Author: MCRI

PhD Opportunity – UTAS – IMPACT project

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An exciting PhD opportunity to join the MRFF-funded Implementing clinical Pathways for Acute Care in Tasmania (IMPACT) project team, led by Dr Viet Tran (Royal Hobart Hospital and Statewide Director of Emergency Medicine Research).

The aims of the PhD are to improve care in Tasmanian EDs by embedding implementation science principles in health care systems and developing strategies to increase uptake of acute clinical pathways and reduce variations in care. The target acute care clinical improvement area will be co-developed with the candidate, dependent on clinical research interest.

Further details can be found here: Implementation Science improving ED care | University of Tasmania (utas.edu.au)) or contact Emma Tavender (emma.tavender@mcri.edu.au) if you have any specific questions.

Amit Kochar wins Research Award!

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Congratulations to Dr Amit Kochar who was awarded the Research and Innovation Award at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Excellence Awards ceremony held on Friday, August 11th, 2023.

Amit has been a strong leader, motivating the team at WCHN to continuously strive for improvement and reach goals. Undoubtedly, achieving success in  research trials within the Paediatric Emergency Department is a collaborative effort involving a vast array of hospital personnel, nursing and medical staff.

Congratulations to Amit and the WCH team from PREDICT! 

 

 

Project Snapshot – PEACHY O & M

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PEAChY – O: Pharmacological Emergency management of Agitation in Children and Young people – A randomised controlled trial of Oral medication

Co-ordinating PI:  Elyssia Bourke

Study Co-ordinator: Kate Klein
Study design:

Randomised, controlled, open-label, multi-centre, phase III superiority effectiveness trial of: ORAL olanzapine vs ORAL diazepam.

For further background information see: https://www.predict.org.au/projects/peachy-o-and-peachy-m-studies/

Current status:

  • Study target sample size of 348 participants currently at 94% (N = 325 recruited). Nearing completion, over 12 months ahead of schedule!
  • PEAChY-O is on track to be complete by mid-September 2023.
  • Data cleaning is set to be finalised at all participating sites by late October, ready for final analysis.
  • An abstract is planned for presentation at the PAS in January 2024.

 

PEAChY- M: Pharmacological Emergency management of Agitation in Children and Young people – A randomised controlled trial of IntraMuscular medication

Study design:

Randomised, controlled, open-label, multi-centre, phase III superiority effectiveness trial of: INTRAMUSCULAR olanzapine vs INTRAMUSCULAR droperidol.

For further background information see: https://www.predict.org.au/projects/peachy-o-and-peachy-m-studies/

Current status:

  • Currently, 36% of the total number of participants required to meet the target sample size of 348 have been recruited.
  • Low recruitment across all sites due to several reasons. For example, management of ASBD events in the ED environment can be challenging and, commonly, many enrolled participants subsequently de-escalate (in behaviour) and no longer require IM medication (i.e. they either accept oral medication or no longer require any medication).
  • Education of clinical staff related to PEAChY-M continues at all sites to improve recruitment rates.

SAVE THE DATE – PREDICT members meeting 15th November 2023

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The PREDICT members meeting has been moved to 15th November 2023.  An amended calendar invite has been forwarded to all members.  Please accept the invite to ensure you have the correct date in your calendar.

The event will be held in Melbourne at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Registrations for the meeting via Try Booking will open in late September – you will be notified of this.

Present your “New Research Idea” at PREDICT Members meeting (15/11/23)

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We have scheduled up to three  “New research idea” presentations at the PREDICT members meeting being held face to face and via ZOOM on Wednesday 15th of November 2023.

Do you have a proposal you would like to develop and present for feedback?

If so, please email the PREDICT research co-ordinator Catherine.wilson@mcri.edu.au, a 1 – 2 page proposal by Friday 15th September 2023.

The 3 researchers selected to present their idea will receive mentoring from one of the PREDICT Executive with relevant expertise.

