Digital Support for the Aged Care Workforce Caring for Older People with Complex Mental Health Needs in the Home
Aged care workers providing home care to older people with complex mental health needs face significant challenges, including emotional strain from verbal aggression, non-cooperative behaviour, and increased risk of burnout. Delivering care to complex clients can disrupt schedules and make it difficult for workers to access appropriate support, while physical safety concerns arise in cases of aggressive or unpredictable behaviour, especially as workers often visit homes alone. These factors can impact the quality of care and the ability of older people to remain in the community. With mental health rates in this population rising rapidly, innovative initiatives are needed to support the workforce and improve care for complex clients.
This PhD project aims to co-design a digital support system for aged care workers caring for clients with mental health conditions at home. The system will provide just-in-time training, practical guidance, and peer/professional support. Building on stakeholder-defined requirements and resources developed by industry partner Silverchain, the student will co-design low-fidelity prototypes and develop a minimum viable platform featuring scenario-based Q&A, modular micro-training, and moderated peer/professional support. Collaboration with interaction designers and software engineers at Action Lab will ensure the solution is usable, contextually appropriate, and scalable, with iterative testing and evaluation in real-world settings.
The successful candidate will join the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) for Optimal Ageing, led by Monash University in partnership with Federation University and The University of Melbourne. The Centre provides direct experience with industry partners and training in psychology, health sciences, engineering, and information technology. Projects within the Centre focus on accelerating research translation and industry engagement by developing digital, robotics, and sensor-based technologies to address key ageing-related challenges, such as enhancing cognition, promoting independence, and fostering social connectedness. Trainees will gain skills to expand Australia’s technical capability, contribute to the Medtech and Biotech sectors, and address global challenges for 21st-century innovation in ageing.
Monash University, a member of Australia’s Group of Eight coalition, is internationally recognised for research and teaching excellence. Embedded in a health, academia, and industry ecosystem, Monash delivers research outcomes, skilled workforce, technology, and partnerships to improve human health locally and globally.
The supervisory team includes Professor Patrick Olivier (Action Lab, Monash University), Professor Tanya Davison (Silverchain & Monash University), and Professor Karen Smith (Silverchain & Monash University). Candidates must meet Monash University’s minimum PhD admission requirements, including an undergraduate honours or master's by research degree in a relevant discipline, excellent people skills, a good understanding of mental health (ideally in older people), and an IELTS score of 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in each component). The successful applicant will receive a tax-free stipend of $37,145 per annum (2026 full-time rate) as per the Monash Research Training Program (RTP) stipend.
To apply, submit a cover letter (max one page) describing your research experience and motivation, a CV with qualifications and academic achievements, and academic transcripts to Dr Karen Little ([email protected]), Business Manager, ITTC in Optimal Ageing. Applications are accepted year-round.
