Issue #84 September 2009

The DEPM eNews is issued monthly, in pdf format with images. Each month's feature article on research can be accessed either through the pdf or its own link below.

Please send any comments and/or items for inclusion in future issues to: depmnews@med.monash.edu.au

Contents

1. SPHPM eNews 29 September 2009
2. Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative
3. MIHSR research output
4. Successful Grants
5. Awards, Promotions and Prizes
6. Visitors
7. PhD news
8. Course, conference, symposium reports
9. Articles published and Media Mentions
10. DEPM seminars forthcoming
11. Spring School Short Courses in Public Health and Clinical Research
12. CRE-PS Seminar 30 October
13. Master of Public Health (MPH) Courses - Information Night 4 November 2009
14. Gender and health meeting, Oct 14-17
15. PHAA and AEA joint workshop 5 November
16. Symposium Wed 21 Oct A/Prof Sharon Straus
17. 2009 Post Graduate Symposium 16 Nov 09 AMREP
18. 3 Dec short course "Human Factors": CRE-PS
19. Position Vacant - Research Fellow: closing date 5/10/09

SPHPM eNews 29 September 2009

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Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative

I am delighted to inform you that the Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative, which is mapping existing research in traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury and which is funded by the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative, has been invited to become one of 20 technical members of the WHO Health Evidence Network.

This accolade reflects the novel and important work the GEM Initiative is doing, in particular in bringing the research, clinical and policy communities together to develop methods for organising, appriaising and making available existing research evidence in broad content areas like brain injury for use by guideline developers, researchers and research funders in particular.

The GEM Initiative is a collaboration that involves Monash and Melbourne Universities, Alfred, Melbourne and Southern Health, NICS/NHMRC, and National ICT Australia (NICTA).

Technical membership will increase the GEM Initiative's visibility and will strengthen our engagement with the broader evidence-based medicine research community. I look forward to informing you more of this exciting development.

Russell Gruen
Professor of Surgery & Public Health, Monash University;
Director, The National Trauma Research Institute, Alfred Health;
Director, The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative.

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MIHSR research output

I was very pleased and proud to read the recent Southern Health Research Report, including sections on MIHSR, MIMR and Prince Henry's Institute (as parts of MHRP).

In particular, the data tabulated on publications (journal articles, book chapters, books, etc) for MIHSR (158 papers) was only marginally less than MIMR (220) and greater than Prince Henry's (about 130). The comparison is all the more rewarding when we compare the relative staffing levels between the three Institutes at the MMC campus.

This is an opportunity to thank all at MIHSR once more for your unstinting contributions over the past couple of years. Thank you all!

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Successful Grants

Chief Investigator: Professor Rinaldo Bellomo
Funding bodies: Grant from the VNI ($1.2M) and NHMRC ($1.8M)
Period of grants: 5 years 2009-2013
Grant administration: Australian & New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre, DEPM

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a devastating condition which affects close to 1,000 people each year in Australia, causes extensive long-term disability and suffering, and costs the country close to 1 billion dollars per year. Disability follows from primary and secondary brain injury. Erythropoietin (EPO) has recently emerged as a drug that may help reduce secondary injury and improve brain function. EPO-TBI is a 606 patients phase III double-blind randomised controlled trial to complete recruitment in 3.5 years commencing in February 2010.

Study Title: The prophylactic hypothermia trial to lessen traumatic brain injury – randomised controlled trial. (POLAR RCT)

Chief Investigator: Professor Jamie Cooper
Funding bodies: Grant from the VNI ($600,000) and NHMRC ($1,956,000)
Period of grants: 5 years 2009-2013
Grant administration: Australian & New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre, DEPM

In recent years there have been a number of trials investigating specific pharmacological interventions. However, to date none have been shown to improve patient outcomes. The application of hypothermia (cooling) is one treatment that shows promise. Cooling is thought to be neuroprotective in a number of ways. Animal studies and some recent clinical trials have suggested benefit. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest that cooling should be used as routine management. The POLAR trial will investigate if early instigation of cooling in patients with severe traumatic brain injury improves neurological function at 6 months post injury. The trial will involve ambulance services and hospitals in both Australia and New Zealand and will recruit 512 patients. It will commence in 2010 with an anticipated completion date in 2013.

