Rate My Professor Kathleen McCauley

Dr. Kathleen McCauley is a Sessional Academic in the Curtin School of Allied Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in 2024 from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Edith Cowan University. Her doctoral thesis, titled 'The experiences of older people and their caregivers receiving home care package services: A grounded theory study,' investigates the challenges faced by older Australians and their caregivers in utilizing government-subsidized Home Care Packages to support independent living amid an ageing population and policies promoting ageing in place. The research highlights a significant knowledge gap in comprehensive studies on these experiences.

The study utilized surveys distributed to 20 older people, semi-structured interviews with seven older people, seven caregivers, and Home Care Package service provider coordinators, along with theoretical sampling involving additional interviews and analysis of policy documents and reports. Employing a grounded theory approach with open coding, focused coding, theoretical coding, and constant comparative analysis, supplemented by descriptive statistics from SPSS, the findings delineate the basic social problem as 'journeying through uncharted territory,' characterized by deteriorating health, complexities in the aged care system, and emotional turmoil. The corresponding basic social process, 'maintaining independent living against the odds,' encompasses adaptive strategies and informal system navigation. Recommendations include improving information accessibility and user-friendliness, establishing supportive pathways for navigation, and contributing to policy development for the new home care system commencing in July 2025. McCauley has presented her work at the 20th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing and the Australian Association of Gerontology Conference. Prior to her academic role, she served as a Social Worker at the Department of Health (WA Health).