An app initially developed at HealthHack Brisbane in 2017, with RCC input, has won this year’s top Queensland Health eAward.
Darling Downs Health’s Advance Care Yarning app was both the eAward of the Year winner and the ‘Collaborate and Connect’ category winner.
The culturally sensitive app is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to encourage open discussions about end-of-life care.
Goondiwindi Hospital Director of Nursing Lorraine McMurtrie first brought the project to HealthHack in early November 2017. There, she formed a team which included RCC, QCIF and QFAB bioinformatician Thom Cuddihy.
After HealthHack, the app was further developed by a team at Goondiwindi Hospital including nursing staff, drug and court support workers, Indigenous health workers, and other community and Darling Downs Health staff.
RCC/QCIF eResearch Analyst Dr Nick Hamilton, one of HealthHack Brisbane’s key organisers, said: “At HealthHack in 2017, we were all inspired by Lorraine’s belief and dedication to making the project happen and to helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Thom did a fantastic job leading the coding on the project, and it came as no surprise when the judges awarded Yarning first prize at HealthHack. It is great to see Yarning going on to be developed further and winning more awards!”
This year’s RCC-sponsored HealthHack is scheduled for the weekend of 20–22 September at ThoughtWorks in Brisbane’s CBD.
Dr Nick, a ‘Problem Wrangler’ for HealthHack, is currently seeking health or medical research problems for hackers to solve. Please contact him to discuss your project further. And check out some of the problems that have been brought to HealthHack in the past.
The data hack event will bring researchers, students and healthcare professionals together with software developers, educators, engineers, designers and scientists to create innovative solutions to important problems.
Participation is free, whether you bring a research problem to the table as a researcher, or donate your skills to the hack as a software developer, user experience (UX) designer, data analyst or visualiser. Volunteer helpers are also being sought.
See the HealthHack website for further information and to sign up as a participant.
