Honours Midwifery

This project will explore the postnatal experiences of women who are living with POTS and/or long covid. It is anticipated that the project will use interviews to capture the experiences of women and will contribute knowledge to support appropriate care and support during postnatal care experience.

Supervisor(s): Professor Lois McKellar Lois.McKellar@acu.edu.au

Campus: All

Postnatal care in Australia remains the least satisfactory area in maternity care. Midwifery models of care are increasing in Australia and may be one way of improving satisfaction with postnatal care. This project will explore the postnatal experiences of women who receive care through a midwifery model of care. This includes case load, midwifery group practice and privately practicing midwifery models of care. It is anticipated that the project will use a survey design to capture the experiences of women and will contribute knowledge to support a positive postnatal care experience in Australia.

Supervisor(s): Professor Lois McKellar Lois.McKellar@acu.edu.au

Campus: All

Aim:

To explore how pregnant women perceive and engage with digital technologies (e.g. chatbots, hospital online portals, or childbirth education apps) during antenatal care, focusing on their sense of connection, trust, empowerment, and support.

Research Questions:

1. How do women describe their experiences using digital technologies (e.g. chatbots or online platforms) for antenatal care or education?
2. What benefits and limitations do women identify in using these technologies to connect with midwives or access antenatal information?
3. How do these tools influence women’s feelings of agency, preparedness, and emotional wellbeing during pregnancy?

Methodology:

• Qualitative design using semi-structured interviews.
• Purposive sample of pregnant women or recent mothers who used a chatbot, online portal, or childbirth ed platform during antenatal care.
• Thematic analysis of interview data.

Why it’s valuable:

• Addresses a gap in understanding the user experience of tech in maternity care.
• Informs hospital policy and tech design from a woman-centred care perspective.
• Aligns well with midwifery’s focus on relational care and partnership, even in digital spaces.

Supervisor: Dr Bridget Furguson bridget.furguson@acu.edu.au

Campus: Brisbane or other campuses

The aim of this project was to explore midwives’ experiences of supporting women to manage pain during childbirth. It focused on the midwives’ attitudes towards labour pain, and the strategies (verbal and non-verbal) that midwives use to support birthing women. Data collection is complete with 557 midwives responding to the survey. There are a number of potential honours projects in the analysis and reporting of this data including:

• How midwives identify whether women are ‘coping’ with labour or not
• Strategies midwives use to support women to cope with labour
• How midwives’ experience of birth influence their attitudes toward pain in labour and their own choices regarding birth in the future (subsequent or first)

Supervisors:

Dr Kate Dawson kate.dawson@acu.edu.au

Dr Laura Whitburn (external supervisor from La Trobe University)

Campus: all

This project will explore what working in private practice looks like for midwives and what elements facilitate or are barriers to making this a sustainable way of working. This could incorporate independent private practice or current group models – further detail to be negotiated.

Supervisors:

Dr Kate Dawson kate.dawson@acu.edu.au

In collaboration with Kelly Langford from MAMA

Campus: all

This project explores the effectiveness of co-teaching models that involve students as teaching partners in intensive courses. It aims to investigate how student involvement in teaching impacts engagement, learning outcomes, and the overall educational experience for both students and educators. The study will employ a mixed-methods approach, including surveys and interviews with students and faculty to assess perceptions, benefits, and challenges of this model. Findings will provide insights into best practices for integrating students into teaching roles, fostering collaborative learning environments, and enhancing intensive course delivery.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Fathimath Shifaza Fathimath.shifaza@acu.edu.au

Campus: all campuses

This project investigates educators' perspectives on using escape room experiences as a pedagogical tool to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and teamwork. The student will explore teachers' experiences, perceptions, and challenges in implementing escape room activities within a unit. The study will employ a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys and interviews with educators to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. A literature review will inform the study design, and data analysis will identify best practices and barriers. The findings will provide valuable insights into how educators perceive gamified learning strategies and their impact on teaching effectiveness and student outcomes.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Fathimath Shifaza Fathimath.shifaza@acu.edu.au

Campus: all campuses

Neurodivergent students—those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences—often face significant barriers in higher education due to rigid institutional structures and standardized teaching methods. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), commonly used in primary and secondary education, offer tailored support to accommodate diverse learning needs. However, the implementation of such plans in higher education remains complex and contested. This literature review explores the benefits and disadvantages of IEPs in postsecondary education, assessing their effectiveness in promoting accessibility while considering potential limitations and challenges.

