Issue 13 - April 2013 - General Practice and Primary Health Care ...

GENERAL PRACTICE AND
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
ACADEMIC CENTRE
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN GENERAL PRACTICE
GETTING TO THE CORE OF MENTAL HEALTH
D
r Victoria Palmer and colleagues
Prof Jane Gunn, Prof Helen
Herrman, A/Prof David Pierce
and Dr John Furler from The University
of Melbourne; Mr Lei Ning and Mr
Wayne Weavell from The Victorian
Mental Illness Awareness Council
(VMIAC); Dr Rosemary Callander
from The Victorian Mental Health
Carers Network (VMHCN); Dr Donella
Piper from the University of New
England and Prof Rick Iedema from
Sydney University of Technology were
successful recipients of $1.7M from
the State Government Mental Illness
Research Fund and the Psychiatric
Illness and Intellectual Disability
Donations Trust Fund.
The funding is for four years (2013-2017)
and will see the team design a stepped
wedge cluster randomised trial to test
a co-design technique for optimising
psychosocial recovery outcomes for
people affected by mental illness. Eight
Victorian community health centres
are partners in this project: Merri
Congratulations and temporary farewell
Community Health, North Richmond
Community Health Centre, Western
Region Community Health, North
Yarra Community Health, Doutta Galla
Community Health Service, Dianella
Community Health Incorporated,
Ballarat Community Health Centre and
Gateway Community Health Centre.
Getting to the CORE will build mental
health services that can optimise
psychosocial recovery by testing and
refining a participatory, collaborative
method designed by VMIAC and
VMHCN called Mental Health
Experience Co-Design (MH ECO). MH
ECO enables frontline clinicians and
consumers (including carers/families)
to articulate how they experience their
work and what their views are on what
needs changing and how to optimise
services for psychosocial recovery.
See http://mheco.org.au/ for more
information on the methodology and
work of VMIAC and VMHCN.
It is with mixed feelings that we temporarily farewell Dr Helen McPartlan
from her current role as Academic Centre Manager. As many of you will know,
Helen’s role includes overseeing of all professional staff and administrative
processes and the management of budgets and contracts. However, she also
acts as a sounding board for almost every endeavour within the Academic
Centre, whether it be a new teaching course or development of a research
idea, the introduction of a new policy, or strategic planning. We will miss her
good humour and calm influence and her readiness to lend a helping hand
at all times. The new beneficiaries of her many skills will be staff from the
School of Population Health, where Helen has been seconded to fill a similar
but larger position for 16 months.
We will miss you Helen, but we hope you learn some new ideas to bring
back to us in July 2014!
Issue 13 > APRIL 2013
Published in The Lancet
The Lancet has published results from
the WEAVE trial led by A/Prof Kelsey
Hegarty. WEAVE was the first large,
general practice-based, cluster randomised
controlled trial to test the effect of a brief
counselling intervention for women who
had experienced recent Intimate Partner
Violence (IPV). The trial involved 55 GPs and
272 patients from across Victoria. Half of
the GPs were trained to provide supportive
counselling and their participating patients
were invited to attend this counselling. The
study found that trained GPs enquired more
about the safety of participants and their
children and that depression outcomes
were better for participants invited to attend
GP counselling.
Publication abstract is available at
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/
lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60052-5/
abstract
Scholarship Success
Dr Jason Ong was awarded the Royal
Australiasian College of Physicians (RACP)
Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health
Medicine Research Entry Scholarship for
2013. This scholarship will enable Jason to
continue his PhD journey, co-supervised
within the Department.
PhD student, Ms Cathy Watson Was
recently selected as the scholarship
winner for attendance at the XXII World
Congress of the International Society
for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease
(ISSVD), to be held aboard the Royal
Caribbean’s “Navigator of the Seas”
cruise ship departing from Rome, Italy in
October 2013.
PCRU 2
New Research Higher Degree
students
International delegation from Thailand
Meet our 2013 Honours students
TEACHING & LEARNING 3
Double teaching year in 2013
Short course update
Interview with Tracy Murphy
Did you hear ... ?
