2025 Marian Barrett Lecture: Data and Digital Systems - Improving Equity, Safety and Efficiency of Nursing Practice

In 1945, Sir James William Barrett made a bequest to The University of Melbourne to provide a lecture on a subject of interest to Nursing and Medical professors and 1953, an inaugural Marian Barrett Lecture was delivered. Since 1997, the Marian Barrett Lecture has become an annual event and a highlight of our Nursing calendar at The University of Melbourne. Watch a recording of last year's Marian Barrett Lecture here.

Digital ways of working have become routine for many parts of our lives, including in health and care environments. The increasing use of digital systems to collect and provide information to nurses to help support care has potential impacts on increasing safety and efficiency of practice. However, there are also concerns that this may lead to issues with access to and delivery of care in an equitable way across vulnerable populations. This lecture explored the role of digital technologies in nursing practice. It considered how nursing can adapt to an increasingly digital environment, exploring issues of equity and how we develop nursing knowledge and understanding to meet the demands of a digital future.

Listen to Sneak Peek

Date: 13 May 2025
Time: 6-7:15pm Lecture and Awards, followed by Networking & Canapes
Location: Ian Potter Auditorium, Kenneth Myer Building, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville VIC 3052 (or Online)

Presented by

Dawn Dowding is Professor in Clinical Decision Making in the School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, and an honorary Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne. She is a nurse and health services researcher with expertise in the field of clinical decision making and nursing informatics. She is a Co-Director of the International Collaborative for Translational Digital Health (with the Universities of Toronto and Melbourne), the lead for the Digital Health theme in the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester, and leads the Digital Health and Social Care Research Group in the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at Manchester. Dawn is an elected Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also co-Chair of the eHealth forum at the Royal College of Nursing, and the Vice Chair for Working Groups for the International Medical Informatics Association Nursing Group.

This event will be photographed for use in University of Melbourne communications. Individuals who do not want to be included should inform the photographer.