Current scholarships
Pharmaceutical use and health outcomes
The pharmaceutical share of health costs is substantial and growing exponentially. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) costs ~$6.5 billion annually. The National Health Priority Areas (NHPA) initiative is a collaborative effort involving the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and is focused on those areas that contribute significantly to the burden of illness and injury and have the potential for health gains and reduction in the burden of disease. Seven different health areas have been identified and account for 80% of total burden in Australia: arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions; asthma; cancer control; cardiovascular health; diabetes mellitus; injury prevention and control; and mental health. We wish to examine the relationship between the use of pharmaceuticals on the PBS and health outcomes in the NHPAs.
This scholarship provides an opportunity for students to gain exposure to analysis of pharmaceutical utilisation data and the link to diseases and potential health improvements. The Queensland Evaluation Group is one of the agencies that evaluate submissions for new drugs to be listed on the PBS.
Typical tasks involved in this project may include literature searching (e.g. Medline) and the analysis of data from large databases such as Medicare Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other health and medical databases. The successful applicant may also interpret and report on trends in use and their links to other health care interventions and events. The project outcome would be an analysis and interpretation that will be written up as a report or paper for publication.
Start date: Between November 2008 –February 2009
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Background in health, medicine, statistics or economics. Experience with Excel is essential and experience with literature searching would be an advantage.
More Information: Samantha Hollingworth (s.hollingworth@uq.edu.au), (07) 3365 5516
Effects of a comprehensive health assessment programme for adults with Down's syndrome
People with Down's syndrome constitute approximately 0.5% of the population. They die prematurely, and often have a number of unrecognised or poorly managed medical conditions as well as inadequate health promotion and disease prevention. This project will use data from two RCTs to assess the effectiveness of a health assessment programme. The programme promoted the systematic gathering of a health history, a guided health history and development of a health action plan, and was designed to enhance interactions between the adult with Down’s syndrome, their carer and their GP.
The key tasks would be
- Medline search for appropriate literature
- Investigation of existing data collected by project teams at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability
- Statistical analysis
- Writing up the findings in an appropriate format
The intended outcome is to provide a piece of original research suitable for publication.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Some experience of multivariate analysis would be advantageous.
More information: Robert Ware (R.Ware@uq.edu.au)
Adults with intellectual disability from non-English speaking backgrounds – just what is the real picture?
There is a very little literature about the cultural background of adults with intellectual disability in Australia. This project will use existing data from RCTs conducted by the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability to develop a picture of the cultural background of this population and examine how this background affects their intellectual disability, health status, and access to, and use of, health systems.
The key tasks would be
- Medline search for appropriate literature
- Analysis of data collected over two RCTs
- Writing up the findings in an appropriate format
The intended outcome is to provide a piece of original research suitable for publication.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Good analytic skills would be advantageous.
More information: Robert Ware (R.Ware@uq.edu.au)
The impact caring for an adult with intellectual disability has on their family-based carers
There is limited information on the impact looking after adult children with intellectual disability has on family-based carers. This project would include the analysis of cross-sectional data which consider the carer’s attitudes to their child’s disability and health status, and the personal, financial and social stresses that care-giving has placed on them.
The key tasks would be
- Medline search for appropriate literature
- Analysis of data collected by project teams at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability
- Writing up the findings in an appropriate format
The intended outcome is to provide a piece of original research suitable for publication.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Experience in qualitative research methods would be an advantage.
More information: Robert Ware (R.Ware@uq.edu.au)
Compliance states of people with developmental disability in a cluster randomised control trial
In many studies where a new treatment is compared with a target treatment, the treatment the participant receives is not always the treatment they were assigned – that is, compliance is imperfect. This occurs frequently, as it is often impractical and unethical for an experimenter to enforce compliance on a participant. This project involves the implementation of Bayesian methodology for causal inference for the effect of being randomised to the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (a health assessment, advocacy and education process) versus being randomised to the control group. In particular we wish to use data from a RCT to classify participants according to their underlying compliance state (that is, whether someone would always, never or sometimes comply with advice given by their GP).
The key tasks would be
- Review of methodology
- Programming a Gibbs Sampler algorithm (a type of Monte Carlo Markov chain)
- Writing up the findings in an appropriate format
The intended outcome is to provide a piece of original research suitable for publication.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: A good statistical background and programming skills are essential.
