Dr Jennie Hewitt1
1Whiddon And The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Dr Hewitt is an academic clinician with a passion for leading research to shape policy and practice. She achieved the ACSA National Lifetime Achievement Award for advocating for allied health funding reform, and the “Morley Award” for the paper most likely to influence policy from the Journal of American Medical Directors Association. Invited as an expert witness for the Royal Commission into Aged Care, she provided evidence on best practice allied health and advised the Chief Allied Health Officer on the Group Therapy Program. Jennie works in Whiddon’s Research Hub, designing and evaluating a broad range of positive ageing trials.
Abstract:
This presentation will focus on inspiring allied health professionals (AHP) to use our passion and expertise to lead the way to healthcare reform and better service delivery for clients. The presentation will showcase the journey of the Sunbeam Trial that started with a clinician identifying a need for change to allied health funding in aged care and led to a randomised controlled trial that returned ground-breaking results. The use of this evidence to advocate for healthcare reform, provide evidence to the Aged Care Royal Commission and finally collaborate with the Department of Health to implement change, will also be described. The presentation will highlight the opportunity AHP have to show case our capability and to take the lead to advance health care policy while empowering the lives of the people we serve. The authors of the published papers, and presenter, have no conflict of interest to declare.