Associate Professor Craig Whitehead is an active geriatrician and clinician manager. He has been the Regional Clinical Director of Rehabilitation, Aged and Palliative care in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network since 2009. He was appointed to be a member of Aged Care Advisory Group, Australian Health Protection Principal committee (AHPPC) to advise on the Commonwealth response to Covid 19 in residential aged care in 2020. He was a member of the Ministers Clinical Advisory Group (MCAG) in 2016 to guide the development of models of care for Transforming Health, particularly in the areas of residential aged care. He was also part of the research group that established the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) which has produced multiple publications and provided key advice to the Royal Commission into Aged Care. 

Associate Professor Craig Whitehead works in a rehabilitation unit and has been involved in the design and delivery of randomised controlled trials of home rehabilitation and transition care. His recent funding includes translational projects to implement dementia care guideline recommendations and establishing a community of practice in dementia research. He has over 80 publications and is active in research that seeks to understand the health challenges faced by older Australians in the aged care system.

Associate Professor Craig Whitehead’s recent projects include:

• Using big data to create evidence-based primary health care service delivery and policy for the Australian aged care sector – a nationwide study: MRFF 2020.
• The FORTRESS Study (Frailty Older People Rehabilitation Treatment Research Examining Separate Settings: NHMRC Targeted Research Grant 2020.
• ‘Agents of change’. Improving post diagnosis care for people with dementia and their carers through the establishment of a National Quality Collaborative to implement guideline recommendations: NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Grant 2017.
• Premier’s Research and Industry Fund Research Consortia Program, Registry of Older South Australians 2016.
• An Australian Community of practice in research in dementia (ACcORD) to improve health outcomes of people with dementia and their carers: NHMRC Dementia Research Team Grants 2016.