Research

The Department has established a rolling program of workforce research to identify and quantify the scope and nature of the problems we face.

These research projects will address existing information gaps and help lead policy development in building an innovative and sustainable human services workforce for Victoria.

In order to stimulate debate amongst stakeholders, the research project reports will be widely disseminated, including through this internet site.

The primary focus of the research program is on desktop research to ensure a solid grasp of the issues facing human services workforces.Projects commissioned by DHS have included:

International approaches to undergraduate clinical training: stage 2 report - March 2007 (PDF File 649kb), to further review innovative approaches to undergraduate clinical training. This report includes a number of studies that did not meet the criteria of the initial Identifying innovative approaches to clinical placements report, located below.

Identifying innovative approaches to clinical placements - June 2005 (PDF File 968kb), to examine innovative approaches to clinical placements adopted internationally and assess their applicability to the Victorian context.

Mapping of course accreditation requirements - July 2005 (PDF File 2.13mb) and their impact on undergraduate clinical placements in Victoria, to identify the scope of these across a range of identified professions, and areas of commonality.

Articulation between VET and Higher Education - June 2005 (PDF File 369kb), to explore opportunities to improve articulation between these sectors taking into account experiences and research to date.

Literature review on retention of older workers in human services - July 2005 (PDF File 441kb) and
Report and recommendations on retention of older workers in human services - July 2005 (PDF File 564kb), to inform future directions of DHS workforce policy.

Literature review on recruitment and retention of women in human services - June 2005 (PDF File 379kb), to inform future directions of DHS workforce policy.

Recruitment and Retention of Allied Health Professionals in Victoria - Literature Review - June 2005 (PDF File 1.02mb), to inform future investment in allied health initiatives, by identifying the factors impacting career decisions and pathways. Appendices to the report (pdf, 674kb).

Core clinical skills mapping project - June 205 (PDF File 1.08mb), to map existing Australian professional competencies in identified occupations and also service specific workforce competencies to identify areas of commonality and existing gaps.

Workload Capacity Measures for Use in Allied Health Workforce Planning - June 2006 (PDF File 639kb) to identify current methods used in quantifying allied health workload capacity, identify any barriers to applying these methods and recommend actions required to progress application of workload capacity measures in allied health workforce planning.