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Awards, Promotions and Prizes

Prof Helena Teede, Head of Diabetes Unit - Southern Health and Director of Research - The Jean Hailes Foundation (MIHSR), has been appointed to the NHMRC's Health Care Committee. The function of the HCC is to provide the NHMRC with advice on clinical matters in health.

Helena was also awarded the Minister's Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement at the 2009 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards on Thursday September 10. Congratulations Helena!!

Judy Lowthian, DEPM PhD student, was one of six winners from the Faculty of Med, Nurs & Hlth Sci for the Monash University 2009 Higher Degree by Research Poster Exhibition. She submitted two posters:

• Increasing utilisation of emergency ambulances: a community need or community expectation; &
• Changes in the metropolitan workload of Ambulance Victoria: 1995 to 2005

Penny Robinson also was awarded a $200 AUS travel grant.

Pen awards for publication in a journal of IF>5

Rachelle Buchbinder: Buchbinder R, Osborne RH, Ebeling PR, Wark JD, Mitchell P, Wriedt C, Graves S, Staples M, Murphy B. A randomized trial of vertebroplasty for painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures. The New England Journal of Medicine 2009; 361: (6) 557-568 IF 50

Malcolm Sim, for his two papers:
Sim MR. Mortality and cancer from chemical weapons testing. BMJ 2009; 338: 725
Loomis D, Sim M. Change and continuity at OEM. BMJ 2009; 66 5: 281

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Visitors

“Inflammation, hsCRP, Statins, and Primary Prevention: Controversies and Implications of the JUPITER Trial”

How do you identify those at risk from stroke who don’t have high levels of cholesterol? And, once identified, what’s the case for primary prevention - should they take medication to prevent a probable stroke event? Nearly 1.7 million heart attacks and strokes occur annually in the United States, and more than half of these occur among apparently healthy men and women with average or low levels of cholesterol. In a collaborative effort involving 1,315 physicians in 26 countries, the JUPITER (Rosuvastatin to Prevent Vascular Events in Men and Women with Elevated C-Reactive Protein) Study sought to determine whether statin therapy might be effective at preventing first-ever cardiovascular events in this class of patient. Men and women at risk for vascular disease due to elevated levels of the inflammatory biomarker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) but who were not candidates for statin therapy under accepted guidelines were randomised to receive Rosuvastatin or placebo. The study was stopped after a median follow-up of 1.9 years as all pre-specified subgroups within JUPITER significantly benefitted from rosuvastatin. The study outcomes and implications were discussed in this talk.

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PhD news

The IPHU has a new Doctoral student, Marlien Varnfield who has been awarded a scholarship from CSIRO to complete a PhD on "Clinical Outcomes of an ICT-based home care model in primary and secondary prevention with lifestyle modifications for chronic diseases and mental health." Marlien will be located primarily in Brisbane but will be visiting in October to complete some course work with DEPM.

MSurg student, Luke Bonato, supervised by Belinda Gabbe. Luke’s thesis topic is: Outcomes after tibial plafond fractures:does the treatment approach matter?

Danny Hills, "What makes GPs and specialists entering rural practice stay? Impact of personal characteristics, community connectedness and sense of place", supervised by Catherine Joyce. Starting 01/10/2009

Dr Erwin Loh, currently Director of Medical Services at the Monash Medical Centre, is starting a PhD on “Mortality Review”, supervised by Caroline Brand. Started 29/09/2009

Completed

Nick Thomson Supervisor: Nick Crofts Title: Public health implications of amphetamine use epidemic in Northern Thailand. Nick is now Field Director, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. He will be giving a talk on Amphetamines, Prisons, Chlamydia and Moroccan Mud Wraps": reflections on a field based PhD in northern Thailand in DEPM on Dec 2.

Adrian Cameron, who gave a talk on 23 Sept, on his thesis topic The Metabolic Syndrome in Australia

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Course, conference, symposium reports

Lisa Demos and Loretta Piccenna attended this conference and have written a summary of some of the key points from the talks, below. For more information on presenters and topics visit:
www.crxconference.com/fullprogram.htm.

The presentations are available on the website at
www.crxconference.com/check.htm.

