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Health Services Research Program

The Health Services Research Program provides important new evidence to inform policy and practice, thereby improving the quality of health care service and delivery in Australia. In 2003 $50 million of MREA funds was set aside for up to five calls for health services research grants.

Health Services Research Rounds 1 sought applications on economic and financial issues in health services, and Rounds 2 and 3 encouraged applications that addressed the National Health Priority Areas and the National Research Priorities and encouraged large projects that built capacity in health services research.  Round 2 also allowed for smaller scale projects over a short time frame.

Round Three

The call for research for Health Services Research Program (Round 3) was advertised in March 2006 and attracted forty-nine Expressions of Interest.  These were short listed by the Working Group with the assistance of a limited number of overseas experts and fifteen applicants were asked to submit detailed proposals.  The Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott, has approved funding for the following seven proposals:

Chief
Investigator

Administering Institute

Project description

Recommended Funding
(Over 5 years)

Professor Peter Cameron

Monash University

Using data to improve quality of health care.

$2,629,000

Professor Anthony Scott

University of Melbourne

Understanding the dynamics of the medical workforce to improve Population health and equity of access:  The Australian Longitudinal Survey of Doctors.

$2,133,430

Professor John McNeil

Monash University

Better targeting of preventative services using epidemiological modelling

$1,823,750

Associate Professor Dianne O’Connell

The Cancer Council of NSW

Patterns of cancer care for Indigenous people in NSW

$1,580,750

Professor Robyn Ward

University of New South Wales

Using clinical and economic evidence to inform local decision making in cancer care.

$1,575,750

Professor Simon Stewart

Baker Health Research Institute

Which Heart failure Intervention is most Cost-effective and consumer friendly in reducing Hospital care: The WHICH Study.

$878,702

Professor Lorna Rosenwax

Curtin University of Technology

Determining critical points in the potential palliative care pathway in the last year of life.

$344,000 (over three years)

Round Two

The call for research for Health Services Research Program (Round 2) advertised in May 2005 attracted seventy-seven Expressions of Interest. These were short listed by the Working Group. Eight applicants were asked to submit detailed proposals.

The Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott has approved funding for the following four proposals:

Chief
Investigator

Administering Institute

Project description

Recommended Funding
(Over 5 years)

Dr Alan CASS

The University of Sydney *

Improving health outcomes for Aboriginal Australians with chronic disease through strategies to reduce systems barriers to necessary care.

$2,800,000

Associate Professor Ian CAMERON

The University of Sydney *

Transition care: evidence and innovation. The project will develop and validate quality, cost and continuity of service indicators for transition care and service integration in different settings.

$2,900,000

Professor Stephen LEEDER

The University of Sydney *

Optimising prevention and the management of care for Australians with, or at risk of serious and continuing chronic illness. The project will prototype Cardio-Vascular disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in people aged 45 to 85.

$3,515,000

Professor Stephen DUCKETT

University of Queensland

Care pathways for older Australians with dementia, Cardio-Vascular Disease and Arthritis using existing data to provide information about outcomes for people assessed for aged care in hospital settings.

$622,000 (Over two years)

* While the Administrative Institution for three of the funded projects is the University of Sydney, these projects involve collaborations between researchers, clinicians and policy makers from universities, health research institutes, Area Health Services and Aboriginal Medical Service sites in five States and Territories.

Round One

The first call under this program focused on Financing and Economics of Health and resulted in the following three capacity building grants:

Chief
Investigator

Institute

Title

Total Funding
(Over 5 years)

Dr James Robert Gerard BUTLER

Australian National University

ACERH- Innovative Analysis of Health Insurance, Ageing and the Economic Burden of Illness and Injury

$4,500,000

See link to project website

 

http://www.acerh.edu.au/

 

Associate Professor Eric Theo VOS

University of Queensland

Guiding Intervention Choices to Reduce Health Costs, Health Inequalities, and Improve the Health of Australians: Avoidable Disease Burden and Cost-Effectiveness of Prevention.

$3,200,000

Associate Professor Anthony HARRIS

Monash University

Modelling the Economics of the Australian Health Care System for Policy Analyses

$3,500,000

Twenty six Expressions of Interest were received in February 2004 in response to a national advertisement on 11 October 2003. These were short-listed by the Working Group with the assistance of a limited number of overseas experts. Seven short-listed applicants were asked to submit a more detailed proposal, leading to the approval of the above three projects.

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