More information: Robert Ware (R.Ware@uq.edu.au)
Researching Health Care & Public Policy for the New Millennium
This project aims to provide a thorough evidence base for researching health care and public policy in the new millennium in Australia within an international context, including consideration of the implications of the change of government federally in November 2007. It will contribute an up-to-date literature review and collection of policies and data relevant to three key fields:
- The Health Workforce
- Public Health
- Health Services for Disadvantaged Groups
Key tasks: The key tasks would be:
- Electronic database searching, including Medline
- A search for relevant recent monographs
- Web-based searches for grey literature, especially state/territory and Australian health department annual reports and key policy documents
- Secondary data collection through AIHW, WHO, World Bank and other sources.
Intended outcomes: The intended outcome is to provide a thorough, up-dated literature search on 3 key aspects of health care and public policy in Australia. Related possible outcomes would include identification of a gap in the literature and/or problem suitable for enrolment in further study, including postgraduate coursework or a master’s by research or a PhD; a scholarship application; and a draft paper for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Reference: Short, S.D. and Palmer, G.R. (2000) ‘Researching Health Care and Public Policy’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 450-1.
Preferred start date: November 2008
Project length: 6 weeks
Required skills:Good understanding of the Australian health care system and/or policy analysis, and experience in literature searching and accessing health services-related data.
More Information: Dr Stephanie Short s.short@uq.edu.au 07 33464639
Does the presence of diabetes affect survival of people diagnosed with cancer? A systematic review
This project will involve a comprehensive literature search and analysis of all available publications cancer outcomes in subjects that have co-existent diabetes.
The key tasks are:
Medline search
Analysis of Cochrane and other databases
Web-based searches for grey literature
Redefinition of study question (eg: to all cancer types, to types where incidence is are known to be linked to type 2 diabetes, to all types of diabetes, depending on availability of data)
Analysis of data using established meta-analysis methodology
Documenting methodological issues surrounding the data extraction
Writing up the findings in an appropriate format
Discussing the implications of the findings
Discussing the limitations of the study
Preparing the manuscript for publication
If positive, preparing a policy overview for dissemination to medical staff caring for older subject, cancer subjects and people with type 2 diabetes
Required skills
Skills in literature and data retrieval
Some knowledge of basic disease processes would be helpful
Start date: Between November 2008 and February 2009
More information:Dr. Jennifer Martin, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital,
Email: j.martin4@uq.edu.au phone: 0405341676. Associate Professor Michael Coory, School of Population Heath, email: m.coory@uq.edu.au phone: 0409 578 577
Weight loss as a prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the PET era
This project will involve a retrospective review of case notes of patients studied with FDG PET prior to undergoing radical treatment for NSCLC. The survival will be recorded and the presence or absence of weight loss noted. The aim would be to guide the rational use of a limited resource (FDG PET scanning) in advanced lung cancer patients.
The key tasks would be:
- 1. developing a protocol
- 2. developing a case record form
- 3. submitting an ethics application
- 4. reviewing the databases of the PET centre (RBWH) and cancer care services (RBWH) as well as The Prince Charles Hospital
- 5. reviewing the patient notes and extracting the information
- 6. analysing the data
- 7. preparing a manuscript
It is hoped that 1-3 will be completed before the start of the studentship.
Start date: mid November 2008 or early Jan 2009
Project length: Approx six weeks
Required skills: Ability to extract the required information from medical records. Experience in clinical research would be an advantage
More information: Dr Mike Fay, Radiation Oncology, Royal Brisbane Hospital ph 07 3636 7722 (Michael_Fay@health.qld.gov.au) Michael Coory, School of Population Health, University of Queensland ph 0409 578 577 (m.coory@uq.edu.au)
Ciguatera Fish Poisoning, Ecology and Health
This project comprises two complementary components: It will involve a comprehensive literature search of available English and/or French language sources on the incidence and distribution of ciguatera fish poisoning in the Pacific; and it will compare the resultant data with existing models of the environmental determinants of the occurrence of human cases (eg. Hales, Weinstein and Woodward 2001: Ciguatera , El Niño, and Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures, Ecosystem Health 5: 20-25).
The key tasks would be:
Searches: Medline search, Web-based searches, Contacting key informants.
Correlations: Simple univariate/multivariate exploratory correlations of the data sets collected, with a view to generating hypotheses for more detailed epidemiological study.
