Health Care In The Round: Building Capacity For Integrated Decision-making For Improving Health Services.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,156,378.00
Summary
Our title, ‘Healthcare in the round’, reflects two key perspectives on improving health services. First, we wish to ‘close the loop’ between the introduction of an innovation and measuring its uptake and impact. Second, we are seeking to explore how decisions about health services might be ‘rounded out’ if the ethical dimensions, economic implications and community’s views on what is being proposed were routinely considered in deciding what changes to make to existing patterns of care.
Using Health Economics To Strengthen Ties Between Evidence, Policy And Practice In Chronic Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,925,648.00
Summary
There is a major shortage of researchers with health economics expertise in Australia. This grant will provide training and development for a team of health economists to research chronic diseases covering issues such as: What is the value for money from investment in different treatments? How do such diseases affect the economic circumstances of families? How do we ensure that strategies to address illness work in practice and can be sustained? How do these issues get put on the policy agenda?
Australian Health Inequities Program: A Program Addressing Social And Economic Determinants Of Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,444,000.00
Summary
The Australian Health Inequities Program, AHIP, is an exciting new program which brings together researchers from a range of disciplines including sociology, public health, labour market economics, housing and geography to research health inequities and analyse policy and program responses to reduce these inequities. This will be done by addressing ways in which our housing, employment, the availability and quality of our social connections, the locations we live in, and perceptions of our envir ....The Australian Health Inequities Program, AHIP, is an exciting new program which brings together researchers from a range of disciplines including sociology, public health, labour market economics, housing and geography to research health inequities and analyse policy and program responses to reduce these inequities. This will be done by addressing ways in which our housing, employment, the availability and quality of our social connections, the locations we live in, and perceptions of our environments, affect health. The researchers, based at Flinders University in Adelaide and La Trobe University in Melbourne, will identify how the physical and social characteristics of local environments impact on health. The research conducted in this program will provide guidance to government, service providers and community groups about how to improve the quality of people's local environments and reduce the health differences between different groups of Australians. Policy makers will be engaged fully with the AHIP.Read moreRead less
Not Just Scholars But Leaders: Learning Circles In Indigenous Health Research
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,500,000.00
Summary
This collaborative research proposal brings together an outstanding team of population health researchers with a team of highly talented Indigenous achievers, including two medical doctors, two researchers who have completed doctorates and seven with Masters degrees. The primary aim of this capacity building grant is to develop a critical mass of Indigenous researchers undertaking high quality research into population health research priorities determined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ....This collaborative research proposal brings together an outstanding team of population health researchers with a team of highly talented Indigenous achievers, including two medical doctors, two researchers who have completed doctorates and seven with Masters degrees. The primary aim of this capacity building grant is to develop a critical mass of Indigenous researchers undertaking high quality research into population health research priorities determined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to link research findings into policy and practice. Over a period of five years, Indigenous researchers will be linked with centres of excellence in research elsewhere in Australia and internationally. The researchers will develop and enhance their skills in research around four major themes. The first aims to improve quality of relevant research, increase Indigenous people's participation in research and identify optimal ways of providing feedback of research findings. The second theme is around the provision and use of health services to develop a better understanding of the best and most cost-effective ways of providing preventive and acute care for Indigenous Australians. The third theme looks at lifestyle, behaviours and susceptibility to disease and the fourth theme at factors in people's lives that influence health in a positive way- pathways to resilience and wellbeing. At the end of the five year grant, the number of Indigenous people engaged in population health research will have increased substantially and some will be leading their own research teams. There will be a significant increase in population health research undertaken by Indigenous researchers on issues affecting the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There will be improved mechanisms in place to ensure that evidence from research is used to inform policy decisions such as funding and appropriate interventions.Read moreRead less
This proposal aims to build research capacity and methodological sophistication in economic evaluation and priority setting in health. An unprecedented critical mass of Australian experts in economic evaluation will be created who can then train a new generation of researchers. The proposal covers the following topics: Assessing the impact of economic evaluation and priority setting methods on resource allocation in Australia to better understand the methodological, conceptual, practical and pol ....This proposal aims to build research capacity and methodological sophistication in economic evaluation and priority setting in health. An unprecedented critical mass of Australian experts in economic evaluation will be created who can then train a new generation of researchers. The proposal covers the following topics: Assessing the impact of economic evaluation and priority setting methods on resource allocation in Australia to better understand the methodological, conceptual, practical and political barriers to its use ('policy analysis'); Developing appropriate, valid and reliable utility measures that are culturally appropriate for Indigenous populations, children and carers ('utility measures'); Developing methods and tools for measuring non-health sector costs and benefits from a social perspective ('cost benefit'); Refining methods for adjusting cost-effectiveness results to reflect other values such as equity, applicability and feasibility ('second filter'); Exploring the usefulness and appropriateness of different modeling approaches used in economic evaluation ('modeling'); and Developing techniques to measure gains in overall health system efficiency from the adoption of cost-effective interventions ('efficiency'). The proposed outcomes are: An increased number of independent researchers with expertise in economic evaluation-priority setting who develop their own research programs; Establish a critical mass of researchers who can improve the standard and acceptance of economic evaluation and priority setting methods in health, including priority setting for Indigenous Australians and other groups with special needs; Value-adding to existing priority setting and economic evaluation projects by validating methods and developing new approaches; Effective linkages between researchers and policy makers, advocates and other stakeholders to increase appreciation of the use of economic evaluation and priority setting in health policy and clinical practice; and Research transfer through workshops, presentations and peer-reviewed publications.Read moreRead less
Building Capacity In Innovative Approaches To Health Technology Assessment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,552,136.00
Summary
This research will develop innovative approaches to health technology assessment by using a range of data sources analysed using sophisticated econometrics techniques. It will build capacity in new methods of economic evaluation and in econometric analysis of administrative and clinical trial data, using sophisticated approaches to combining data sources. This will allow fuller assessment of cost-effectiveness, incorporating a wide range of possible coverage scenarios and detailed monitoring.
