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

Collaborating with consumer and community representatives in health and medical research in Australia: results from an evaluation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To collaborate with consumer and community representatives in the <it>Alcohol and Pregnancy Project </it>from 2006-2008 <url>http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy</url> and evaluate researchers' and consumer and community representatives' perceptions of the process, context and impact of consumer and community participation in the project.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We formed two reference groups and sought consumer and community representatives' perspectives on all aspects of the project over a three year period. We developed an evaluation framework and asked consumer and community representatives and researchers to complete a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the project.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifteen researchers (93.8%) and seven (53.8%) consumer and community representatives completed a questionnaire. Most consumer and community representatives agreed that the process and context measures of their participation had been achieved. Both researchers and consumer and community representatives identified areas for improvement and offered suggestions how these could be improved for future research. Researchers thought consumer and community participation contributed to project outputs and outcomes by enhancing scientific and ethical standards, providing legitimacy and authority, and increasing the project's credibility and participation. They saw it was fundamental to the research process and acknowledged consumer and community representatives for their excellent contribution. Consumer and community representatives were able to directly influence decisions about the research. They thought that consumer and community participation had significant influence on the success of project outputs and outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Consumer and community participation is an essential component of good research practice and contributed to the <it>Alcohol and Pregnancy Project </it>by enhancing research processes, outputs and outcomes, and this participation was valued by community and consumer representatives and researchers. The National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia expects researchers to work in partnership and involve consumer and community representatives in health and medical research, and to evaluate community and consumer participation. It is important to demonstrate whether consumer and community participation makes a difference to health and medical research.</p

Attitudes and behaviour predict women's intention to drink alcohol during pregnancy: the challenge for health professionals

Background. To explore women's alcohol consumption in pregnancy, and potential predictors of alcohol consumption in pregnancy including: demographic characteristics; and women's knowledge and attitudes regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy and its effects on the fetus. Methods. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey via computer assisted telephone interview of 1103 Australian women aged 18 to 45 years. Participants were randomly selected from the Electronic White Pages. Pregnant women were not eligible to participate. Quotas were set for age groups and a minimum of 100 participants per state to ensure a national sample reflecting the population. The questionnaire was based on a Health Canada survey with additional questions constructed by the investigators. Descriptive statistics were calculated and logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations of alcohol consumption in pregnancy with participants' characteristics, knowledge and attitudes.Results. The majority of women (89.4%) had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months. During their last pregnancy (n = 700), 34.1% drank alcohol. When asked what they would do if planning a pregnancy (n = 1103), 31.6% said they would consume alcohol and 4.8% would smoke. Intention to consume alcohol in a future pregnancy was associated with: alcohol use in the last pregnancy (adjusted OR (aOR) 43.9; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 27.0 to 71.4); neutral or positive attitudes towards alcohol use in pregnancy (aOR 5.1; 95% CI 3.6 to 7.1); intention to smoke in a future pregnancy (aOR 4.7; 95% CI 2.5 to 9.0); and more frequent and higher current alcohol consumption. Conclusions. Women's past pregnancy and current drinking behaviour, and attitudes to alcohol use in pregnancy were the strongest predictors of alcohol consumption in pregnancy. Targeted interventions for women at higher risk of alcohol consumption in pregnancy are needed to change women's risk perception and behaviour

A collaborative yarn on qualitative health research with Aboriginal communities

In this paper, we reflect on our collective knowledge and experience of qualitative health research in Aboriginal communities, and seek to provide guidance for researchers who are new to undertaking research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The group reflections which led to this paper commenced with an intensive 2 day national workshop entitled ‘Qualitative research with Aboriginal communities: methodologies, experiences and challenges’ in November 2016. The workshop was held at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia, and hosted by the Kulunga Aboriginal Research Development Unit (KARDU) and the Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children (CRE-ICHEAR). The workshop brought together experienced and emerging Aboriginal researchers to lead an exploration of how to use qualitative methods to undertake health research which improves the lives of Aboriginal people

Consensus diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Australia: a modified Delphi study

Objective: To evaluate health professionals' agreement with components of published diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in order to guide the development of standard diagnostic guidelines for Australia. Design: A modified Delphi process was used to assess agreement among health professionals with expertise or experience in FASD screening or diagnosis. An online survey, which included 36 Likert statements on diagnostic methods, was administered over two survey rounds. For fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), health professionals were presented with concepts from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), University of Washington (UW), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), revised IOM and Canadian diagnostic criteria. For partial FAS (PFAS), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD), concepts based on the IOM and the Canadian diagnostic criteria were compared. Setting/participants: 130 Australian and 9 international health professionals. Results: Of 139 health professionals invited to complete the survey, 103 (74.1%) responded, and 74 (53.2%) completed one or more questions on diagnostic criteria. We found consensus agreement among participants on the diagnostic criteria for FAS, with the UW criteria most commonly endorsed when compared with all other published criteria for FAS. When health professionals were presented with concepts based on the Canadian and IOM diagnostic criteria, we found consensus agreement but no clear preference for either the Canadian or IOM criteria for the diagnosis of PFAS, and no consensus agreement on diagnostic criteria for ARND. We also found no consensus on the IOM diagnostic criteria for ARBD. Conclusions: Participants indicated clear support for use of the UW diagnostic criteria for FAS in Australia. These findings should be used to develop guidelines to facilitate improved awareness of, and address identified gaps in the infrastructure for, FASD diagnosis in Australia

Promoting Abstinence From Alcohol During Pregnancy: Implications From Formative Research

This research developed messages to promote abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy and identified elements that enhance message persuasiveness. An exploratory phase was conducted in 2009 that comprised four focus groups with 23 women in Western Australia and elicited beliefs and attitudes on alcohol use during pregnancy and motivations for behavior change. Four television concepts were subsequently developed and appraised in five focus groups with 31 participants using standard advertising pretesting questions. The implications for campaigns addressing prenatal alcohol exposure and further research are noted and limitations discussed. Funding was received from Healthway and the National Health and Medical Research Council

Health Professionals Addressing Alcohol Use with Pregnant Women in Western Australia: Barriers and Strategies for Communication

Health professionals have an important role to play in preventing prenatal alcohol exposure. In 2006 qualitative data were collected from 53 health professionals working in primary care in metropolitan and regional Western Australia. Thematic analysis was used to elucidate barriers in addressing prenatal alcohol use and the strategies used to overcome them. Health professionals identified strategies for obtaining alcohol use information from pregnant women but they are not recognizing moderate alcohol intake in pregnant women. Study limitations are noted and the implications of the results are discussed. This research was funded by the Health Promotion Foundation of Western Australia