DHSS Indigenous Awareness Workshop – July 13
Staff of the School attended an Indigenous awareness workshop on July 13 as part of the Bachelor of Health Science Curriculum Development Workshops conducted by Mr Grant Sarra, a Queensland based teacher and facilitator for understanding of indigenous issues. The aim of the day was to increase awareness and knowledge of issues related to Indigenous Australians and to reflect upon how such issues might be represented and addressed in the new Bachelor of Health Science and the Honours curricula. See group photo in pdf download from 1st item.

2009 Annual Conference of the International Society of Behaviour, Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA)
by Rosanne Freak-Poli

The ISBNPA conference was held in Lisbon, Portugal from 17- 20 June [Ed: see great photo of participants being physically active in pdf download from item 1]. Over 600 attendees came together from more than 29 countries, 40 government agencies, industry and professional organizations as well as nearly 150 academic and medical institutions sharing a diversity of experience, expertise, and knowledge. It is the peak conference for behavioural research into nutrition and physical activity. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present a poster, titled ‘Evaluation of a Four-Month Low-impact Physical-activity Workplace Intervention’, to higher-level researches in my field. I benefited greatly from the conference and have summarised 12 key points [Attachment].

The abstract book is available to borrow if you are interested. Contact details: Rosanne.Freak-Poli@med.monash.edu.au ph 99030019.
Attached Files:
Clinical Research Excellence 09 summary.doc 44 KiloBytes
IBSPNA conference points.doc 61 KiloBytes

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Articles published and Media Mentions

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DEPM seminars forthcoming

14-Oct-09 12-1 pm AMREP seminar room
Dr Stephen Campbell, National Primary Care Research & Development Centre, University of Manchester:
Developing clinical quality indicators for primary care in Europe - what works and doesn't work for cardiovascular disease - a 10 country indicator development study

21-Oct-09 AMREP Classroom 2
Honours presentations
Zhongxiong Cai: Is higher mobile phone usage associated with the adolescents undertaking less physical activity and their weight
Venu Ariyatne: Determinants in the 30-day mortality in heart valve surgery

27-Oct-09 AMREP Classroom 2
PhD presentations
Megan Bohensky: Linking clinical & administrative data to evaluate intensive care outcomes
Pupalan (Balan) Iyngkaran: The renovascular axis in cardiovascular disease

28-Oct-09
Dr Lyle Gurran, University of Melbourne,
topic TBA

04-Nov-09
Dr Louise Phillips, Senior Research Fellow, Monash/ARCBS Transfusion Outcomes Research Collaboration (TORC)
Talking about TORC (Transfusion Outcomes Research Collaborative

18-Nov-09
Victor Hoe The CUPID study: risk factors for musculoskeletal and somatic symptoms and associated disability in workers;
Geraldine Lee The utility of the ECG in detecting and managing cardiovascular disease in South Africa: The heart of Soweto study

02-Dec-09
Dr Nick Thomson, Field Director, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA:
Amphetamines, Prisons, Chlamydia and Moroccan Mud Wraps": reflections on a field based PhD in northern Thailand

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Spring School Short Courses in Public Health and Clinical Research

Oct 12 - 13 Qualitative Research Methods
Dr Rosalie Aroni

Oct 14 Ethics and Good Research Practice
Dr Megan Brooks

Oct 15 Introduction to Stata
A/Prof Rory Wolfe

Oct 16 Survival Analysis with Stata
A/Prof Rory Wolfe

Oct 19 - 20 Chronic Disease Modelling
Dr Chris Stevenson

Oct 19 - 21 Intervention Mapping (IM): Developing theory- and evidence-based programs for health promotion and public health
Professor Guy Parcel

Oct 21 - 23 Biostatistics for Public Health and Clinical Researchers
Dr Baki Billah
Attached Files:
20090922 SPHPM Short course flier.pdf 479 KiloBytes

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CRE-PS Seminar 30 October

On Friday 30 October, the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Patient Safety (CRE-PS) in conjunction with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the Safe Medication Management Unit, Medication Services Queensland, Queensland Health is running a seminar titled;

"Strategies for improving medication safety in hospitals: the way forward".