Report writing: Findings will be synthesised in the form of a report and/or research proposal.
Outcomes:
The student will receive a short experience of working on a multidisciplinary research project from the literature review stage, through data analysis, to final report writing. A brief article for publication in Pacific Health Dialog will also be considered.
Start date: Early January 2009
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Computer literacy and familiarity with library and Wed-based search strategies; competence in basic statistics; good writing skills. Previous study of ecology and/or French would be a strong advantage.
More information: Professor Philip Weinstein (p.weinstein@uq.edu.au)
Review of methods used to measure community drug use
This project will involve a comprehensive literature search of available English language sources on the topic of current and emerging methods for measuring community drug (licit and illicit) use, such as population surveys, police drug seizures, prescription monitoring systems and wastewater (sewage) analysis for drug residues and metabolites. The review will need to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
The key tasks would be
· Search of appropriate databases covering medical, public health, chemistry and environmental fields
· Write a literature review on the topic suitable for publication in a relevant journal
The applicant may also be invited to assist with a large research project exploring the application of wastewater (sewage) analysis for monitoring community drug use.
The intended outcome is to produce a journal article.
Start date: November-January
Project length: Approximately six weeks with possibility of up to 12 weeks
Required skills: Experience in literature search processes. Experience in writing literature reviews or writing for publication would also be an advantage. A background in environmental health/environmental science/environmental chemistry or a related field would be an advantage, but not essential.
More information: Dr Coral Gartner (07 3365 5543/ c.gartner@sph.uq.edu.au) or Professor Wayne Hall (07 3365 5330 / w.hall@sph.uq.edu.au) or Professor Phil Weinstein (p.weinstein@sph.uq.edu.au), or Dr Stuart Kinner (07 3365 5492/ s.kinner@sph.uq.edu.au).
This project will involve adapting an existing Excel model which projects future Australian smoking prevalence to other countries (eg USA, Canada). The applicant will need to download the necessary country specific smoking prevalence data from government websites and then adapt the existing model to the new data.
The key tasks would be
· Search of government websites (USA, Canada) for historical smoking prevalence data
· Enter the data into the Excel workbook model
· Adjust formulae in the Excel workbook to fit the data
· Run the model with a bootstrapping program
· Create graphs and tables with the results
· Contribute to writing the journal article
The intended outcome is to produce a journal article reporting the results and comparing them to those obtained with the original Australian model.
Start date: November-January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Experience in locating information on the internet. Experience and intermediate/advanced skills in using Excel are required. Experience with bootstrapping and mathematical simulation models would be an advantage, but not essential.
More information: Dr Coral Gartner (07 3365 5543/ c.gartner@sph.uq.edu.au) or Professor Wayne Hall (07 3365 5330 / w.hall@sph.uq.edu.au) or Associate Professor Jan Barendregt (07 3365 55584 / j.barendregt@sph.uq.edu.au)
Secondary analysis of national household survey data on drug, alcohol and tobacco use
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey is conducted every three years and is Australia’s largest population based survey of drug and alcohol use. This project will involve conducting various secondary analyses using data from the previous three surveys to look at drug and alcohol use patterns.
The key tasks would be
· Conduct various bivariate and multivariable analyses
· Construct tables and graphs to display the results
· Assist with writing a journal article based on the results
The intended outcome is to produce a journal article reporting the results.
Start date: January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Experience in quantitative data analysis using statistical software (SPSS or STATA) is essential.
More information: Dr Coral Gartner (07 3365 5543/ c.gartner@sph.uq.edu.au) or Professor Wayne Hall (07 3365 5330 / w.hall@sph.uq.edu.au)
Smoking prevalence in Australian medical practitioners and medical students
This project will involve conducting a literature review and writing a research plan for a study to measure tobacco smoking prevalence in Australian medical practitioners and current medical students. The prevalence of smoking in medical practitioners is commonly used as a measure of how advanced a country is in terms of tobacco control. As the most recent survey of smoking in the Australian medical profession was conducted more than 10 years ago, this project will contribute valuable information on this useful measure.
The key tasks would be
· A search of the literature relevant to smoking among the medical professions
· Write a literature review
· Contribute to designing the research plan to collect the data
· Design a questionnaire to be used in the survey
· Write a human research ethics application for the study
The intended outcome is to design a research project and associated study materials for data collection in 2009. The successful candidate will also be invited to assist with the data collection and analysis in 2009 and co-authoring a journal article from the results.
