> Acute Low-back pain Implementing Guidelines into practice (ALIGN)
Acute low back pain is a common condition and, in combination, chiropractors and physiotherapists provide much of the care for the condition in Australia. The recent development and publication of National Health and Medical Research Council clinical practice guidelines for acute low back pain has provided recommendations with the potential to improve the quality of care and safety for people with acute low back pain. Particularly relevant messages of this clinical practice guideline are that x-rays are rarely needed and that patients should be advised to remain active. Visit our ALIGN project page for full details.
> Closing the gap between research and practice: using behavioural change theory to identify barriers to implementation of evidence-based guidelines
Despite growing amounts of evidence from high quality research to guide practice, many patients continue to receive treatments that are ineffective, harmful or of unproven effectiveness. Better uptake of existing evidence has the potential to significantly improve health care quality and safety in Australia and internationally. This study aims to identify the barriers related to practitioners’ attitudes, beliefs and intentions to implementing evidence and will test the utility of behavioural theory to predict implementation behaviour. This project will provide better information for targeting implementation strategies to identified barriers and will inform a model for research translation to help close the ‘research-practice gap’. Visit our Barriers to Evidence Uptake page for more information.
> Implementing a clinical practice guideline for acute Low-back pain management in general practice: the IMPLEMENT cluster randomised controlled trial
The recently released NHMRC-endorsed evidence-based clinical practice guideline for acute low-back pain management provides an opportunity to assess the effects of a targeted implementation strategy for use in general medical practice. This trial will assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an implementation strategy both at the general practitioner and patient level. Successful implementation of these guidelines will reduce the morbidity and cost of acute low-back pain. The trial will contribute to our knowledge about implementation strategies attempting to change clinical practice behaviour. Visit our project page for more information.
> Investigating Research Implementation Strategies in the care of people with dementia (IRIS)
The number of Australians with dementia is increasing and so is the frequency of people with dementia presenting to general medical practice. Most people with dementia are living in their family homes in the community. A recent evidence-based clinical practice guideline to inform the diagnosis and management of people with dementia, and support of their carers contains several key recommendations relevant to Australian GPs with the potential to improve the quality of care and quality of life for people with dementia and their families. Visit our IRIS project page for more information.
> South East Asia - Optimising Reproductive and Child Health in Developing Countries (SEA-ORCHID)
In 2000 it was estimated that over half a million women died in pregnancy or during childbirth, and that 98% of these deaths occurred in the developing world. This represents a striking health risk differential between richer and poorer nations. For women in Asia the lifetime risk of a maternal death is one in 65 compared with one in 1,800 for women in developed countries. Visit the SEA-ORCHID page for full project details.