The WA Safety And Quality Of Surgical Care Project: Improving The Safety, Quality And Provision Of Surgical Care.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,500.00
Summary
The basis of this application is a three-year project which aims to improve the safety, quality and the provision of surgical care. This application constitutes the core of the WA Safety and Quality of Surgical Care Project (SQSCP), which was established in 1996 to evaluate the clinical epidemiology, health care utilisation, patient safety and health outcomes following admission to hospital for specific surgical and medical procedures in Western Australia (WA). The study will use data from the W ....The basis of this application is a three-year project which aims to improve the safety, quality and the provision of surgical care. This application constitutes the core of the WA Safety and Quality of Surgical Care Project (SQSCP), which was established in 1996 to evaluate the clinical epidemiology, health care utilisation, patient safety and health outcomes following admission to hospital for specific surgical and medical procedures in Western Australia (WA). The study will use data from the WA Data Linkage System, which brings together 15 million records from hospital morbidity, death, cancer, midwives notification and mental health databases. Surgical procedures have been selected for review based on national priorities and after consultation with the WA Branch of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and other clinical Colleges. This application proposes to continue the core research activities of the SQSCP. A special focus will be on the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques including laparoscopic, endoscopic and endoluminal procedures, which have increased dramatically during the last decade. The study will also evaluate differences in the outcomes of surgical care in rural and metropolitan settings. The findings of the SQSCP will be comprehensively disseminated to surgeons, the RACS, hospital managers, health policy makers and consumers. The rationale of this project is that by providing high quality data on the epidemiology, utilisation and outcomes of surgical care, we will be able to increase the knowledge-base that will contribute to improvements in the safety, quality and provision of surgical care in Australia and internationally. The aims of the SQSCP are consistent with national health priorities and the recommendations of the Taskforce on Quality of Australian Health Care Study, the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care and the National Institute of Clinical Studies.Read moreRead less
Understanding And Preventing Avoidable Readmissions: Development Of A Patient Centered And Disease Specific Screening Tool
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
This study aims to develop a screenings tool to prevent unplanned re-admissions, based on specific patient centred and disease specific factors. We will include index admission data (367,782 in 2015) of five MACH hospitals. The cohort will be divided into a group for index derivation and a group for internal validation. Variables on patient and admission characteristics are based on literature. After internal validation we will validate the tool externally and implement it in clinical practice
Fundamental flaws in the design and reporting of research outcomes can undermine evidence-based medicine, impede patient-centred care, cause harm to patients, and result in a waste of research dollars. Our 3-year multinational project engages with patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers and policy makers, to establish core outcomes in haemodialysis. This will ensure that patient-centred outcomes are consistently measured and reported in haemodialysis trials and other forms of research.
INTroducing A Care Bundle To Prevent Pressure Injury (the INTACT Trial)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,093,250.00
Summary
In Australia, hospital acquired pressure injuries (i.e. bedsores) range from 7.4% – 17.4%. A care bundle is a structured group of interventions associated with improved patient outcomes. The aim of this 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial is to provide rigorous evidence regarding the effect of a patient centred pressure injury prevention care bundle on the development of pressure injuries in patients at risk of developing a hospital acquired pressure injury.