Start date: November-January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Literature search skills. Previous experience in questionnaire design and data collection would be an advantage.
More information: Dr Coral Gartner (07 3365 5543/ c.gartner@sph.uq.edu.au)
Social Health Insurance Reform in Uganda
The Ugandan Ministry of Health has recently announced its intention to introduce Social Health Insurance in line with the health reforms that have been going in the country over the last 20 years. In light of the governance problems especially corruption, a limited formal sector (about 12% of population), a system that is over-burdened with among other diseases, HIV, low literacy and other problems characteristic of developing countries, this project will involve a literature review on social health insurance in developing countries and a summary review of the main characteristics of the health system and the social health insurance reform in Uganda.
The key tasks would be
· Search academic databases for a literature review on health insurance
· Compile and review available documentation on the current health system in Uganda
· Review the social health insurance reform to be implemented in Uganda
The intended outcome is to contribute to a journal article for publication.
Start date: December
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Basic quantitative analytical skills, experience in literature review, basic knowledge of health financing issues, basic knowledge of health policy analysis. Knowledge of the Ugandan health system would be an advantage.
More information: Dr Eliana Jimenez (07 3365 64657 /e.jimenez@sph.uq.edu.au)
Tobacco Harm Reduction Using Smokeless Tobacco
This project will involve primary data collection from approximately 200 smokers who have previously participated in a study of interest in using smokeless tobacco products as a substitute for smoking cigarettes. This study will assess their willingness to pay for smokeless tobacco products.
The key tasks would be
· Re-contacting participants via email and/or mail.
· Data entry and analysis
· Create tables with the results
· Contribute to writing the journal article
The intended outcome is to produce a journal article reporting the results.
Start date: December-January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Basic data analysis skills and experience in using statistical software such as SPSS or STATA.
More information: Dr Eliana Jimenez (07 3365 64657 /e.jimenez@sph.uq.edu.au) or Dr Coral Gartner (07 3365 5543/ c.gartner@sph.uq.edu.au)
Millenium Development Goals 4 & 5 – Review of existing costing tools
The Fourth and Fifth Goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 (MDGs 4 & 5) call for very substantial reductions in child and maternal mortality by 2015. Effective, low-cost interventions are available to achieve these goals, but intervention coverage continues to be low in many countries, disproportionately affecting the poor. However, without increasing available funding and improving their allocation, MDGs 4 & 5 will not be met in the Asia and Pacific regions and progress that is made is likely to be inequitable. This project will involve a review of tools currently used for costing the scaling-up of Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health interventions.
The key tasks would be
· Examine the costing tools developed by the Futures Institute and those currently listed by the Partnership for Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (PMNCH)
· Comparative analysis of the main modeling assumptions of the existing tools
The intended outcome is to produce a report on the analysis that will be used as background material for a journal article.
Start date: November
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Basic quantitative skills and intermediate to advance knowledge of Excel. Experience in costing exercises an advantage.
More information: Dr Eliana Jimenez (07 3365 64657 /e.jimenez@sph.uq.edu.au)
Tracking Equitable Progress on Millenium Development Goals 4 & 5 in India, Indonesia and Pakistan
The Fourth and Fifth Goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 (MDGs 4 & 5) call for very substantial reductions in child and maternal mortality by 2015. Effective, low-cost interventions are available to achieve these goals, but intervention coverage continues to be low in many countries, disproportionately affecting the poor. This project will involve searching the web for available datasets such as Demographic and Health Surveys that can be used in the analysis of equitable child and maternal health in selected countries of Asia.
The key tasks would be
· Internet search and documentation of available public datasets.
·Preliminary evaluation of the quality of available datasets
·Production of tables summarizing basic descriptive statistics for the main variables of interest
The intended outcome is to produce a report on the evaluation of available datasets and their suitability for the analysis of equitable progress made on MDGs 4 & 5 in the selected countries.
Start date: November
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Basic quantitative analysis skills and intermediate to advance knowledge of Excel. Knowledge of STATA would be an advantage.
More information: Dr Eliana Jimenez (07 3365 64657 /e.jimenez@sph.uq.edu.au)
Climaticfactors associated with malaria incidencein Yunnan, China
This project will involve application of descriptive statistics and multivariable regression modeling to investigateassociations between rainfall, temperature and temporal patterns of malaria in Yunnan.
