psychological injury amongst care workers

including but not limited to:

Project team

Project leads

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Professor Sharon K. Parker

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Professor Anya Johnson

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Professor Helena Nguyen

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Professor Alex Collie

MONASH UNIVERSITY

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Project members

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Lucinda Iles

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Cheryl Yam

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Michael Chapman

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Jie Yi Tang

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Mina Askovic

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Connie Deng

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Jannecke Berecki-Gisolf

MONASH UNIVERSITY

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Meredith Carr

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Monica Trezise

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

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Anu Jolly

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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Arian Kunzelmann

EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

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Nate Zettna

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Vivien Forner

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

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Shannon Gray

MONASH UNIVERSITY

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Asmare Gelaw

MONASH UNIVERSITY

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Giverny de Boeck

IESEG School of Management

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The Centre for Transformative Work Design

is part of the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University.

© 2025 Centre for Transformative Work Design​​

The Centre acknowledges Whadjuk Nyungar people who remain Custodians of the lands on which we research, learn and collaborate.

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