ACC scholarship: Improving emergency response times for elderly patients
Healthcare professional Hana Sikma is one of six students to be awarded an ACC postgraduate research scholarship. Her mahi looks at reducing emergency response times to improve health outcomes for older people.
Paramedic Hana Sikma’s interest in the health and wellbeing of elderly patients started when she worked as a physiotherapist in the Czech Republic.
It continued following her move to New Zealand in 2008, where she’s worked as a paramedic since 2021.
These experiences led Hana to dive deeper into emergency medical service response times and how these affect health outcomes for people aged 65 and over, particularly after suffering a hip fracture from a fall.
Hana has now received an ACC scholarship to assist with her work as part of a Master of Philosophy in Health and Environmental Sciences at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Falls and their associated injuries are a leading cause of decline among older people.
According to ACC statistics, one in three New Zealanders over 65 will fall each year, and this increases to one in two for people over 80.
As a physiotherapist, Hana witnessed how a simple fall can profoundly impact the lives of elderly people.
“Victims transformed from confident, independent members of society to insecure, vulnerable individuals, dependent on support from their families and multiple healthcare providers,” she says.
Minimising the impact of elderly falls
Hana continued to build on her physiotherapy background after moving to New Zealand, where she pursued a career in pre-hospital emergency care.
During her undergraduate studies, she focused her research on the causes and consequences of falls in elderly patients, and exploring how emergency medical services can play a role in fall prevention and recovery.
Her study will analyse data across all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, with particular attention to health equity for Māori and Pacific populations.
“My goal is to inform a change in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) triage of 111 calls for patients who sustained a fall causing a hip fracture,” she says.
“I believe that triage aimed at identifying patients with possible long wait times after a fall will lead to timely response, reducing the time to surgery. As a result, timely treatment and transport by EMS can significantly minimise the level of disability elderly patients experience following a hip fracture.”
Hana says reduced pre-hospital time with timely treatment can also help in-hospital clinicians involved in the ongoing management of patients with a hip fracture.
“Providing the right care at the right time will improve outcomes and reduce the risk of future fractures.”
ACC scholarship provides a boost
Hana says the ACC scholarship will provide essential support towards her research.
“The scholarship will help me cover the costs of travel to Auckland, enabling me to seek support and guidance from my supervisors, collect research data, and attend conferences to present my findings and connect with fellow researchers,” she says.
“Furthermore, knowing that this research is recognised and supported for its potential to positively impact healthcare, particularly in improving treatment for elderly people after falls causing hip fracture, is incredibly encouraging.
“It motivates me to further pursue my studies and research on frailty, exploring its role in falls among the elderly, its impact on the recovery process and different strategies for its prevention.”
ACC committed to addressing challenges
In addition to funding the research Hana is doing, ACC has also awarded scholarships, ranging from $7,500 to $15,000, to University of Otago students Reghan Laurie, Merrick Rodrigues and Merope Griffin, Massey University student Adrian Pretorius, and Victoria University of Wellington student Luke Hollis.
The 2024 scholarship has been awarded to six master’s students whose studies relate to ACC’s research priorities, says ACC Strategy, Engagement and Prevention Deputy Chief Executive Andy Milne.
“These priorities are informed by ACC’s 10-year strategy, Huakina Te Rā,” Andy says.
“ACC is committed to addressing complex challenges and understanding emerging trends in injury prevention and sustained recovery.
“The ACC postgraduate scholarship is a fantastic opportunity to fill gaps in our knowledge about these challenges and trends.
“The findings will inform operational and investment decisions and actions.”
ACC’s research priorities for 2025 include: ways to keep people at higher risk of injury safe, how to enable groups who most need additional support to access the ACC scheme, and what helps people to recover well from injury and stay safe from re-injury.
The 2025 scholarship will be available through Te Pōkai Tara Universities New Zealand later in the year.