Supervisor – Dr Clare Cole clare.cole@acu.edu.au

Campus: Melbourne

Quality Simulation Assurance Framework (QSAFe) is an evidenced based self- assessment tool to help academics/educators and organisations benchmark the quality of their simulation activities to industry and accreditation standards.

This is an existing project that will initially pilot the tool within higher education nursing programs.

Student opportunities include:

• Review literature on non-statistical tool validation
• Review feedback from the QSAFE tool pilot and inform recommendations for improvement
• Opportunity to co-author a paper of the pilot results

Other opportunities:

• Apply the tool to the midwifery accreditation standards
• Apply the tool to paramedicine accreditation standards

Supervisor: Associate Professor Melanie Barlow: Mel.Barlow@acu.edu.au

Campus: Melbourne campus and may be available for other campuses

Application of SimCapture® in a teaching and learning environment to encourage development and mastering of practical and professional skills.

Student opportunities include:

• Explore the nature and characteristics of a simulated learning experience, including the application of technology to enhance learning. The learning platform, SimCapture®, will provide educators and learners with measurable learning outcomes and the opportunity to identify further learning needs and celebrate success.
• Review literature on simulation design, peer-to-peer learning, applying technology to enhance learning, and evaluating student performance and learning experience.
• Design and run a learning experience, collect, and interpret data using SimCapture, and present the results.
• Opportunity for students to write a research project and be a coauthor in a paper.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Melanie Barlow: Mel.Barlow@acu.edu.au

Campus: Melbourne campus and may be available for other campuses

(An ethics clearance submission is required) Supervisor: Associate Professor Melanie Barlow: Mel.Barlow@acu.edu.au Campus: Melbourne campus and may be available for other campuses

This project explores the use of a virtual escape room experiences as an innovative teaching and learning strategy to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. The student will implement an escape room activity tailored to a specific to the unit evidence for practice, interdisciplinary learning. They will evaluate its effectiveness through student feedback, engagement metrics, and learning outcomes. The project will involve literature review, data collection, and analysis, providing valuable insights into active learning strategies and gamification in education.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Fathimath Shifaza Fathimath.shifaza@acu.edu.au

Campus: all campuses

This project explores the role of classroom and environmental design in supporting neurodivergent students in higher education. Traditional learning spaces often fail to accommodate diverse cognitive and sensory needs, creating barriers to academic success. Drawing on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and neurodiversity theory, this study examines how factors like lighting, acoustics, and spatial layout impact learning experiences. The project aims to provide practical recommendations for higher education institutions to create learning environments that foster accessibility, comfort, and academic engagement for neurodivergent students.

Supervisor – Dr Clare Cole clare.cole@acu.edu.au

Campus: Melbourne

Conduct a scoping review on the outcomes of postgraduate (PG) education programs, focusing on their impact on clinicians’ competency, confidence, job satisfaction and career progression. Postgraduate education programs include any studies completed after a bachelor's degree, covering areas such as clinical practice, clinical education, and leadership and management. The last systematic review published in 2020 provided limited evidence with a focus in nursing, highlighting the need for an updated analysis. The findings of this review will influence healthcare education in higher education, advanced practice, and the broader healthcare workforce.

Supervisors

Dr Nancy Zhang Nancy.Zhang@acu.edu.au

Jessica Stewart Jessica.stewart@acu.edu.au

Campus: All