The seminar will focus on:

• current strategies being implemented at national and state level (session 1);
• medication safety in the electronic age (session 2);
• managing high risk medication (session 3); and
• implementing what we know works (session 4)

CRE-PS is a not-for-profit NHMRC designated Centre of Research Excellence in Patient Safety. If you know of others who would like to receive notification of upcoming seminars or free subscription to our Australian Patient Safety Bulletin, please join our mailing list .
Attached Files:
Medication Safety seminar_Brisbane 30 October_final.pdf 390 KiloBytes

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Master of Public Health (MPH) Courses - Information Night 4 November 2009

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Gender and health meeting, Oct 14-17

Gender and Health Institute

Brochure

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PHAA and AEA joint workshop 5 November

AEA and PHAA are providing this important opportunity for students from all Victorian universities to meet and network, and to listen to and appreciate one other's work, and learn together. We will have time to discuss projects in early development, work in progress and completed projects.

Book tokens will be awarded for each of the best epidemiology and public health presentations.

La Trobe University City Campus, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne,
Thursday November 5, 2009, 9.30 - 4.00

Click on the link to download the flyer/registration/abstract form – Note, registration is free.

PHAA/AEA flier

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Symposium Wed 21 Oct A/Prof Sharon Straus

Her visit corresponds to the 3rd annual Melbourne Health "Evidence Week", during which she will launch a new Evidence based Practice (EBP) Australasian website. Dr Straus is giving several seminars at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. See:

1) Program for her visit, which includes biographical details.
2) Details of Symposium to be held at RMH on the afternoon of Wed Oct 21, arranged in cooperation with the National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS).

More information about Dr Straus's visit is available from Ms Kathleen Vincent, Board of Postgraduate Medical Education, Education Precinct, Ground Floor West, Main Building, The Royal Melbourne Hospital - City Campus. Tel: +61 3 9342 7394; Fax: +61 3 9342 4970; E-mail: kathleen.vincent@mh.org.au
Attached Files:
Aug 27 Sharon Straus NICS invite bio1.doc 1021 KiloBytes
Public Program Sep 4 SharonStrausProgram Summary 02-09-098.doc 74 KiloBytes

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2009 Post Graduate Symposium 16 Nov 09 AMREP

The symposium provides an opportunity for six nominated final year/completed PhD students to showcase their research projects and results. The speakers are:

• Betty Kafanelis, Medicine, Monash
• David Barton, Baker IDI, Monash
• Jacqueline Flynn, Immunology, Burnet, Monash
• Mehran Ghasemzadeh, ACBD, Monash
• Oanh Nguyen, Immunology, Monash
• Clare Westhorpe, Burnet, Monash
• Adrian Cameron, DEPM, Monash

Chair: A/Prof Rob Metcalf

All are welcome to attend. RSVP by 9 Nov for catering purposes to laisa.tigerea-thomson@med.monash.edu.au
Attached Files:
2009 POST GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM-2.pdf 157 KiloBytes

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3 Dec short course "Human Factors": CRE-PS

Human factors is very topical within healthcare, with lots of people talking about how it can offer opportunities for patient safety but much less so about how it can be utilised effectively, in a practical sense. This short course seeks to address this and give a clear introduction to human factors as a discipline, with an outline of some key methods and the chance - through group work - to discuss and debate opportunities and challenges for action within your organisational context.

For more details on the short course please see the attached flyer or go to our website: www.crepatientsafety.org.au

Places are limited to 40 attendees so to secure a place you should get in early. Kind Regards, Sue for Shelly Jeffcott.
Attached Files:
Human Factors Short December 3 2009.pdf 347 KiloBytes

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Position Vacant - Research Fellow: closing date 5/10/09

The Cochrane Public Health Review Group is currently advertising for a Research Fellow.

Position: Research Fellow, Public Health Review Group
Research Fellow to assist with the coordination and administration of the Cochrane Public Health Review Group (PHRG), including assisting with the editorial processes involved in review production, providing advice to authors conducting systematic reviews, developing and conducting training programs for review authors and assisting with methodological developments for conducting reviews of complex public health interventions.

This is a full-time role for 2 years with a salary in the range of $68,939 - $81,863 plus 9% superannuation.

A copy of the position description is available at www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/careers

Inquiries to Liz Waters, ewaters@unimelb.edu.au or Rebecca Armstrong armr@unimelb.edu.au

Closing Date: 05/10/09

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Items for the DEPM News are due The DEPM eNews is issued monthly, in pdf format with images. Each month's feature article on research can be accessed either through the pdf or its own link below..

Please send any comments and/or items for inclusion in future issues to: depmnews@med.monash.edu.au