Director of the Implementation Science component of Maridulu Budyari Gumal, Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) Platform, Professor Sandy Middleton commented on the high level of interest in the scheme. ‘This was the first time the Implementation Science Platform was able to offer seed grants and we received applications from a wide range of clinical specialities and disciplines’ said Professor Middleton. Over thirty applications were received, demonstrating the clear demand for implementation science research funding within SPHERE. The projects funded covered a range of clinical specialities including vascular disease, palliative care, heart failure and paediatrics. Successful applications represented six Clinical Academic Groups (CAG) - Respiratory, Sleep, Environmental, and Occupational Health; Palliative Care; Age and Ageing; Cardiac and Vascular Health; Cancer; and Early Life Determinants of Health. Two of the successful five projects included more than one CAG. Successful applicants also included two SPHERE academic partners - the University of Technology, Sydney and University of New South Wales, and included multidisciplinary nursing, medical and allied health teams. The grants aim to develop translational research knowledge and, in the future, encourage project teams to apply for larger grants including the Commonwealth’s Medical Research Future Fund and the New South Wales Translational Research Grants Scheme. The Implementation Science Platform looks forward to following the outcomes of these projects and their impact on the patient care following their completion by August 2022.
The successful applications for 2020 are:
Using behaviour change theory to drive scalability of the hand-held fan for chronic breathlessness.
Dr Tim Luckett
Faculty of Health, UTS
CAG: Respiratory, Sleep, Environmental, and Occupational Health; Palliative Care; Age and Ageing; Cancer
Implementation of Walking Tall against Vascular Disease for at-risk patients in a vascular clinical practice.
Dr Matthew Brodie
Biomedical Engineering, UNSW
CAG: Cardiac and Vascular Health
Improve knowledge of fatigue management in life-limiting illness: an implementation science m-Health project.
Dr Kat Urban
Head of Department, Palliative Medicine Staff Specialist
Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick NSW
CAG: Palliative Care
Healthier Wealthier Families: A pilot feasibility trial addressing child poverty through health care service delivery.
Dr Jade Burley
Research Associate
Faculty of Medicine, UNSW
CAG: Early Life Determinants of Health
The HF-PC Implementation project: meeting patient and/or carer needs in Heart Failure-Palliative-Care.
A/Professor Louise Hickman
Director of Palliative Care Studies
IMPACCT study, UTS
CAG: Cardiac and Vascular Health; Age and Ageing; Palliative Care
