Australians may be ageing, but they have made it loud and clear: They want to age well.
People want to live independently, have active social lives, be mentally sharp, and maintain body function as long as possible.
Expectations around ‘healthy ageing’ are increasing in step with the nation’s ageing population.
By 2042, the number of Australians aged 65 and over is projected to more than double, reaching over 6.4 million.
This demographic shift underscores the growing importance of research and innovation aimed at supporting longer, healthier lives.
This is why the University of the Sunshine Coast is focusing on research right across the aged care space – from safe driving to social and creative activities, brain health studies to exercise programs.
UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett, says the University is ideally placed to advance research into ageing, thanks to its location in regions with some of Australia’s oldest population demographics.
“We have five campuses from Moreton Bay to the Sunshine Coast to the Wide Bay region, and they all have populations of older residents above the national average,” Professor Bartlett said.
“Coupled with our network of world-class health and wellbeing researchers and a growing student population, UniSC is perfectly positioned to champion healthy ageing for Australians, and to share that knowledge globally,” Professor Bartlett said.
“Universities play a vital role in informing how we support older people.
“Our research spans chronic disease, mental wellbeing, aged care, social activity and many other topics, and the evidence from this research can help inform government and service providers’ decision-making to ensure the needs and interests of older people are met.”
“We are also making major inroads to the understanding and treatment of major health issues that can severely impact an older person’s quality of life, including Parkinson’s disease, supporting patients with delirium, PTSD treatment, skin cancer, chronic lung disease, falls prevention in hospital, and peripheral artery disease.
Many of these are projects in partnership with Sunshine Coast Health Institute and Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Professor Bartlett, whose own research background is in health and ageing, says the issues are high priorities across the University’s South East Queensland footprint.
“The more knowledge we have, and the more skills, the greater an impact we can have on the community,” she said.
Examples include a healthy ageing hub at Gympie, webinars for mental wellbeing, regular classes for older residents via U3A, free public counselling clinics, as well as Equip classes to help anyone over 18 return to study.
UniSC in 2023 joined the Age-Friendly University Global Network to collaborate with other institutions striving for a more age-inclusive world.
New ways to nurture ageing population
Professor Victoria Traynor, who this year joined UniSC as its first Professor of Healthy Ageing, is a nursing science academic and registered nurse with a passion for working with older people.
She lead UniSC’s Healthy Ageing Research Cluster, a team of 94 researchers and clinicians pursuing projects to promote functional ability, meaningful engagement and independent living.
“Globally, non-Indigenous people are considered older at 65, Indigenous people at 45, and in Australia there’s another definition of seniors at 55,” says Professor Traynor.
“But we need to be preparing ourselves much younger, from our physical and mental health to our technological and financial literacy to how well we live after retirement age.”
To ensure this holistic approach expertise ranges across nursing, psychology, applied science, physiology, photography, music, nutrition and digital health.
“To ensure the research translates into real impact, we partner with industry – community service providers, residential homes, governments, healthcare services, hospitals, GPs and community organisations – and update the content of what we’re teaching students,” she says.
Brain scans track our habits – good and bad
Meanwhile, UniSC neurobiological researchers are uncovering the secrets of daily habits to find new ways to help people make healthy lifestyle changes as they age.
Senior Research Fellow at UniSC’s Thompson Institute, Dr Sophie Andrews, says habits are ‘brain shortcuts’ that can be useful or detrimental at any age, but they become significant factors in the wellbeing and safety of people over 65.
“We are using laboratory methods and technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify the neural processes that affect people’s abilities to form new habits to meet new goals,” Dr Andrews said.
The team’s latest paper, published in the April edition of Neuropsychology challenges the notion that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.
“We conducted a task-based behavioural study comparing 50 participants in two age groups on the Sunshine Coast,” says Dr Andrews, last year named a Queensland Young Tall Poppy.
