The Research & Innovation Centre 2024 Wrap-Up
Post Created: 17 December 2024
2024 has been a productive year for Onemda's Research & Innovation Centre. Here are the highlights:
Embedding Person-Centred Active Support (PCAS)
We launched a project to make Person-Centred Active Support (PCAS) a core practice at Onemda. PCAS helps people with intellectual disabilities engage in meaningful activities and social interactions, improving their quality of life.
Key achievements:
- Training Frontline Leaders: Leaders are being trained to reinforce Active Support practices and support staff in improving their methods.
- Baseline Observations: Initial observations have been completed to track progress.
- Staff Workshops: All staff have attended workshops on Active Support principles.
Next Steps: In 2025, we’ll introduce a staff coaching model based on Active Support.
Quality of Life (QoL) Project
We began a 3-year project to implement a validated Quality of Life (QoL) tool to better understand what matters most to our participants and how Onemda’s services impact on their quality of life.
Key updates:
- The QoL team completed training with the University of Ghent, Belgium.
- Participant recruitment is underway, with a goal of engaging 80-100 participants over three years.
- Each participant will have two in-depth discussions with the QoL team to explore their quality of life.
Academic Collaborations
We continued partnerships with Australian Catholic University and Swinburne University on:
- Breaking Out of Silos: Improving employment outcomes for young people with disabilities.
- Posture Support for Wheelchair Users: Enhancing posture support solutions.
We also piloted the Project Team initiative with Australian Catholic University. Developed in the U.S., this program helps individuals with disabilities set personal goals and adapt their environments to participate in meaningful activities.
In 2024, we made significant strides in advancing best practices, improving quality of life, and fostering collaborations to support people with disabilities in achieving their goals.
