Andrew Stafford
Senior Lecturer at Curtin University | Dementia & Ageing Researcher
Professional Area: Pharmacy
My research focuses on
- Medication and safety for older adults.
- Maximising the benefit of medication.
- Minimising the harm of medication.
My research aims to
- Improve the lives of older Australians through optimising the use of medications.
- Emphasise that medicines are just one aspect to holistically managing illness, to also consider patient experiences and expectations of treatments.
I work closely with
- Older people living at home in residential aged care facilities, and their carers.
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Andrew’s Story
I am a practicing pharmacist with over 15 years’ experience, working across academia and clinical practice in residential care. When I observed problems in my clinical practice, I am the one that wants to find the ways to fix or prevent these problems. My main research interests involve evaluating what medications we use for dementia patients, and if they are appropriate, followed by ways we can better optimise the use of medication in these patients.
Becoming a pharmacist was inevitable for me, with my dad and older sister both being hospital pharmacists. When I begun working as a pharmacist, I understood how medications can prevent and treat illnesses, but my studies did not give me much insight into how people experience these illnesses and what their expectations are of these treatments. After working in rural and metro Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania, I moved into consulting and academia. In my teaching and training activities I always strive to highlight the need to consider how people experience illness and medical treatments, to ensure that treatments are aligned with a person’s expectations and wishes, that is, person centred care. Largely due to the training materials I developed for consultant pharmacists, I was awarded the 2018 MIMS Consultant Pharmacist of the Year Award, which his probably the highlight of my career to date.