Researchers' experience with project management in health and medical research: Results from a post-project review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Project management is widely used to deliver projects on time, within budget and of defined quality. However, there is little published information describing its use in managing health and medical research projects. We used project management in the <it>Alcohol and Pregnancy Project </it>(2006-2008) <url>http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy</url> and in this paper report researchers' opinions on project management and whether it made a difference to the project.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A national interdisciplinary group of 20 researchers, one of whom was the project manager, formed the Steering Committee for the project. We used project management to ensure project outputs and outcomes were achieved and all aspects of the project were planned, implemented, monitored and controlled. Sixteen of the researchers were asked to complete a self administered questionnaire for a post-project review.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The project was delivered according to the project protocol within the allocated budget and time frame. Fifteen researchers (93.8%) completed a questionnaire. They reported that project management increased the effectiveness of the project, communication, teamwork, and application of the interdisciplinary group of researchers' expertise. They would recommend this type of project management for future projects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our post-project review showed that researchers comprehensively endorsed project management in the <it>Alcohol and Pregnancy Project </it>and agreed that project management had contributed substantially to the research. In future, we will project manage new projects and conduct post-project reviews. The results will be used to encourage continuous learning and continuous improvement of project management, and provide greater transparency and accountability of health and medical research. The use of project management can benefit both management and scientific outcomes of health and medical research projects.</p

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Long-term atmospheric exposure to PCB153 and breast cancer risk in a case-control study nested in the French E3N cohort from 1990 to 2011

BackgroundAlthough the genetic and hormonal risk factors of breast cancer are well identified, they cannot fully explain the occurrence of all cases. Epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that exposure to environmental pollutants, especially those with potential estrogenic properties, as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may have a role in breast cancer development. Being the most abundantly detected in human tissues and in the environment, congener 153 (PCB153) is widely used in epidemiological studies as indicator for total PCBs exposure.ObjectivesWe aimed to estimate the association between cumulative atmospheric exposure to PCB153 and breast cancer risk.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study of 5222 cases and 5222 matched controls nested within the French E3N cohort from 1990 to 2011. Annual atmospheric PCB153 concentrations were simulated with the deterministic chemistry-transport model (CHIMERE) and were assigned to women using their geocoded residential history. Their cumulative PCB153 exposure was calculated for each woman from their cohort inclusion to their index date. Breast cancer odds ratios (ORs) associated with cumulative PCB153 exposure and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated using multivariate conditional logistic regression models.ResultsOverall, our results showed a statistically significant linear increase in breast cancer risk related to cumulative atmospheric exposure to PCB153 as a continuous variable (adjusted OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.08–1.31, for an increment of one standard deviation among controls (55 pg/m3)). Among women who became postmenopausal during follow-up, the association remained statistically significant (adjusted OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.09–1.39). In analyses by hormone receptors status, the positive association remained significant only for ER-positive breast cancer (adjusted OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.05–1.33).DiscussionThis study is the first to have estimated the impact of atmospheric exposure to PCB153 on breast cancer risk. Our results showed a statistically significant increase in breast cancer risk, which may be limited to ER-positive breast cancer. These results warrant confirmation in further independent studies but raise the possibility that exposure to PCB153 increase breast cancer risk.</div

Learning from projects

The 'learning organisation' is frequently emphasised in the literature and in practice, and this is particularly important for project-oriented organisations. However, experience tells us that organisations tend not to learn adequately from project experiences. This paper reviews some of the work seeking to model and explain the behaviour of complex projects, which explains why lessons are difficult to learn from such projects¾not the easy and obvious lessons but the lessons about complex non-intuitive project behaviours. From there it looks at why projects are frequently not reviewed, and seeks to offer practical proposals for carrying out reviews, using small models to enable lessons to be learned that provide understanding (rather than simply data), and distributing that learning around the organisation

Universelle und Selektive Prävention

Gesellschaftspolitisch genießt das Thema der Prävention psychischer Störungen mittlerweile höchste Priorität. Im Kap. „Universelle und selektive Prävention“ wird zu Beginn die Notwendigkeit präventiver Maßnahmen im Kindes- und Jugendalter untermauert. Anschließend werden Risiko- und Schutzfaktoren für die Altersgruppe vorgestellt. Der Begriff der Prävention wird in seinen verschiedenen Facetten definiert. Im Anschluss wird die Idee einer idealtypischen Entwicklung, Evaluation und Implementierung präventiver Maßnahmen erläutert. Im Mittelpunkt steht der aktuelle Forschungsstand in den Bereichen Essstörung, Angst und Depression sowie Suizidalität. Letztlich wird festgehalten, dass trotz der steigenden Forschungsaktivitäten im deutschsprachigen Raum der Beleg wirksamer Präventionsmaßnahmen als gering einzuschätzen ist. Dass eine intensive Beforschung notwendig ist, zeigt sich insbesondere darin, dass die erwünsche präventive Wirkung durchaus krankheitsauslösende Effekte besitzen kann