National multidisciplinary collaboration is vital for advancing cardiovascular research and care. By breaking down silos and incorporating diverse perspectives, particularly those of patients, researchers can ensure their work has a meaningful impact on improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
Professor Caleb Ferguson is an NHMRC Fellow and the Director of Health Innovations at the University of Wollongong, as well as a Professor of Nursing, Chronic and Complex Care in Western Sydney Local Health District.
His diverse background including stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and prevention led him to think a lot more about multimorbid cardiovascular patients. This interest fuels much of his work with the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) Frailty and Heart Failure Clinical Theme, which he co-chairs with Dr Julee McDonagh.
Professor Ferguson has been an ACvA member since its inception. He values the networking and collaboration opportunities it offers, stating, “Having a national platform is quite important. When you bring people from different regions and specialties together and get to know them better, you begin to understand that there’s alignment and see opportunities for collaboration across the country, facilitating a larger impact.”
This national multidisciplinary approach is essential to break down the silos many researchers work in. “I think getting people together and set on an agenda has been really helpful,” Professor Ferguson notes. “Sometimes you can have very siloed conversations between a few colleagues, whether at a meeting or in a workplace, but bringing people together from different disciplines opens the discussion up.”
Late last year, Professor Ferguson and Dr McDonagh led a National Workshop on Frailty and Heart Failure. “We got a lot of the best people in the room talking about the topic, strategising about action as well as a bigger picture agenda around setting priorities,” Professor Ferguson recalls.
The workshop brought together researchers, cardiologists, nurses, geriatricians, as well as individuals with lived experience of heart failure.
“That was a great opportunity because it’s quite difficult to draw people together from different disciplines, regions, and specialties,” Professor Ferguson emphasises.
“There was a lot of discussion about making sure the outcome actually fits the patient. Sometimes we set agendas without patient input, thinking that reducing readmissions is the most important thing. But when we talk to consumers, it’s about living at home, having better functional capacity, better cognitive functioning later in life, being able to do sport for longer—all those kinds of normal things.”
He and Dr McDonagh are currently working on National Framework for action on frailty in heart failure from the workshop. They are hopeful about the progress it will bring. “I think it will lead to quite impactful work.”
Professor Ferguson is particularly excited about the future of consumer-partnered research. “The future direction is definitely consumer-partnered and responsive to people’s needs. Working with them to understand their priorities and what they see as important is crucial.”