Design for Care
Designing better work for the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry
About us
The Centre for Transformative Work Design is leading the exciting Design for Care initiative in partnership with the University of Sydney Business School and Monash University. ARC Laureate Fellow Prof. Sharon Parker heads an experienced team of academics and work psychologists who are passionate about SMART work design in the H&SA industry.
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).
Our Latest Research
The Healthy Working Lives Research Group at Monash University conducted an analysis of NSW workers compensation claims to examine the frequency, patterns and outcomes of psychological injury among distinct occupational groups in the H&SA industry.
They found that H&SA employees have 32% higher odds of submitting workers’ compensation claims for psychological injury compared to workers
in other industries.
We partner with organisations and individuals in the NSW H&SA industry
Our research partners
The Design for Care approach
Our approach is focused on prevention and sustainability.
The PARRTH process involves:
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Preparing an organisation for change;
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Assessing work design and well-being;
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Reflecting with the organisation staff and management about the assessment results;
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Redesigning work and/or organisational processes where appropriate and feasible;
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Tracking the effect of the redesign; and
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Habituating the change into the daily functioning of the organisation.
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.
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.
What Clients Say
"What a great project to be involved with. Can only see positive things eventuating from this."
Testimonials from partner organisation senior leaders:
Benefits for Partner Organisations Include:
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Access to work design experts who use evidence-based strategies
to explore the work design challenges facing workers -
Employees are directly involved in co-creating work design solutions
to improve wellbeing -
Receive tailored feedback at individual, team and organisation levels
Design for Care Community of Practice
The community of practice aims to maximise the impact of the Design for Care project by ensuring that the research and the learnings can reach, educate and support frontline healthcare and social assistance workers.
The Community of Practice is made up of an experienced and diverse group of industry representatives who would like to contribute to better support mental health and well-being in the care and community work H&SA industry.
They include:
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Members of government agencies with high engagement in the industry
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Professionals in the field
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Members of associations representing the interests of H&SA industry organisations and workers
The members share their diverse industry knowledge and experience to inform the direction and outcomes of the research.
If you're interested in joining our CoP, please contact us at:
DesignforCareResearch@curtin.edu.au
Or click the button below:
PROJECT TEAM
PROJECT LEADS
PROJECT MEMBERS
Dr Anu Jolly
CURTIN UNIVERSITY
Dr Cheryl Yam
CURTIN UNIVERSITY
Dr Arian Kunzelmann
CURTIN UNIVERSITY
Dr Shanta Dey
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
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Dr Vivien Forner