Natali Jokanovic1
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital
Biography:
Dr Natali Jokanovic is a postdoctoral researcher and hospital pharmacist with clinical and research expertise in geriatric medicine in the hospital and aged care setting. She is currently a clinical trial coordinator in the Department of Infectious Diseases and senior research pharmacist in the Pharmacy Department at Alfred Health.
Natali is the project manager and co-investigator on the NHMRC-funded OPTICS Research Program (2025-current), evaluating a co-designed infection prevention and control program in a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial across 14 Victorian residential aged care homes (RACHs). She also managed the recently completed START Trial, a 16-month stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial of an antimicrobial stewardship program across 12 Victorian RACHs. Natali was awarded her PhD in 2019 investigating and addressing polpharmacy in RACHs and continues to collaborate on several projects with a focus on improving appropriate medication use and outcomes in older people across care settings.
Abstract:
This presentation will provide an overview of the NHMRC-funded Optimised Infection Prevention and Control Study (OPTICS) in residential aged care homes (RACHs). Together with a multidisciplinary team, partnerships with Bupa and Royal Freemasons aged care and consumer engagement, OPTICS will develop and evaluate a co-designed, multifaceted IPC model tailored to RACHs. Over two phases, the co-designed IPC model will be piloted across two RACHs and evaluated in a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial across 14 RACHs. OPTICS aims to directly inform evidence-based interventions and optimised models of IPC for RACHs with the goal to reduce infections in this vulnerable population.