New researchers to boost Caring Futures Institute

Two high-profile researchers set to join Flinders University in the New Year will contribute their extensive expertise and strong research credentials to the Caring Futures Institute’s growing body of work.  

Academic nurse and research scientist Dr Jeroen Hendriks and academic research midwife Dr Annette Briley will be based at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, respectively, ensuring consistent clinician access to researchers. 

Both researchers will contribute primarily to the Caring Futures Institute’s Better Care theme with Dr Hendriks focussing on integrated care management in atrial fibrillation and related cardiovascular conditions and Dr Briley’s work providing evidence-based support for maternity care and midwifery in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. 

These positions will contribute to greater alignment of research with the local health networks, with both funded in part by The Hospital Research Foundation.

Dr Hendriks will join Flinders University as the Leo J Maher Cardiovascular Nursing Chair in January from the University of Adelaide, where he held the Derek Frewin Lectureship at the Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders.  

Dr Hendriks has expertise in the field of Redesigning Health Care, a broad and dynamic research area which is evolving rapidly. His major interest is in Integrated Chronic Care Management in cardiac care – heart rhythm diseases, particularly atrial fibrillation (AF), and the translation of this approach in chronic heart disease, integrating primary and secondary care services, including incorporating allied health professionals in the management process. This includes related topics like patient educational and self-management interventions, shared decision making, and interventions to improve guideline adherence. He holds a Future Leader Fellowship from the Australian Heart Foundation and also received funding for his integrated care clinic from The Hospital Research Foundation. 

Dr Briley expects to start with Flinders University as the Professor of Women’s Health and Midwifery Research in February following her relocation from the UK, where she was Consultant Midwife and Clinical Trials Manager at King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She has worked as a clinical midwife, specialising in foetal medicine and for more than 20 years she has been involved in national and international clinical trials with Kings Health Partnersaiming to improve pregnancy outcomes for mothers and babies, and the evidence base for midwives and other health care professionals. Dr Briley is NIHR Midwife Champion for London South, NIHR Specialty Group Lead for Reproductive Health and Childbirth in South London and NIHR Advocate for research careers for allied health professional. 

Background – Dr Jeroen Hendriks, RN, PhD, FESC, FSCANZ 

Dr Hendriks undertook his PhD at the Maastricht University Medical Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands. His PhD work demonstrated the important role of Integrated Care Management in terms of dedicated atrial fibrillation clinics to improve the outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Importantly it demonstrated a significant reduction in cardiovascular hospitalisation and mortality. 

He served on the Task Force Writing Committee to develop the 2016 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the management of Atrial Fibrillation, and on the Writing Committee to develop the 2018 Australian Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation. 

He is Editorial Board member of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, The International Journal of Care Coordination, and ICT&Health International. 

Dr Hendriks is the President of the Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (ACRA SA/NT) and is Board member of the Cardiovascular Nursing Council within the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Internationally, he is the Co-Chair of the Science Committee, Association for Cardiovascular Nurses and Allied Professions (ACNAP) within the European Society of Cardiology. He is the Past-President of the Dutch Society for Cardiovascular Nurses (NVHVV) and the Past Communication Officer of the Association for Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (ESC). 

  • Dr Hendriks is an academic nurse and research scientist with a particular interest in: 
  • Integrated Care management of patients with cardiovascular, particularly those with cardiac arrhythmias. 
  • The implementation of such care approaches and the required redesign of practices. 
  • The role of multidisciplinary teams in improving efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery, specifically the role of nurses and allied professions. 
  • The role of active patient involvement within integrated care approaches, including topics such as patient education, self-management, lifestyle modification and shared decision making. 
  • Evidence based guideline development and evaluation of guideline adherence in the management of cardiovascular patients. 

Background – Dr Annette Briley SRN, RM, MSc, PhD, FRCM 

Dr Briley became a qualified midwife in 1983 having previously qualified as a nurse and worked on a trauma unit. She has worked on various single, multicentre, national and international clinical trials, with their results influencing midwifery and obstetric practice in improving outcomes for women and babies. 

Dr Briley joined the King’s Health Partners (King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) research team in 1997, having worked as a midwife and sonographer since 1983 in a district general hospital. Since joining the research team Dr Briley has worked on a range of clinical trials and developed many collaborations locally, nationally and internationally. Her research has contributed to better care for women and their babies in a variety of settings. During this time she has also developed a multidisciplinary research team which is revered as one of the best within the UK. She became the Trust’s Research and Development Lead for Women’s Services in 2015 and in this role has supported many doctors and NMAPS in all aspects of trial development and delivery. 

In 2014 Dr Briley completed a PhD looking at the effects of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy acquired and intrapartum risk factors on blood loss during and after birth. Last year, a paper that Dr Briley co-authored won UK Research paper of the Year at the British Medical Journal Awards. The paper described the results of the BUMPES clinical trial. 

Among Dr Briley’s other areas of research are obesity in pregnancy, gestational diabetes, obstetric cholestasis, premature birth and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (including pre-eclampsia). She also works on improving products to train maternity staff and support safer births. Until recently Dr Briley was a Trustee of Maternity Worldwide, an organisation working to improve the reproductive health and status of women in low-income countries. 

In 2019 Dr Briley was presented with the Nightingale Midwife Award, honouring her outstanding contribution at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and beyond, and in 2018 received a Royal College of Midwives Fellowship for her outstanding leadership and contribution to research improving care for women and their families and improving the evidence base for midwives. 

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