As the first virtual hospital in NSW, RPA Virtual Hospital (rpavirtual) is committed to contributing to the evidence for innovative, effective, and sustainable models of virtual care through high quality research and evaluation.
rpavirtual has established a clear research agenda, research governance structures and introduced systems to attract research funding and manage relationships with research partners.
The RPA Virtual Hospital Research Steering Committee (established May 2020) provides overarching governance. The Committee meets monthly and is chaired by the Chief Executive, membership is comprehensive and includes members of the District Executive, the Director of Research, Clinical Directors, a consumer and tertiary partners.
rpavirtual is also represented as investigators or committee members on the national Digital Health Clinical Research Centre, the Centre of Research Excellence for Integrated Health and Social Care, and the Sydney Health Partners' Virtual Care Clinical Academic Group. All will present opportunities for collaborative research across virtual care sites in NSW and inter-state.
Current areas for research include evaluation studies of new models of virtual care including health economic evaluation, clinical trials to assess effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 drug treatments and safety; Long COVID, patient and carer experience with receiving virtual care; clinician experience with delivering virtual care; and remote monitoring digital health devices. In addition Sydney District Nursing is conducting research in the areas of wound care, palliative care, HIV care, and patient engagement applications.
Our Research Partnerships
SydneyConnect Image: RPA Virtual Hospital Research
rpavirtual has strengthened its research capability through the establishment of a Research Hub that includes a mixture of permanent and temporary funded positions and the through the establishment of strong collaborative research partnerships. Research relationships have been established with the following partners:
Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, University of Sydney
Centenary Institute
George Institute for Global Health
NHMRC Clinical Trial Centre
RPA Green Light Institute
Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre, University of Sydney
Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
Boden Institute, University of Sydney
Susan Wakil School of Nursing, University of Sydney
Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales
RPA Institute for Academic Surgery
Institute for Musculoskeletal Health
Selected Grants
Amount awarded
Grant and project details
$670,000
Department of Health Medical Research Future Fund, 2021-2022
Integrating remote monitoring technology into digital health infrastructure
Investigators: Wilson A, Britton W, Hutchings O, Shaw M, Eastwood J, Ritchie A, Taggart R, Jones A, Cook D, Poon S, Fox G, Lau E, Shaw T
$432,528
NSW Health Office of Health and Medical Research, 2021-2023
Integrating remote monitoring technology into digital health infrastructure
Investigators: Wilson A, Britton W, Hutchings O, Shaw M, Eastwood J, Ritchie A, Taggart R, Jones A, Cook D, Poon S, Fox G, Lau E, Shaw T
Our Publications
2023
Davis R, Bein K, Burrows J, Chakar B, Berendsen Russell S, Hutchings O, Dearing C, Jagers D, Edwards J, Chalkley D, Shaw M, McKenzie L, Goldmith H, Dinh M. Clinical characteristics and predictors for hospitalisation during the initial phases of the Delta variant COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, Australia. Emerg Med Australas. 2023 Feb;35(1):34-40.
Melman A, Maher CG, Needs C, Richards B, Rogan E, Teng MJ, Machado GC. Management of patients with low back pain admitted to hospital: An observational study of usual care. Int J Rheum Dis. 2023 Jan;26(1):60-68.
Liu D, Liu H, Blunden LA, Gupta L, Moore C, Nilsson S, Parcsi L, Shaw M, Anderson T, Eastwood J. Sydney Local Health District's Integrated Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Study. Int J Integr Care. 2022 Sep 30;22(3):23.
Liu H, Liu D, Moore C, Parcsi L, Mukumbang F, De Souza D, Shaw M, Blunden LA, Anderson T, Eastwood J. Understanding for whom, how and why Sydney Local Health District's Integrated Response was Effective in Addressing COVID-19: A Critical Realist Qualitative Study. Int J Integr Care. 2022 Feb 11;22(1):13.
Mistry SK, Shaw M, Raffan F, Johnson G, Perren K, Shoko S, Harris-Roxas B, Haigh F. Inequity in Access and Delivery of Virtual Care Interventions: A Scoping Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 1;19(15):9411.
Shaw M, Anderson T, Sinclair T, Hutchings O, Dearing C, Raffan F, Jagers D, Greenfield D. rpavirtual: Key lessons in healthcare organisational resilience in the time of COVID-19. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2022 May;37(3):1229-1237.
Cummins D, Andersson-Noorgard K. 'Preparing undergraduate nurses to care for people living with HIV infection'. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal. 2021; 27 (3): 22-25.
Dinh M, Hutchings O, Kendall, B. 'Emergency department presentations by residents of Sydney quarantine hotels during the COVID‐19 outbreak'. Med J Aust. 2021; 214 (10): 473-474. DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51046
Foley L, Avramidis P, Randall S. 'New to the community setting: nurses' experiences and the importance of orientation'. Australian Journal of Primary Health. 2021; 27 (1): 50-56. https://doi.org/10.1071/PY20129
Fotheringham P, Anderson T, Shaw M, Jewitt J, Storey H, Hutchings O, Cartwright J, Gupta L. 'Control of COVID-19 in Australia through quarantine; the role of Special Health Accommodation (SHA) in New South Wales, Australia'. BMC Public Health (2021) 21:225. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-102447
Hutchings O, Dearing C, Jagers D, Shaw M, Raffan F, Jones A, Taggart R, Sinclair T, Anderson T, Ritchie AG. 'Virtual Health Care for Community Management of Patients with COVID-19 in Australia: Observational Cohort Study'. J Med Internet Res. 2021; 23(3):e21064. DOI: 10.2196/21064.
Raffan F, Anderson T, Sinclair T, Shaw M, Amanatidis S, Thapa R, Nilsson SJ, Jagers D, Wilson A, Haigh F. 'The virtual care experience of patients diagnosed with COVID-19'. Journal of Patient Experience. 2021; 8:1-7. DOI: 10.1177/23743735211008310