Goals & Strategies
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Goal 1: Collaboration
To promote collaboration between organisations and individuals including health care professionals, parents and researchers.
Strategies
- Engage all major maternity hospitals in Australia and New Zealand as members of the IMPACT Network and make research integral to every-day clinical care.
- Identify and engage champions in maternal perinatal trials across Australia and New Zealand to facilitate and promote the work of the IMPACT Network across regions and health topics.
- Maintain a database of maternal and perinatal trials in Australia and New Zealand to inform operational improvements for the Network including data on recruitment status by collaborating centres, studies seeking additional site investigators, investigators and site contacts.
- Engage relevant professional colleges through provision of educational and training opportunities that accrue professional training points and provide appropriate education and support in research for staff in training.
- Identify knowledge gaps in perinatal care and prioritise them.
- Facilitate international communication and collaboration to plan worldwide multicentre RCTs, prevent unnecessary duplication and to facilitate systematic reviews including individual participant data meta-analyses.
- Maintain international links with the Cochrane Collaboration, other clinical trials networks and organisations or bodies worldwide.
- Hold regular IMPACT Network workshops and meetings across geographic and discipline areas.
- Provide regular newsletters, reports, and website material including information on RCTs in development and currently recruiting and metrics of trial activity and publications to all maternity hospitals, collaborators, members of PSANZ and the community to increase awareness of the activities, performance and outputs of the IMPACT Network.
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Goal 2: Randomised trials to improve health of mothers and babies
To promote the design, registration, completion, dissemination of investigator-led RCTs that address priority questions in maternal perinatal health.
Strategies
- Identify priority questions requiring RCTs in maternal and perinatal care through consultation with all relevant stakeholders; and updated Cochrane systematic reviews.
- Provide IMPACT Network endorsement for multicentre RCTs that:
- Address an IMPACT Network priority question or a research question arising from a systematic review
- Are conducted according to SPIRIT guidelines – available at http://www.spirit-statement.org/publications-downloads
- Demonstrate feasibility (can be completed in a timely manner)
- Are presented to the IMPACT Network both in the early stages of development and in the finalising the protocol phase.
- Promote accreditation of “Research Friendly” hospitals for those institutions that provide infrastructure to support recruitment into trials, regularly report the proportion of eligible participants recruited into trials, and are actively involved in recruitment to IMPACT Network endorsed multicentre trials.
- Provide regular educational workshops in trial design and conduct.
- Maintain a register of recommended support services for trials and individuals with RCT expertise.
- Facilitate efficient and effective conduct of RCTs by
- stimulating use of similar case record forms, standardised outcomes, data management systems and analytic capacity
- encouraging collaboration of research midwives, nurses and co-ordinators involved in recruitment and day to day conduct of trial
- providing a bi-national infrastructure of communication that monitors recruitment and regional harmonisation of recruitment capabilities.
- Provide forums for discussion, communication and collaboration between consumers and investigators across all disciplines to plan, recruit and disseminate information about trials in maternal perinatal care.
- Promote effective dissemination and translation into practice of IMPACT Network trial findings, regardless of results (positive, negative or inconclusive) with timely presentation at national and international meetings and publications.
- Develop and enhance systems for the optimal conduct of multicentre trials in collaboration with ACTA
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Goal 3: Action-oriented engagement of community and consumers
Involve consumers and the community in promotion and conduct of high quality RCTs in collaboration with the PSANZ Consumer Advisory Panel.
Strategies
- Facilitate communication between consumers and trialists early in the development of clinical trials.
- Develop a strategy for consumer involvement as equal partners in the IMPACT Network.
- Hold workshops and educational opportunities to promote the understanding of RCTs for consumers.
- Develop a register of appropriately trained individuals willing to link with researchers in the early planning phase of trials.
- Raise awareness and collaboration amongst consumers and the community using social media and website develop a website of resources to enhance understanding of RCTs to meet the needs of consumers as well as researchers.
- Develop a website of resources to enhance understanding of RCTs to meet the needs of consumers as well as researchers
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Goal 4: Sustainability and relevance
To build a strong and healthy IMPACT Network into the future.
Strategies
- Increase awareness and promote the activities of the IMPACT Network both nationally and internationally.
- Encourage participation in all IMPACT Network meetings from PSANZ members, early and mid-career researchers and the maternal perinatal research community.
- Actively seek new member organisations and individuals.
- Establish partnerships with national and global organisations.
- Procure funds to implement strategic plan including employment of an IMPACT Network Executive Officer.
- Involve all stakeholders, including parents in priority setting.
- Develop strategies/policies to engage parents and consumer organisation in trial design and knowledge translation.
- Develop specific strategies to address the needs of novice researchers, such as training workshops and mentorship programs.
- Support and contribute to the leadership of organisations (such as ACTA) in advocacy for investigator led clinical trials as an integral part of healthcare. Click here for the Strategic Directions and Goals 2015-2019.