Research Areas of Interest

Particular strengths in the following areas of research:

Mental Health

A number of externally-funded research projects are being conducted into various aspects of the assessment and management of depressive and anxiety disorders, in particular. Examples of these projects include an evaluation of internet-based treatment for panic disorder, a national study into the assessment and management of depression by GPs, and a project (with ANU and other universities) to construct an interactive website for the prevention of depression. In addition, the Department has been successful in obtaining funds for a project aimed at improving GP recognition and screening of depression among older people in residential care.

Developmental Disability

The Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria is actively researching many areas pertaining to the developmentally disabled. These include mental health (particularly depression), sexuality and human relations, health and well-being, and challenging behaviours. The needs of people with developmental disabilities in rural areas are a particular focus of study. There are also research programs involving people with Down syndrome.

Medical Education Research

Assessment of medical education programs is a strong area of research within the Department. Previous projects include evaluation of distance education and graduate certificate courses for general practitioners, development of a mentoring scheme for female academic staff, and the assessment of behavioural characteristics of final year medical students.

Health and Medical Services

The Department of General Practice is involved in health services research and development, offering programs for general practitioners and divisions of general practice that promote the integration of evidence based medicine, continuous quality improvement, and informatics in primary care. Projects cover doctors' health, promoting the use of computers in general practice to obtain clinical information, and studying the role of general practitioners and aged care service providers in primary care of the elderly.

A number of developing areas of research strengths, these include:

Cardiovascular Health and Illness

Past and current projects include rural cardiovascular disease prevention programs, sponsored clinical trials investigating treatment regimens, CD-ROM assisted management of hypertension in general practice, and development of a system for reducing hospital admissions in chronic heart failure patients. More recently, the department has been involved with BP (Australia) in the evaluation of an internet-based heart health program.

Stress and Lifestyle

Members of the department have produced a number of publications in leading journals on how to manage stress and live a healthy lifestyle.

Ageing

A number of research projects are being conducted with the elderly, for example, how GPs diagnose and manage depression in nursing home residents.

Family Violence

Members of the department are active in researching family violence and child abuse. A number of these projects are in collaboration with the Department of Social Work, Monash University.

Men's Sexual Health

Members of the department are involved with Andrology Australia in research projects focusing on causes and treatment of men's sexual problems, including erectile disorder.

Medical Ethics

A number of the department's research projects and publications have focused on ethics in medical research and practice.

Has strengths in the following methodologies:

Use of Computers in General Practice and Primary Health Care

There are particular strengths among both behavioural and medical scientists in the department on the use of computer-based methods. Staff are active in externally-funded research projects investigating these uses of IT, they are collaborating with other universities and with divisions of general practice, and they are members of national committees and research groups on the uses of e-health and e-mental health. Our internet based education and treatment programs are located at:
www.med.monash.edu.au/mentalthealth/

Research Methodology

The multidisciplinary nature of general practice research requires the application of various research methods. Analysis may be quantitative, for example when comparing treatment regimens in hypertension or chronic bronchitis. Alternatively, qualitative research methods including interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires are used in the analysis of other projects.

Furthermore, the Department of General Practice offers graduate courses with research components to GPs. The Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine provides an appreciation of general practice research and how it differs from other disciplines, while the Masters of Family Medicine equips candidates with the skills to pursue part or full-time careers in academic general practice. The graduate course subject 'Introduction to Research Methods' can be taken alone as a weekend workshop. The department also offers non-award courses, such as the Survey Design course, for division staff and other health professionals.

Go to the Research Projects page for more information on funded projects undertaken by the Department of General Practice.