Associate Professor Ann Harrington

Associate Professor (Academic Status)

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

+61 8 82013483

ann.harrington@flinders.edu.au

Sturt North (W408)

GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Ann is Associate Professor, Health Care for the Older Person in the College of Nursing & Health Sciences and has had thirty eight years of extensive clinical and teaching experience in health and higher education institutions in New South Wales and South Australia. She currently teaches students in both the undergraduate and post graduate programs in the areas of qualitative research designs (including ethnography, phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics, case study) palliative care and spirituality.

Her research interests are in the areas of patients, relatives and health care providers views of end-of-life care; culture and spiritual life of older people, the resident as a consumer of care; the role of the community palliative care nurse; registered nurses' perceptions of spiritual care. Her publications include book chapters and international journals on various topics including palliative care, spirituality and qualitative research.

Qualifications

RN (TWH), DNE (CCHS), B.Ed (SACAE), M.Ng (Flinders), PhD (Flinders), FACN MPCNA

Honours, awards and grants

Ann's aged care focus has resulted in an invitation to speak to the Senate Inquiry into aged care.

She is a Foundation Member of the Australian Hartford Consortium of Gerontological Nursing Excellence and an Honorary Research Consultant with Meaningful Ageing Australia. She made contributions to the first edition of the National Guidelines for Spiritual Care in Aged Care as an Expert Advisor.

Key responsibilities

Ann has been successful in leading research projects in Active Ageing, Culture and Spirituality in Aged Care and an active member of projects around Healthy Lifestyles; Skilled and Sustainable Aged Care workforce for Australia; Development of a multicultural workforce; Cultural and Spiritual Care for Aboriginal Aged Care and the Factors that impact on Older People's decision making following hospital discharge.

Teaching interests

Approaches to research
Ageing and aged care
Palliative care
Spiritual care

Topic coordinator

NURS9218 Approaches to Research Designs

Topic lecturer

NURS9218 Approaches to Research Designs

NURS2001 Understanding People and the Healthcare Environment

NURS2004 Dynamics of Care 1

NURS1003 Psychosocial perspectives of Health Care

Supervisory interests

Aged care

Aged care workforce

Palliative care

Palliative care and end-of-life nursing

Spiritual care

Spirituality

Spirituality in end of life care

Higher degree by research supervision

Current

Principal supervisor: Mental health and Spirituality (1), End of life care in Singapore (1), End of life care in the community (1), Personhood in residential aged care, The 'voice' of the resident in aged care (1)

Completion

Principal supervisor: E-learning-student and academic issues (1), Older people's experience of vitreo-retinal day surgery: A Gadamerian guided study (1), Spirituality and spiritual care in the deployed Australian military nursing context (1)

Associate supervisor: Spiritual care and palliative care in the rural setting (UniSA) (1), Spirituality in cancer care from the perspective of oncology professionals (1)

Professional engagement

Chair, Spirituality and Health Conference Australia Inc.

Foundation Member, Australian Hartford Consoritum of Gerontological Nursing Excellence

Honorary Research Consultant / Expert Panel Member, Meaningful Ageing Australia

Member, Palliative Care Nurses Australia
Member, Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies
Member, Australian Association of Gerontology

Expert for media contact

Ageing

Nursing

Palliative Care

Religion

Spirituality

Nursing Research