Kathleen Margaret Eagar AM, known as Kathy Eagar, is an Australian clinician and health services academic, who was awarded an Order of Australia[1] in 2024 for services to health services. She was professor of health services research at the University of Wollongong until 2023. She led the design of the Australian National Aged Care Classification, and contributed to the Aged Care Royal commission held in Australia.[2]

Kathy Eagar
Other namesKathleen Margaret Eagar
EducationUniversity of Wollongong
EmployerUniversity of Wollongong
Known forHealth Services
TitleProfessor

Education and career

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Eagar received her degree at the University of Wollongong, where she was a professor at the Australian Health Services Research Institute from 1998 to 2023.[3][better source needed]

She has published numerous publications on palliative and end of life care, policy and research around better health care,[4] chronic diseases and aged care.[3][5]

Eagar was the Director of the Centre for Health Service Development, with research focussed around outcomes, information systems, management and quality of health and community care systems in New Zealand and Australia.[6]

Eagar commented that the main audience to which health services research should be focussed would ideally be politicians and consumers:[7]

A key feature of health services research is that we have blurred the distinctions between investigation-driven research and priority-driven research. The issues that drive researchers are also important to patients and the community more generally. This makes our research more relevant and because health services are important to people and have a high political profile, we can follow current trends by reading the media.[7]

Eagar was also one of the subject matter experts who contributed to the 2024 Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding.[8]

She in an Honorary Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (Royal Australasian Collage of Physicians)[9][better source needed] and adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales and Queensland University of Technology.[10]

Publications

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Eagar written over 500 publications,[9] with over 4,000 citations, as at July 2024 and an H-index of 35. Select publications include:

  • Eagar Kathy, Watters Prue, Currow David C., Aoun Samar M., Yates Patsy (2010) The Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) – measuring the quality and outcomes of palliative care on a routine basis. Australian Health Review 34, 186–192.[11]
  • Green, J.P. and Eagar, K. (2010), The health of people in Australian immigration detention centres. Medical Journal of Australia, 192: 65–70.[12]
  • Eagar, K.; Gordon, R.; Hodkinson, A.; Green, J.; Eagar, L.; Erven, J.; Eckstein, G.; Spooner, G.; Kennedy, C.; Owen, A.; Cromwell, D.; Leotta, T.; and Rigley, A., "The Australian National Sub-Acute and Non-Acute Patient Classification (AN-SNAP): Report of the National Sub-Acute and Non-Acute Casemix Classification Study" (1997). Centre for Health Service Development - CHSD. Paper 7. http://ro.uow.edu.au/chsd/7[13]

Awards

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  • 2024 - Order of Australia.[14]
  • 2015 - HSRAANZ Professional award for health services.[15]

References

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  1. ^ White, Jen; David, Dione. "Meet the Illawarra's King's Birthday honourees". Region Illawarra. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  2. ^ Eagar, Kathy. "Kathy Eagar, Author at Pearls and Irritations". Pearls and Irritations. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  3. ^ a b "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  4. ^ "2015: Health care visionary acknowledged with top award - University of Wollongong – UOW". www.uow.edu.au. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  5. ^ Eagar, Kathy (2020). Health planning: Australian perspectives. Routledge.
  6. ^ "Selected Works of Professor Kathy Eagar". ro.uow.edu.au. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. ^ a b "Profiling an award-winning health services researcher and her vision for better health care". Croakey Health Media. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  8. ^ "Wollongong researcher among experts guiding healthcare funding inquiry". Illawarra Mercury. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  9. ^ a b "Kathy Eagar". The Conversation. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  10. ^ "Dr Kathleen Margaret Eagar". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  11. ^ "CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Health Review". www.publish.csiro.au. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  12. ^ Green, Janette P; Eagar, Kathy (2010). "The health of people in Australian immigration detention centres". Medical Journal of Australia. 192 (2): 65–70. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03419.x. ISSN 0025-729X.
  13. ^ "Casemix classification" (PDF).
  14. ^ Newsroom (2024-06-09). "King's Birthday honours 2024: meet the Illawarra recipients". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  15. ^ Green, Sarah (2015-11-02). "Professor Kathy Eagar - winner of the 2015 HSRAANZ Professional Award". HSRAANZ. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
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