Associate Professor Bernadette Richards is a member of a multi- disciplinary team recently awarded an NH&MRC Partnership Grant (APP1133407: total funds $781,842). In collaboration with ten government and community partners, the team will examine strategies for the inclusion of vulnerable populations in developing complex and sensitive public policy: A case study in Advance Care Planning.

Why: People from Indigenous, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities, and those living with chronic disease, tell us that current Advance Care Planning (ACP) policy and practice doesn’t meet their needs. This Partnership Project will work with these communities to develop inclusive, sensitive policy and practice for ACP— so all Australians get the care they deserve. It will also establish how to include vulnerable populations in developing health policy on complex and sensitive issues.

How: The project was supported by $25,000 seed-funding provided by the Northern Community Health Foundation Inc.

Who: The multi-disciplinary team includes Professor Ian Olver, Associate Professor Terry Dunbar, Professor Gregory Crawford, Dr Jaklin Eliot, Dr Teresa Burgess, Dr Tanya Zivkovic, and Dr Debbie Faulkner, with Associate Investigator Michele McKinnon (SA Health). Our partnerships with policymakers, legal experts, clinicians, and health and law professionals (SA Health, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network the Northern Community Network, and the Law Society) as well as community organisations (Alzheimer’s Australia (SA), Multicultural Communities Council of SA, Palliative Care Australia, and Aged and Community Services SA & NT) will facilitate engagement with our vulnerable communities, ensuring the relevance of our research and supporting its translation into practice.