Welcome to our winter newsletter.
It’s been a cold, wet start to the season but there’s lots happening at NSW Regional Health Partners (NSWRHP) to keep us energised.
We held our first Governing Board and Translation Committee meetings with our new partners in May and we’re excited to extend our work into western NSW. We will soon begin recruiting a new Consumer Engagement Officer and re-establishing our Consumer Advisory Committee. We’re also strengthening Consumer Connect, our online platform to link researchers and consumers, and partnering on a national research hub for consumer and community involvement in implementation research.
I am also delighted to advise that NSWRHP has been awarded $1 million through a 2025-26 Supporting Research Translation Centres Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). This grant will enable us to engage Research Translation Coordinators in our three rural Local Health Districts (LHDs) to provide practical research support to LHD staff and strengthen connections with our university partners. This grant will also support small research translation projects to address local health service problems, as well as our consumer involvement initiatives.
National Health and Medical Research Strategy review
I attended a meeting of the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) and its Rural Sub Committee in Canberra in May, where we were joined by Rosemary Huxtable, Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy review. Ms Huxtable attended these meetings seeking our input into the strategy.
I was pleased to speak on the research workforce in regional, rural and remote Australia, highlighting the importance of health service-led research and the need to strengthen research capacity and capability across rural Australia.
Our recommendations around place-based research, co-design with end users and the need for practical support for rural researchers was well received.
We highlighted the positive impact of a dedicated rural stream in MRFF grants and funding initiatives such as the NHMRC Supporting Research Translation Centres Grant, which was explicitly open to less experienced researchers.
Our second theme in the Rural Sub Committee meeting was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in rural research translation and the need to enable and meaningfully resource Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in research translation to improve health outcomes.
Our third priority was improving access to clinical trials in rural communities. This includes prioritising clinical trials infrastructure and supporting rural health professionals with skills and peer networks to increase their scope of practice.
We followed up with a number of case studies, demonstrating successful initiatives across rural Australia and have had very positive feedback. A draft of the review is to be provided to government by 30 June and the final strategy by the end of 2025. I am hopeful we will see some positive recommendations for rural research translation.
Cath Johnson recognised in King’s Birthday 2025 Honours List
Cath Johnson, our fabulous Clinical Trials Network Coordinator, has been honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). She has received this honour for her significant service to oncology nursing and research. We profiled Cath in our April 2024 newsletter. You can revisit it here https://nswregionalhealthpartners.org.au/2024/04/09/inside-our-clinical-trials-community-of-practice/
Until next time.
Cheers
Lisa
Lisa McFayden
General Manager | NSW Regional Health Partners
NSW Regional Health Partners Research Translation Grant Scheme
At the end of last year, NSWRHP launched a Research Translation Grant Scheme for health service-led research translation projects addressing local health service problems.
The scheme was coordinated by the Mid North Coast (MNC), Hunter New England (HNE) and Central Coast (CC) Local Health Districts (LHDs) and the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECCPHN).
Congratulations to the successful applicants:
- Roberta Power, MNCLHD: Implementation of a pain management education and coordination outreach service in Port Macquarie Hastings to improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain.
- Valerie Delpech, MNCLHD: Vaccination Innovation for Transforming Aged Care Lives (VITAL). Adapting and implementing a proven school-based nurse-led outreach program to residential aged care facilities.
- Vincent Cornelisse, MNCLHD: Liver Innovation and Vital Enhancements for Regional Clinical Access and Research Excellence (LIVER CARE). Improving the diagnosis, management and care of individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease.
- Simon Davidson, HNELHD: Testing a digital tool to support people waiting for outpatient orthopaedic consultations to make healthy lifestyle choices.
- Elizabeth Pepper, HNELHD: Co-designing and testing a John Hunter Hospital general neurologist led telehealth in-reach service to Manning Base Hospital to improve quality and efficiency of care for inpatients with neurological disorders.
- Ben Zwan, CCLHD: Feasibility of rapid-access single-fraction stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for cancer patients in CCLHD. Determining the feasibility of single-fraction SABR as an alternative to multi-fraction radiotherapy in CCLHD.
- Prue Neely, CCLHD: Overutilisation of Neuroimaging for Acute Dizziness in the Emergency Department. Measuring the clinical, financial and environmental impacts of the implementation of a novel digital clinical decision support tool.
- Fiona Morrison, CCLHD: Implementing ALICE across the Central Coast: A Program Evaluation. Undertaking a formative program evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the co-design, implementation and roll-out of the All Inclusive Care for Older People (ALICE) Program from an end user perspective in three Central Coast neighbourhoods.
- Michelle Redford, HNECCPHN: Hospital Liaison General Practitioner Service. Implementing and evaluating a Hospital Liaison General Practitioner Service in John Hunter Hospital.
Meet Mike Edwards – Chief Operating Officer, Rural Doctors Network
The Rural Doctors Network (RDN) has recently joined NSWRHP. We spoke to Mike about this new partnership and what drives his passion for rural health.
What is it about this new partnership that you are most excited?
Firstly, it was a real pleasure for RDN to be invited to join the partnership. Our organisation is almost 40 years old and has been built on partnering and networking. RDN has a unique position in navigating and operating at national, state and regional levels, but always basing itself on community-first principles. We strongly believe that good partnerships can lead to better health access and better health outcomes for remote, rural and regional communities.
Calling all regional and rural researchers and healthcare professionals!
We know good research leads to better outcomes and health services. To make sure this research addresses the needs of those living and working in regional and rural communities, it is important that you can have a say.
Here’s how you can help and get involved:
• Participate in developing research projects and grant applications: This will help ensure the real health needs of our communities are addressed. Support is available to help develop your ideas. For help or advice, please get in touch. To find an MRFF grant to support your work, go to the MRFF grant opportunities calendar.
• Nominate yourself to be a member of grant review panels: This will make sure the research that gets funded makes a significant impact on improving healthcare services and health outcomes in regional and rural locations. You can nominate here.
• Subscribe to the MRFF newsletter: This will keep you informed about new and upcoming grant opportunities. Subscribe here.
• Share your thoughts and ideas: By communicating your insights, we can better understand the support and investment required to address the needs of your regional and rural community.
If you would like more information or to discuss any of the above, please get in touch.
hnelhd-nswregionalhealthpartners@health.nsw.gov.au | nswregionalhealthpartners.org.au
James Fletcher Hospital, Wisteria Lodge, 72 Watt Street, Newcastle, NSW, 2300
We respectfully acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of the land and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We support action on climate change and advocate for research on how to protect and support the health of communities most vulnerable to climate change – those in regional and rural Australia.
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