In teaching, in research, and in the clinic, Ann Bonner, PhD, MA, BAppSc(Nurs), RN, MACN, has one passion—nephrology.
“As chronic kidney disease affects more than 10% of the world’s population, I am committed to improving the healthcare for people with this extremely burdensome disease,” Ann said.
Her career began over 30 years ago as a hospital educated nurse. While she has now moved into academic positions, first as an associate lecturer and now as a professor and Head of School at Griffin University, Ann continues to maintain her connection with kidney services. She developed the Renal Nursing Professorial Unit, now the Kidney Nursing Collaborative Research Group, focused on developing the capacity of nephrology nurses to undertake research and to implement evidence into practice while collaborating with other researchers.
Her research covers the prevention, early diagnosis, and intervention to slow chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression through to kidney replacement therapy and end of life care. This research has been implemented in a state-wide kidney healthcare plan, Advancing Kidney Care 2026, by the Queensland Health Department. It has also influenced other service redesign and has been adapted for use for patients with chronic liver disease. Despite the evidence of the importance of her research, Ann still faces one major challenge in implementing changes: funding.
“Due to the complexities of chronic kidney disease and the impact on health services, new models of service delivery are frequently tried in organizations but the research to robustly evaluate these models is challenged by finding funding in Australia,” Ann said.
So, with the help of a nephrologist, she evaluated an innovative person-centered kidney supportive care center with the intent to attract sustainable government funding with evidence-based practices.
Her efforts aren’t just focused on Australian care, either. She works with many international PhD students to give them the tools they need to develop nurses who can provide care to people with CKD in countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia.
Ann Bonner has been a member of Sigma since 1995 when she joined Australia’s first chapter, Xi Omicron. She has been published more than 150 times and delivered over 200 peer reviewed conference presentations and invite papers. Her research has received several national and international awards, including the Research Excellence Award (Health Services and Implementation, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane), Australian Council on Healthcare Standards for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Award, and Best Research Paper (Renal Society of Australasia). In addition to Sigma, she is a member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Chronic Kidney Disease Expert Advisory Group, the External Advisory Board for the Australian Kidney Trials Network (AKTN), and the Renal Society of Australia. Ann is a recent inductee into Sigma’s International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.