Presenters will be given 5 minutes to present the idea with an extra 10 minutes for discussion and questions. Presentations will be confirmed by 13th October 2023 and presentation times given later on.

 

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Relocation of information on the PREDICT website

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You may have already noticed that the “Education” tab that was on the home page of our website is no longer there! 
This has been replaced by a tab for “Guidelines” and will soon house our paediatric head injury guidelines and our bronchiolitis guidelines. 

The information that was under the Education tab has been relocated in a couple of spots. 
Information about our “Research Higher Degree program” now sits under the “About Us” tab.
Information about “How to get started in Research” and our “Podcasts”  sit under the “Resources” tab (link). 

Outcome of PREDICT Executive voting

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Thank you to the PREDICT members who nominated to be part of the next PREDICT Executive and to those who voted. 
We were very pleased to have a broader list of nominees than previously and a total of 55 votes – which is a great result!

The PREDICT Executive for the next period is:

Chair – A/Prof Meredith Borland

Past Chair – Dr Stuart Dalziel

Vice Chair (1) – Prof Franz Babl

Vice Chair (2) – Dr Simon Craig

Treasurer – Dr Elliot Long

Secretary – Mrs Sharon O’Brien

 

We look forward to another productive era for PREDICT!

Call for Nominations RHD or RA

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This is a call for nominations to those interested in the Research Higher Degree scholar and Research Assistant positions on the PREDICT Executive.

These positions are open to eligible candidates for one – two years only.  They will be appointed by the current Executive.

What does being on the Executive involve:

    • A role on the Executive requires active involvement in approximately monthly meetings about the networks operations (4 x teleconferences and 4  x 1 day face to face meetings per year of which 3 are in Melbourne and 1 usually interstate, (expenses are paid to attend).  It also involves regular communication and response to issues as they arise on a weekly basis.
    • Previewing the executive agenda then actively participating in meetings to give an independent opinion, advice and decision making.
    • Make decisions that are in the best interest of the Network as a whole.
    • Bringing issues of importance to the network, to the meeting agenda for discussion.
    • Reviewing and commenting on new studies when presented to the Executive.
    • Act as an executive sponsor for approved projects maintaining oversite of study progress through the project principal investigator and steering committee
    • Following up on actions deemed necessary at the meetings.
    • Reviewing and commenting on issues via email / telephone in between meetings as required.
    • Reinforcing PREDICT research guidelines and policy with members locally.
    • Maintaining confidentiality in relation to sensitive issues discussed.

What to do:

If you wish to nominate yourself / or another, please express interest by COB 21st of November 2018 to catherine.wilson@mcri.edu.au

Indicate:
– Which position/s you wish to nominate for
– Your title and name
– Your craft group and current position held

Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA)

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Dear PREDICT members,

PREDICT is currently a member of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA).
ACTA supports and represents the investigator-led clinical trials sector in Australia. For the most part, ACTA members are organisations – CTNs, CTCCs and registries.

Please see below a link to enable you to sign up to the ACTA mailing list.  This will enable you to have more immediate access to their newsletter to keep you up to date with their activities and work on behalf of the sector.

Click here to sign-up for the ACTA mailing list.

Regards,

Cate Wilson
Research Network Coordinator

PERN Asthma Working Group – acute asthma guidelines

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Dear PREDICT research sites,

The PREDICT network is part of the global Paediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN, www.pern-global.com).

Recently, PERN has supported the formation of an Asthma Working Group, coordinated by Dr Simon Craig (at Monash Health).
One of the first studies for this group relates to international differences in clinical practice guidelines for acute exacerbations of asthma in children.

PREDICT would be very grateful for your help with this study.

To contribute, all you need to do is email a copy of your clinical practice guideline (and any supporting information such as background documents or literature reviews) to the following address:

scs-pern-asthma-research@monash.edu

Yours sincerely,

Simon Craig, on behalf of the PERN Asthma Working Group