MNHS researchers to lead four NHMRC 2024 Partnership Projects
Credit: NHMRC
Monash Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences researchers have been successful in obtaining four National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2024 Partnership Projects (PRC3) to lead projects that aim to answer specific research questions about the delivery, organisation, funding and access to Australian health services.
The projects will focus on optimising staff and patient safety in health and aged care, optimising maternal and neonatal immunisation outcomes, improving inpatient alcohol withdrawal treatment and transforming the delivery of acute cardiac care.
The Partnerships Projects scheme provides funding and support to create new opportunities for researchers and policymakers to work together to define research questions, undertake research, interpret the findings and implement the findings into policy and practice.
Find out more about our projects:
Associate Professor Natasha Brusco - Rehabilitation, Ageing & Independent Living Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care
Project: Risk Assessment for moving Individuals SafEly (RAISE) - optimising staff and patient safety
The health and aged care workforce are at risk of workplace injuries during staff-assisted patient or resident movement, and manual handling training alone does not reduce the risk. The new Risk Assessment for moving Individuals SafEly (RAISE) program is different, as RAISE also upskills staff in Dynamic Risk Assessment (DRA), which integrates with organisational systems to reduce or eliminate risks. Our work has shown RAISE-trained staff can effectively embed DRA into clinical practice.
Funding: $1,439,943.29
Professor Michelle Giles - Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health
Project: Optimising maternal and neonatal outcomes through data-driven, codesigned initiatives in maternal immunisation programs.
In Australia, there are up to four vaccines recommended in pregnancy- influenza, pertussis, COVID-19 and RSV. The aim of this research project is to tackle the suboptimal coverage in pregnancy by linking datasets to understand the factors contributing to low uptake, to work with these populations to co-design a maternal vaccine schedule, and to evaluate the implementation, effectiveness, and sustainability of the RSV combination program starting in 2025 to inform future RSV prevention strategies.
Funding: $1,491,392.80
Professor Victoria Manning - Turning Point, Eastern Health Clinical School
Project: Implementing Cognitive Bias Modification during inpatient withdrawal treatment to prevent alcohol relapse
‘Cognitive bias modification’ (CBM) is a form of computerised brain training that reduces urges to drink alcohol. Multiple clinical trials have found that CBM helps alcohol dependent patients avoid alcohol during the months after leaving inpatient treatment, yet it is still not used in clinical practice. This research project will develop and test ways to make it easy for treatment services to routinely offer CBM, both during and after residential treatment to optimise patient outcomes.
Funding: $1,499,118.61
Professor Dion Stub - Chronic Disease & Ageing, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Project: Transforming the delivery of acute cardiac care: Getting the right patient the right care at the right time and place
The project aims to transform emergency care in Australia by reducing hospital visits for common low-risk cardiac conditions. Using innovative prehospital assessments, virtual consultations, and establishing a Victorian Virtual Cardiac Clinic (VVCC), patients will be safely managed at home, avoiding ambulance transport and emergency department overcrowding. Two trials in low-risk chest pain and atrial fibrillation will evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and cost savings of this approach. The initiative promises faster care, improved patient outcomes, and significant healthcare system efficiencies. Supported by leading health organisations and consumer input, this model represents a shift toward personalised, sustainable, and patient-centred cardiac care.
Funding: $1,499,792
Congratulations to our researchers on their success. For more information about the NHMRC Partnership Projects (PRC3), visit the NHMRC website.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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