“We found that, while older people might take a bit longer to switch a habit, they are also more likely to stick to the new habit longer than young people – and ‘sticky’ habits are great if they improve a person’s wellbeing.”
With the differences between age groups not fully explained by memory or speed of brain processing, the PhD research, led by Chelsea Hennessy, now continues with MRI scanning.
“We are searching for the underlying brain activity driving people’s ability to learn new habits, so we can develop more targeted interventions,” Ms Hennessy says.
Dementia: A leading health concern
As part of this, the team is also looking closely at dementia prevention.
“Dementia is the number one health concern for older Australians – it’s on the cusp of becoming the country’s leading cause of death,” says Dr Andrews.
“While lifespans have extended, health spans have not. Many older people are living with disability, and the disability is often related to dementia.”
The institute's Healthy Brain Ageing Program, which also uses non-invasive EEG tests to measure brain waves, has found strong connections between mental and physical brain health.
“We know that 30 to 50 percent of the risk of developing dementia is related to lifestyle choices such as diet, sleep, mindfulness, exercise and social interaction,” Dr Andrews says.
“This means that how we look after our brain, even in our 40s and 50s, can have a big impact on how functional and enjoyable our later years are.”
Healthy prevention
Several UniSC studies are investigating the effectiveness of exercise and nutrition in helping prevent or alleviate it.
For example, how to save ageing muscles through diet. The Mediterranean style diet, in particular, is bearing fruit.
Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics Dr Anthony Villani has been collaborating for years on the topic with UniSC post-graduate students and colleagues at other universities.
“Our research has shown that greater adherence to components of a Mediterranean diet among older adults is associated with improved quality of life, musculoskeletal health, cognition and memory, as well as reduced intensity of menopausal symptoms, depression and anxiety,” he says.
“We are currently looking at its role in symptom management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.”
The plant-based dietary pattern is high in fruits, vegetables, wholegrain cereals, legumes, nuts, fermented dairy and extra-virgin olive oil, and low in red and processed meats, butter and ultra-processed foods. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and healthy fats such as omega-3.
“These anti-inflammatory properties help protect against age-related chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.”
Dr Villani then shares the findings with his undergraduate Nutrition and Dietetics students in class, to ensure research translates into real life.
“One of my favourite sayings in the classroom is “How can we make our diet look a little more Mediterranean?
“It’s more than just a splash of olive oil. Try reducing the amount of red meat you eat in a week and substitute it with white meat or fish, have three serves of legumes and nuts a week, choose wholegrain cereals over refined products.”
A popular career pathway
Health degrees are consistently the most popular at UniSC.
In February 2025, the top five in-demand undergraduate courses included Nursing Science, Occupational Therapy and Paramedicine.
Applications for UniSC’s new online postgraduate degrees in mental health and neuroscience have also increased 230 percent year-on-year.
Postgraduate students are learning how to become leaders in the rapidly growing aged care sector and PhD candidates are examining diverse health topics.
UniSC also shared in recent federal funding to join the next phase of the Clinical Placements with Older People program, which guides nursing students into gerontological career pathways.
"This will complement UniSC’s focus on clinical placements for students in regional health facilities such as hospitals and aged care homes,” says Professor Traynor.
“We want students to experience how fulfilling it can be to become a gerontological registered nurse. The overall aim of both teaching and research is to combat the stigma of ageing.”
Professor Helen Bartlett said there was enormous demand for a workforce dedicated to caring for people in later life, including providing support for older people to remain living in their communities.
“With the aged care sector facing a national shortage of 110,000 direct care staff over the next decade, it makes sense to work on closing this skills gap in our regions,” she said.
“Estimates suggest the industry could be short of 400,000 workers by 2050 if we continue doing things the way they have always been done.
“It's vital we are prepared for the future by conducting research to maximise seniors’ quality of life, educating students to boost the aged care workforce, and providing clinics, treatments and community outreach in order to spread the impact of our knowledge and scientific achievements.”
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