Maximum Acceptable Risk Of Complication In Total Knee Arthroplasty (MARKA) Study: Using Discreet Choice Experiments To Elicit Patient And Surgeon Perception Of Acceptable Risk In Total Knee Arthroplasty
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,199.00
Summary
Patient expectation is the strongest predictor of satisfaction following total knee replacement. Dissatisfaction with surgery is reported in approximately 1 in 5 patients undergoing knee replacement. Unrealistic patient expectations and uninformed perceptions of potential benefits, risks and limitations of surgery lead to dissatisfaction in many cases. This study will examine the “risk-benefit” preferences in patients and surgeons considering total knee replacement as a treatment option for end- ....Patient expectation is the strongest predictor of satisfaction following total knee replacement. Dissatisfaction with surgery is reported in approximately 1 in 5 patients undergoing knee replacement. Unrealistic patient expectations and uninformed perceptions of potential benefits, risks and limitations of surgery lead to dissatisfaction in many cases. This study will examine the “risk-benefit” preferences in patients and surgeons considering total knee replacement as a treatment option for end-stage osteoarthritis.Read moreRead less
Optimising Prescribing In Older Australians: A Randomised Trial Of The Drug Burden Index With Home Medicines Review
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$96,436.00
Summary
The burden of polypharmacy in the older population is taking its toll. The average number of medicines prescribed to older Australians is on the rise, and in turn leading to increased significant costs to the public health system. Pharmacists have a crucial role to improve the quality use of medicines in older Australians. The Drug Burden Index measures a person’s total exposure to medicines. This project will evaluate the benefits of calculating the DBI for patients receiving Home Medicines Rev ....The burden of polypharmacy in the older population is taking its toll. The average number of medicines prescribed to older Australians is on the rise, and in turn leading to increased significant costs to the public health system. Pharmacists have a crucial role to improve the quality use of medicines in older Australians. The Drug Burden Index measures a person’s total exposure to medicines. This project will evaluate the benefits of calculating the DBI for patients receiving Home Medicines Reviews, conducted by pharmacists.Read moreRead less
Incorporating Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Into Clinical Registries
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$181,065.00
Summary
Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are questionnaires that measure a person's physical symptoms such as pain or nausea, quality of life, and well-being. Traditionally these measures have not been used to assess the quality of medical treatments in routine care. This project seeks to implement PROMs alongside biological outcomes into the national kidney dialysis (ANZDATA) registry, and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability by patients, clinicians and policy makers
What People With Aphasia Want: Towards Person-centred Goal-setting In Aphasia Rehabilitation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,702.00
Summary
Consumers of health services expect their concerns and priorities to form part of their health care. People with aphasia have difficulty communicating their needs and speech pathologists are challenged to plan therapy to meet aphasic clients' needs. Family members of people with aphasia also have unrecognised concerns. The first aim of this study is to determine the goals of people with aphasia and their families and to gain their perspective of whether these goals were addressed in speech thera ....Consumers of health services expect their concerns and priorities to form part of their health care. People with aphasia have difficulty communicating their needs and speech pathologists are challenged to plan therapy to meet aphasic clients' needs. Family members of people with aphasia also have unrecognised concerns. The first aim of this study is to determine the goals of people with aphasia and their families and to gain their perspective of whether these goals were addressed in speech therapy. The study will then seek the perspective of their treating speech pathologists about the goals of therapy and the challenges that speech pathologists face in practising person-centered goal setting. This study will not only provide a framework for aphasia services in Australia but also provide data that will inform professional educational programs about person-centered practice for speech pathologists and other health professionals. It will also contribute to current theories on collaborative goal setting in a rehabilitation context.Read moreRead less
Supportive Care And Patient Empowerment In The Cancer Context.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$863,910.00
Summary
This Senior Principal Research Fellowship will develop and evaluate system-wide interventions to improve psychosocial outcomes of Australians diagnosed with cancer, including Chinese-speaking immigrants; identify long-term challenges for cancer survivors; explore the impact of having multiple gene testing; and evaluate interventions to empower patients to make informed choices regarding cancer treatment.
Consumer Information Materials And A Communication Aid For Diagnostic Tests For Breast Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$105,863.00
Summary
Many studies have now shown that the majority of patients want to participate in clinical decisions about medical treatments they might receive. As a result, information materials are being developed to help consumers and doctors work together to reach satisfying treatment decisions which are based on the best available evidence and also reflect the individual patient's needs and preferences about the treatment options. Very little is known, however, about whether consumers also want to particip ....Many studies have now shown that the majority of patients want to participate in clinical decisions about medical treatments they might receive. As a result, information materials are being developed to help consumers and doctors work together to reach satisfying treatment decisions which are based on the best available evidence and also reflect the individual patient's needs and preferences about the treatment options. Very little is known, however, about whether consumers also want to participate in decisions about whether to have a medical test. Tests can be trivial, such as a blood or urine test, or quite major and invasive, such as a biopsy or a colonoscopy. People considering a medical test might want to know the answers to the following questions: What is my chance of having the disease being tested for? If the test result is positive what is the chance I have the disease? If the test result is negative what is the chance I have the disease anyway? How will the test result influence treatment of my condition? What are possible side-effects of the test? Generally information materials about medical tests only describe the test itself, and do not contain the information people need to answer these questions. Even doctors may not have to hand the data needed to answer these questions. Yet without this information, consumers cannot make truly informed and rational choices about whether to have the test. This project aims to find out whether consumers want to participate in decisions about medical tests, what information they would want to do this, and to develop and trial information materials and a communication aid for a small number of breast cancer tests. We will use tests for diagnosing breast cancer as our model but we anticipate the work will be applicable across a wide range of medical tests.Read moreRead less