Background
In late 2001 and early 2002 NICS offered a targeted grants program to support projects that explored ways to increase the use of current research knowledge in clinical practice.
There were 394 applications from organisations across Australia. All applications were assessed by a panel of experts, with specialist knowledge in relevant clinical areas and implementation expertise from across the Australian health care sector. Eighteen projects were selected for funding. Each project was awarded between $10,000 and $100,000, with the whole grant program totaling $1.2 million.
Projects were funded under three themes:
- Identifying or testing ways to increase the use of research knowledge
- Improving patient care by implementing existing research knowledge
- Reviewing research knowledge on uptake of known beneficial interventions
Projects were diverse with respect to the clinical setting, problem, scale and duration (12-25 months), with the completion of project work in mid 2004.
The clinical areas funded ranged from diabetes management in the Torres Strait to management of chemotherapy side effects in cancer.
Projects include:
- Investigations of barriers to the appropriate use of medications for people with schizophrenia
- Investigations of novel methods of accessing evidence such as information retrieval system structured around clinical questions and a health informationist service
- A number of multi-site implementation projects
A number of the funded programs, such as the 'Respecting Patient Choices' advanced care planning initiative, have subsequently undergone national implementation.
The Targeted grants abstract booklet describes the funded projects: