Australian Directory of Pre-Hospital Research

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The aim of this Directory is to capture the broadest possible Australian pre–hospital care research activity as a step towards making more readily accessible the emerging evidence-base for pre-hospital care in the dimensions of service delivery, clinical practice standards and provider education within the Australian context.

This project is based at the Monash University Centre for Ambulance and Paramedic Studies and was initiated in collaboration with the Medical Directors of all State and Territory Ambulance Authorities, including New Zealand. Initial financial support was received from the Laerdal Foundation in Acute Medicine, an international Foundation based in Norway, and Emergency Management Australia.

"Pre-hospital" implies an out-of-hospital location of practice, or interest. The intent is to capture the broadest possible input from individuals and agencies, be they government, private, or community based. Although traditionally the major pre-hospital emergency care provider has been the ambulance service, changes in mode of delivery now sees other agencies providing: emergency care as co-responders; non-emergency patient transport; and, first aid and disaster relief. There is also the continued contribution of the community-based organisations and other traditional providers. The Directory aims to be inclusive of all these activities and contributions.

"Research" is intended to be inclusive of:

• randomised controlled clinical trials;
• research projects which may be less rigidly controlled but which are nonetheless informative, including negative results and unpublished projects;
• clinical audit and quality improvement projects which enrich the understanding of pre-hospital care either in service delivery, clinical practice, or provider education;
• government and agency reviews of policies, management, operations or economics which have reshaped the pre-hospital care sector over recent years;
• literature reviews, be they a meta-analysis or a systematic review conducted to an acceptable protocol or a descriptive review of a particular operational, clinical or educational theme; and
• current standards, as a base to describe current practices.

The objectives of the directory are to:

• provide an up-to-date and accessible register of the number and type of projects recently completed and currently being undertaken in Australia;
• provide ready access to Australian research papers, published and unpublished;
• facilitate a network of pre–hospital care researchers in Australia;
• act as a catalyst to encourage research and minimise unnecessary duplication of projects;
• improve methodologies used in pre–hospital care research;
• provide a pathway for greater collaboration in pre–hospital research in Australia;
• link with international directories and research forums in this field; and,
• improve the evidence–base and help structure the body of knowledge relating to pre-hospital care in the dimensions of service delivery, clinical practice standards and provider education within the Australian context.

Completing the proforma is relatively self-explanatory and is available electronically.

Please feel free to add any additional information you may wish or, if you are not clear as to how to complete it for your particular project, please contact Mal Boyle, Paramedic Research Fellow, by phone: +61 3 9904 4176, fax: +61 3 9904 4168, or e-mail: Mal.Boyle@med.monash.edu.au.

This Directory of Pre-hospital Research in Australia is accessible through the Monash University Centre for Ambulance and Paramedic Studies web-site.