Identifying the most appropriate study design is important for generating the best evidence to answer a clinical research question. A well-designed study will clearly identify a range of variables including the participant population, the intervention or exposure of interest and the outcomes to be investigated and how data will be collected. Understanding the various indications for different study designs is important for not only devising a new study but also for critically reviewing published studies.

This subject will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the principles and application of a variety of study designs in a clinical/medical setting. Key areas that will be covered include:

1. examining the range of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches such as

• experimental and quasi-experimental, cohort, cross-sectional and single-subject designs;
• participant observation, in-depth interviews, case-studies, focus groups and artefact analysis designs;
• screening, preventive and genetic/biomarker trials
• construction and administration of surveys and questionnaires and;
• the use of clinical bioinformatics, e-health and large population datasets.

2. strategies for matching study aims/objectives with selection of an appropriate study design
3. exploring sources of bias in research such as randomization, allocation, concealment and blinding and their relationship to the principles of internal and external validity
4. using published reporting guidelines (eg CONSORT statement) to aid in the design and reporting of a study
5. participant recruitment/retention/attrition, outcome measure selection and the application of power calculations
6. the principles of drug evaluation and regulation

It is critically important that you understand your responsibilities as a clinical researcher prior to undertaking any clinical research. These responsibilities originate from the very fundamentals – What is research? Why do we do it? How does it work? In this subject, we will discover the key responsibilities that apply to clinical research. Ensuring that clinical research is conducted ethically, as well as responsibly, is also very important. This importance goes beyond ‘simple’ compliance.

Data analysis methods are an integral part of modern clinical research. They are powerful techniques that enable researchers to draw meaningful conclusions from data collected through observation, survey, or experimentation.

However, data analysis is a huge discipline with different paradigms, schools of thought and alternative methodologies. Therefore consideration of the appropriate methods used must be undertaken when designing a study and selecting variables and groups.

This subject introduces students to the basic principles of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. It will provide a functional grounding in the theoretical concepts behind each type of analysis, as well as exploration of the interpretation of data and the difference, where applicable, between clinical vs statistical significance.

Medical research studies can be split into five distinct phases—conception, design, execution, analysis, and publication/reporting. The quality of a study is highly dependent on the selection of a proper study design and this in turn is determined by the research question to be answered.

This subject will introduce participants to the principles of research within a clinical (ie health) setting, in particular:

• turning an idea into a research question that is measurable and evaluable
• examine different study designs used in clinical/medical research
• selecting a study design appropriate to answering the research question
• refining a research question by examining the current literature through the construction of a 'literature review' of published scientific studies
• assessing the strengths, weakness and biases of qualitative and quantitative study designs commonly encountered in the medical literature
• literature searching and critical appraisal of published scientific

This subject provides individuals from medical and allied health professions (such as nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists etc) and others with a biomedical science-based background with a conceptual framework in research which is undertaken in clinical and medical settings. This subject serves as a basis for advanced study in the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research, the Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research and the Master of Clinical Research.

This subject examines the processes involved in planning a clinical research project from the research proposal development stage, to project management, implementation and research translation. This subject will introduce learners to different strategies for implementing a clinical research project and provides the foundational knowledge required for developing an effective clinical research program.

Intensive Teaching Period 1 (3 days):

• The development of clinical research proposal/grant
• Examination of potential regulatory requirements and ethical, legal and compliance issues.
• Construction of a business plan and budget for clinical research projects

Intensive Teaching Period 2 (3 days):

• Managing research projects and teams
• Intellectual property law: Legal considerations to translating new research findings

Intensive Teaching Period 3 (3 days):

• Explore the principles of knowledge translation and strategies for dissemination, engaging policy and decision makers and clinical guideline development.
• Evaluation strategies to determine effectiveness of a research translation strategy

This subject builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research, and builds towards the knowledge required for more detailed study in the Master of Clinical Research.

Topics covered include:

• Frontiers in clinical neuroscience research
• Expert briefings on the current research questions in epilepsy, intellectual disability and autism, stroke and multiple sclerosis
• Research methods in clinical neurological genetics
• How animal models can inform clinical neuroscience research
• Research methods in clinical neuropharmacology
• Brain development
• Neuroplasticity and neurotrophic factors research
• Research methods in neurodegenerative disorders
• Clinical trials methods
• How clinical research informs basic research and vice-versa
• Research methods in neurological epidemiology
• Research methods in neurological rehabilitation
• Translation of clinical research findings into practice

Topics covered include:

• Expert briefings on the current research questions in dementias, movement disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
• Major emphasis on cutting-edge human imaging techniques
• Cognitive functioning
• Research techniques in clinical neurophysiology
• Introduction to neuroimaging techniques
• Principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Practical demonstration of language functional MRI
• Structural MR imaging and clinical research applications
• Functional MR imaging and clinical research applications
• Analysis of MR imaging
• Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and research applications
• New frontiers in multi-disciplinary clinical neuroscience research

AIMS

This subject offers an overview of major health informatics methods and tools that contribute to quality improvement, scientific research and technological innovation in healthcare and biomedicine. The subject sets out the scientific foundations of digital health, and disciplined approaches to understanding the implications of digital health for health system performance.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

The subject is arranged in blocks of study that examine methods and tools for:

1. Integrating and analysing structured and unstructured health data, including: wrangling phenome, genome, exposome and other omics data; scaling up clinical, translational and population health research on platforms; approaching artificial intelligence in medicine through data analytics techniques and machine learning

2. Modelling and simulating the dynamics of health conditions and health services, including: building personalised and population-level models of health and disease; mapping patient journeys, clinical workflows, and health supply chains; creating immersive environments for healthcare system learning and research

3. Managing exponential growth in health and biomedical knowledge, including: increasing openness in research data life cycle management; automating processes of publishing, reviewing, and synthesising evidence; assuring the quality of electronic decision support for clinicians and patients; producing sophisticated forecasts and scenarios of the future of health

4. Undertaking digital health research and innovation projects, including: justifying a project in pragmatic and conceptual terms; drawing on existing practice and knowledge; specifying and staging work packages; meeting needs for partnerships and resources; assuring socially and ethically responsible conduct; reporting progress rigorously and communicating for impact.

AIMS

ICT is an important component to ensuring quality, safety, access and efficiency in healthcare. This subject introduces current approaches and future directions in eHealth and the use of ICT in healthcare generally as well as key concepts and tools from the underlying discipline of health informatics.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

Topics include electronic health records (EHRs); hospital and primary care and public health information systems; supporting clinical decision-making for health professionals through ICT; eHealth in the community for preventive healthcare and for patient and carer support; regulatory influences on eHealth including management and governance, privacy, security, and confidentiality; the role of data standards, vocabularies, and nomenclatures in eHealth; research and development in eHealth.

Information and communication technology is an important factor in quality, safety, access and efficiency in healthcare. This subject provides an overview of digital health and the influence of ICTs in clinical care, as well as in clinical research, population health and healthcare system planning.

Digital health current approaches and future directions are explored from the perspectives of health and biomedical sciences, information science and technology, management sciences, and behavioural and social sciences- that is, within major health informatics competency frameworks such as the Certified Health Informatician Australasia (www.healthinformaticscertification.com) and the American Medical Informatics Association (http://www.cahiim.org/hi/curriculumrequirements.html ).

In addition to providing a clinically-oriented introductory subject in the University’s Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health, it is also suitable for single subject enrolment by practising clinicians or postgraduate students in any clinical health profession.

Clinical trials are designed to test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease and are essential to discovering whether new healthcare interventions improve outcomes for patients. This subject will provide students a theoretical and practical understanding of the issues involved in the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of clinical trials, in particular the randomized controlled trial (RCT), and will build on the concepts introduced at the graduate certificate level. Fundamental concepts associated with the design, implementation and analysis of RCTs will be explored including selecting, recruiting and consenting study subjects, determination of study duration, comparing multiple groups and/or endpoints, designing randomisation protocols, study monitoring, quality assurance and early termination.

Delivery will be across three intensive teaching periods:

Intensive Teaching Period 1 (3 days)

Trial Design
Randomization, Blinding and Allocation
Outcome Selection

Intensive Teaching Period 2 (3 days)

Good Clinical Practice
Quality Assurance & Regulatory Processes
Study Management
Informed Consent

Intensive Teaching Period 3 (3 days)

Stakeholder Involvement
Compliance and Follow-Up
Data Storage, Management and Analysis
Clinical Trials in Rural/Remote & Vulnerable Populations

This subject provides individuals from medical and allied health professions (such as nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists etc) and others with a biomedical science-based background with a conceptual framework in design, development and conduct of RCTs. This subject serves as a basis for advanced study in the Master of Clinical Research.

The healthcare system requires leaders, and many clinicians anticipate taking on leadership positions, or find themselves in leadership roles, without any formal education in leadership. This can have negative consequences for the leader, colleagues, patients and healthcare organisations. The purpose of this subject is to provide clinical leaders (and aspiring leaders) with knowledge of leadership practices and the opportunity to implement this learning and acquire new skills. Subject content will be grounded in evidence-based knowledge produced by leadership scholars and practiced by leaders within healthcare organisations.

Topics covered will include:

• Styles of effective clinical leadership
• Leading successful and productive teams
• Conflict resolution and difficult conversations
• Emotional intelligence
• Ethical issues in clinical leadership
• Coaching and developing others

Teaching/learning formats include:

• Interactive facilitator presentations
• Case studies
• Group exercises
• Small team discussions of participant leadership challenges
• Participant presentations
• Guest speakers: senior clinical leaders who will share their leadership challenges and solutions

The informal exchange of insights and experiences among participants is a key aspect of learning.

Today's healthcare system is multifaceted, complicated and often resistant to change. This subject will examine strategies for leading change in clinical settings and healthcare organisations. Participants will learn how to build and lead change initiatives, as well as to access resources, negotiate with others and effectively deal with obstacles as they implement their innovative programs.

Topics covered will include:

• Developing and implementing change initiatives
• Leveraging funding within the healthcare system
• Negotiating to get what is needed from others
• Anticipating and overcoming obstacles to change

Teaching/learning formats include:

• Interactive facilitator presentations
• Case studies
• Group exercises
• Small team discussions of participant leadership challenges
• Participant presentations
• Guest speakers: senior clinical leaders who will share their leadership challenges and solutions

The informal exchange of insights and experiences among participants is a key aspect of learning.