OSPREY: Building Capacity For Research To Improve Health Services For Mothers, Babies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,390,342.00
Summary
The OSPREY program will build human capacity, skills and methods to use linked health service data for research to inform improvements in health services for mothers, babies and children. It brings together experienced chief investigators from NSW and WA, and eminent national and international mentors. Through the program, nine team investigators will develop as independent researchers, substantially boosting Australia’s capacity for health services research focused on a “Healthy start to life”.
HERON: Using Population Health Data To Improve Health Services, Policy And Planning
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,500,000.00
Summary
This program aims to improve the use of population health data sets in supporting health care decisions and policy making. The team has formed the Health Evaluation Research and Outcomes Network (HERON) to bring together researchers with skills in the analysis and interpretation of these data and policy makers. The program will explore the use of these datasets in planning and evaluating cancer and perinatal services and in measuring equity of access to quality health care. The team will build s ....This program aims to improve the use of population health data sets in supporting health care decisions and policy making. The team has formed the Health Evaluation Research and Outcomes Network (HERON) to bring together researchers with skills in the analysis and interpretation of these data and policy makers. The program will explore the use of these datasets in planning and evaluating cancer and perinatal services and in measuring equity of access to quality health care. The team will build skills in undertaking research that is useful to policy makers and in the relevant statistical and epidemiological techniques.Read moreRead less
Environmen And Population Health: Research Development From Local To Global
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,472,500.00
Summary
Professor McMichael's application for capacity building in environmental health will build expertise to address not just local environmental factors but those of a more global nature such as the effect of global warming on health. Professor McMichael is one of only two NHMRC Burnet Fellows (the other being Professor Peter Doherty). This prestigious award is made in recognition of the international reputation of Australian researchers who were at the time working overseas to be taken up on return ....Professor McMichael's application for capacity building in environmental health will build expertise to address not just local environmental factors but those of a more global nature such as the effect of global warming on health. Professor McMichael is one of only two NHMRC Burnet Fellows (the other being Professor Peter Doherty). This prestigious award is made in recognition of the international reputation of Australian researchers who were at the time working overseas to be taken up on return to Australia to undertake research. This grant will help position Australia in a newly emerging priority area of research, both nationally and internationally, by offering innovative and structured research skills mentoring for seven early career researchers within a well-funded cutting edge research environment. The group operates with established links to biomedical, clinical, social research and health policy researchers and health policy and clinical service delivery programs and will provide an emphasis on policy relevant research.Read moreRead less
Nurition Promotion And Population Health: A Program Addressing Behavioural, Social And Environmental Determinants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,210,140.00
Summary
Good nutrition is important for health well-being by reducing the risk of diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. However, a significant number of Australians do not eat diets that are consistent with existing health recommendations. While the health consequences of poor nutrition have been well-documented and there is a substantial body of research that describes this problem, much less research has focused on coming up with solutions. This research will explore the influences on Aust ....Good nutrition is important for health well-being by reducing the risk of diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. However, a significant number of Australians do not eat diets that are consistent with existing health recommendations. While the health consequences of poor nutrition have been well-documented and there is a substantial body of research that describes this problem, much less research has focused on coming up with solutions. This research will explore the influences on Australian's eating patterns by examining the role of a range of personal, social and environmental factors in children and adults. The research will also test the effectiveness of innovative strategies to promote healthy eating.Read moreRead less