Australia & New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,497,654.00
Summary
Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions place an immense and growing burden on the world’s population. They affect 28% of Australians (>6.1 million people). With the support of CRE funding, the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network will optimise musculoskeletal health through high quality, collaborative clinical research, building research capacity and effective transfer of research outcomes into clinical practice and health policy.
Optimising Care For Patients Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,399,839.00
Summary
There is evidence from previous research in Queensland and NSW that elements of care provided to patients with pancreatic cancer are sub-optimal. We aim to improve compliance with evidence-based guidelines in Victoria and NSW by collecting high quality data, providing reports to hospitals benchmarking their performance against peers and working with health services to reduce variation. Making sure care known to improve practice is being delivered is as important as developing new targeted thera
Improving Outcomes For Patients Receiving Outpatient Chemotherapy Through A Shared Care Pathway Intervention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$623,887.00
Summary
Many cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment continue to experience serious side effects at home, where they struggle to self-manage and often go to hospital after symptoms have worsened. We have developed an innovative clinical pathway involving the provision of home-based assessment, clinical care and advice by community nurses, which aims to help patients without creating new health service positions. Our study will test if the pathway decreases unplanned hospital visits, improves pa ....Many cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment continue to experience serious side effects at home, where they struggle to self-manage and often go to hospital after symptoms have worsened. We have developed an innovative clinical pathway involving the provision of home-based assessment, clinical care and advice by community nurses, which aims to help patients without creating new health service positions. Our study will test if the pathway decreases unplanned hospital visits, improves patient well-being and is cost-effective.Read moreRead less
A Randomised Control Trial Of Non-specific Clinical Management Versus CBT In Chronic Anorexia Nervosa
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,843.00
Summary
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental illness that usually starts in adolescence and often runs a chronic course. With an estimated prevalence rate between 0.5% and 3.7% of women, and up to 50% remaining chronically ill, the illness poses a disproportionate burden on health and social services. AN has inpatient costs alone that exceed that for schizophrenia. Chronic AN has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Chronic AN patients are known for their ambivalence about engaging in ....Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental illness that usually starts in adolescence and often runs a chronic course. With an estimated prevalence rate between 0.5% and 3.7% of women, and up to 50% remaining chronically ill, the illness poses a disproportionate burden on health and social services. AN has inpatient costs alone that exceed that for schizophrenia. Chronic AN has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Chronic AN patients are known for their ambivalence about engaging in treatment and poor motivation to change their eating disorder behaviours. They often fail to respond to traditional treatments and develop a history of negative treatment experiences and repeated treatment failures. A new approach is needed to reduce both the personal suffering and the burden of the illness on social and medical services. To date, there has been little scientific investigation into the development of specific treatment for those patients with chronic AN. This study will trial a recently manualised therapy - non-specific supportive clinical management - which initial evidence suggests may hold promise for chronic AN because it offers a more indirect, motivationally-matched approach. This treatment will be compared to the establishment therapy Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Patients will be randomly allocated to one of the two treatment conditions and will receive 40 sessions over 12 months. They will be thoroughly assessed prior to during and after they have completed treatment and followed up for 6 months. This is the worlds first trial of a psychological treatment for chronic AN; it is hoped the study will establish an effective treatment for this debilitating and expensive illness. Further, as the project aims to explore the core, but often over-looked, feature of AN - poor motivation for recovery - it will also be in a position to shed light on the deep psychological processes that maintain this illness.Read moreRead less
A Phase III Trial Comparing Adjuvant Versus Salvage Radiotherapy For High Risk Patients Post Radical Prostatectomy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,138.00
Summary
About half of all patients Treated with an operation to remove their prostate cancer have a high chance of the cancer coming back. Giving immediate radiotherapy to all patients will improve cure rates but does not benefit all men and can cause significant side effects. This study explores whether it is safe to wait and only give radiotherapy when there is a rising PSA after surgery indicating active cancer. A total of 470 men from Australasia will enter this study comparing the two approaches.
Mid-Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IM230100745
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,050,633.00
Summary
New models of replacement care for working carers. This project aims to investigate the replacement care arrangements that will support different groups of informal carers of a person with a disability, chronic illness or older relative to participate in paid work in contemporary Australia. Using mixed methods, field trials, and an innovative conceptual approach focused on time synchronicity, it will generate critical new knowledge about the characteristics and effectiveness of sustainable repla ....New models of replacement care for working carers. This project aims to investigate the replacement care arrangements that will support different groups of informal carers of a person with a disability, chronic illness or older relative to participate in paid work in contemporary Australia. Using mixed methods, field trials, and an innovative conceptual approach focused on time synchronicity, it will generate critical new knowledge about the characteristics and effectiveness of sustainable replacement care models that enable carers to enter or increase paid work and maintain work/care balance. Significant benefits include improving aged, disability and carer service models and policies to enhance women’s workforce participation, boost national productivity, and improve carer wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this stud ....Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this study. We will examine organisational and individual performance associated with accreditation status in order to illuminate the process and uncover any associations between accreditation and organisational culture, consumer participation and clinical (individual) performance indicators.
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Tracking The Impact Of Drug Regulatory Actions: Consumer Health Outcomes, Risk-benefit Issues And Policy Framework.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$439,324.00
Summary
This study will explore what happens in the community when a medicine is withdrawn from the market or discredited due to safety concerns. It will examine the impacts of two recent cases of medicine withdrawal or serious long-term safety concern, on a large cohort of women with high utilisation rates who were monitored during the time the medicines were discredited. The study will be an important guide to future regulatory, media and provider responses when medicines are discredited.
Benefits Of Home-based Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation In Non Small Cell Lung Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,039.00
Summary
Lung cancer is the third leading cause of death in Australia. People with lung cancer experience a complex mix of symptoms that can provoke significant distress and impair physical function. This study aims to develop and test a home based exercise and self-management support program to increase function and physical activity levels, reduce levels of depression and improve quality of life of people with lung cancer.
Understanding the implications of pandemic delays for the end of life. The untold toll of Covid-19 is emerging in ‘avoidable deaths’ linked to late(r) diagnosis or treatment due to pandemic-related delay. How delays are experienced and felt across families and communities requires urgent attention. This project aims to understand the implications of pandemic delay for dying and bereavement, including the sociocultural factors that shape experiences of illness and care amid delay. The significanc ....Understanding the implications of pandemic delays for the end of life. The untold toll of Covid-19 is emerging in ‘avoidable deaths’ linked to late(r) diagnosis or treatment due to pandemic-related delay. How delays are experienced and felt across families and communities requires urgent attention. This project aims to understand the implications of pandemic delay for dying and bereavement, including the sociocultural factors that shape experiences of illness and care amid delay. The significance of this project lies in its innovative sociological approach; expected outcomes include the generation of new knowledge on needs at the end of life that move across contexts and settings. Benefits include provision of findings that will inform social and health policy and practice improvements to enable good deaths.Read moreRead less