The key tasks would be
· Collation ofmonthly Chinese climate data from web sources
· Descriptive analysis of the temporal relationship between climate and malaria incidence
· Creating multivariable regression models with temporal autocorrelation to quantify independent effects of rainfall, temperature and humidity
· Writing up the findings as part of a scientific researcharticle in collaboration with SPH staff
The intended outcome is to determine whether signals exist in the relationship between climate and incidencethat will enable climate-based early warning of unusually high malaria activity.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills:Competency with multivariable regression modeling essential.
More information: Dr Archie Clements, a.clements@uq.edu.au.
Testing different neighbourhoodstructures for spatial autocorrelation in self-reported urinary schistosomiasis, Tanzania
Spatial modeling of autocorrelation involves identifying the spatial relationships between proximate spatial units. These can be:
- Simple contiguity-based relationships (ie, neighbouring units that share a border)
- Complex contiguity-based relationships (ie, neighbouring units that share a border of a given length)
- Distance-based relationships (ie, the centre of each unit is separated by less than a given distance from the centre of proximate units)
In this study, the student will test different neighbourhood structures using data from a national questionnaire survey in Tanzania that elicited responses on the occurrence of urinary schistosomiasis in over two million survey participants.
Key outcomes:
- Use of a geographical information system to output different neighbourhood weights matrices based on contiguity and separating distance
- Modifying Bayesian spatial models (already written) to accommodatethe alternative weights matrices
- Assessing the different models to determine which one best fits the data (using the Deviance Information Criterion)
- Writing up the findings as part of a scientific researcharticle in collaboration with SPH staff
The intended outcome is to determine whether use of different neighbourhood structures affects model fit, and to determine which neighbourhood structure is optimal for modeling spatial autocorrelation in the schistosomiasis dataset.
Start date: Either mid-November or early January
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Competency with multivariable regression modeling essential. Experience or knowledge of geographical information systems or Bayesian modeling and advantage (but not essential).
More information: Dr Archie Clements, a.clements@uq.edu.au.
Review of risk-based surveillance for emerging Clostridium difficile infections in Australia
This project will involve a comprehensive literature search of available English language sources onthe emergence of virulent epidemic strains of Clostridium difficile infections in Europe and North America to identify necessary components of risk-based surveillance in Australia.
Themes of enquiry might include:
- Hospital laboratory surveillance capacity and practice
- Use offluoroquinolones in hospitals and the community (need for pharmacydispensing surveillance)
- Veterinary clinic fluoroquinolone prescribing practices
- Commercial clinical pathology laboratories;microbiological investigations of human and veterinary samples
- Development of health information systems for surveillance and control
The key tasks would be:
- Building an endnote database of previously collated literature
- Medline search to update the endnotedatabase, with additions to the database
- Web-based searches for grey literature
- Writing up the findings as part of asystematic review for publication, in collaboration with SPH staff
The intended outcome is to providedocumentary supportfor framing the design of a risk assessment study for the emergence of Clostridium difficile in Australia.
Start date: Mid to late November
Project length: Approximately six weeks
Required skills: Good understanding ofdisease surveillanceand experience in literature search methods. Experience in human or veterinary infectious disease controlwould be an advantage.
More information: Dr Archie Clements, a.clements@uq.edu.au
Mathematical modelling of infectious disease transmission dynamics
- Determine the minimum vaccine efficacy required for the elimination of human Schistosoma japonicum infection in the lake and marshland areas of China
- Iterative model simulations using the previously developed mathematical model.
- Preparation of graphs and figures
- Assistance in the drafting of the publication of modelling results
OR
- The development of a transmission dynamics model for TB in the South Pacific
- Describe the current epidemiological status of TB in the South Pacific.
- Parameterise the model using the current epidemiological data from the South Pacific
- Simulate TB transmission and various interventions using the mathematical model
The current status of TB in the South Pacific
- Literature review on TB
- Perform statistical analysis (descriptive epidemiology) on TB data obtained from the South Pacific
- Assess the current status of TB in the region.
Note: Aspects of the three projects above are interchangeable and can be tailored to students’ interests.
More information: Prof Gail Williams g.williams@sph.uq.edu.au, Dr Darren Gray d.gray@sph.uq.edu.au