VICREN 4
National network of PBRNs
Reports from the Dry Mouth Study
Publication in Australian Family
Physician
UPCOMING 4
Short courses and
workshops for 2013

PCRU
2 |
PRIMARY CARE RESEARCH UNIT
NEW RESEARCH HIGHER DEGREE STUDENTS
Naomi Pfitzner
Tshepo Rasekaba
Naomi Pfitzner, a lawyer is undertaking a PhD
which will look at engaging men in family violence
prevention interventions in health settings during
the transition to parenthood. Naomi’s supervisors
are A/Prof Kelsey Hegarty and Prof Cathy
Humphreys.
Tshepo Rasekaba, a health services researcher
is undertaking a PhD which will investigate telehealth
in diabetes. Tshepo’s supervisors are Prof
Doris Young, Dr John Furler, Dr Irene Blackbery
and A/Prof Kwang Lim.
Anna Wood, research officer and nurse is
undertaking a Masters of Primary Health Care
which will explore the practice manager’s role in
promoting and integrating a chlamydia research
trial in general practices. Anna’s supervisors are
A/Prof Meredith Temple-Smith and A/Prof Jane
Hocking.
Deepthi Iyer, a general practitioner is undertaking
a Masters of Philosophy which will investigate
young people and dating violence. Deepthi’s
supervisors are A/Prof Lena Sanci and A/Prof
Kelsey Hegarty.
Anna Wood
Deepthi Iyer
Robert Henning
Robert Henning, a paediatrician is undertaking a
Doctor of Medicine which will look at the ethics
of allocating health resources to rural children.
Robert’s supervisors are Dr Victoria Palmer and
A/Prof Meredith Temple-Smith.
Tegan Usher completed her Honours year in
2012. She is undertaking a Masters of Philosophy
which will compare the types of books people
use to help them cope with depression and their
perceived helpfulness. Tegan’s supervisor is Prof
Jane Gunn.
Tegan Usher
International delegation
from Thailand
R
ecently we hosted a delegation of 14 senior physicians and medical educators from
Naresuan University and Mahidol University in Thailand. The objectives of their visit
were to broaden the role of their Schools of Medicine to take an active role in the
development of health promotion policy and practice.
The group was led by Prof Prakit Vathesatogkit, Chair of Naresuan University Health Board,
founder of ThaiHealth and Thailand’s leading anti-tobacco campaigner, and Prof Supasit
Pannarunothai, Dean, Faculty of Medicine at Naresuan University. Following a welcome
from Prof Jane Gunn, the group heard presentations from A/Prof Ruth McNair on the
contribution of our medical school in teaching medical students, Dr Irene Blackberry
and A/Prof Lena Sanci on their research on chronic disease and young people’s health
respectively and from A/Prof Meredith Temple-Smith on VicReN activities.
OUR 2013 HONOURS STUDENTS
Nadishi Athulathmudali
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Investigating if
acupuncture could be used
as a treatment option for
women with vulvodynia.
SUPERVISORS A/Prof Marie
Pirottta, A/Prof Ruth McNair,
Dr Ian Relf
Sophie Brough
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Investigating
patterns of care of type 2
diabetes patients attending
general practice.
SUPERVISORS Dr John Furler,
Dr Irene Blackberry
Abigail Cini
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Secondary data
analysis of surveys regarding
women’s evaluation of family
violence. This will be used to
determine how women felt
about their involvement, and
whether it was beneficial.
SUPERVISOR A/Prof Kelsey
Hegarty
Michael Lewis
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Identifying barriers
and enablers to effective
health service delivery for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians with
entanglements with the
justice system.
SUPERVISOR Dr Phyllis Lau
Alice McConchie
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Investigating the
use of tuning forks in general
practice.
SUPERVISORS A/Prof Marie
Pirotta, A/Prof David Pierce
Sam Moran
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor
of Science/Bachelor of
Biomedical Science (Monash)
RESEARCH Exploring alcohol
consumption levels in young
people and associated
factors in general practice.
SUPERVISOR A/Prof Lena Sanci
Nayanathara Nandaweera
(Tara)
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Science
RESEARCH Young women’s
understanding of normal
fertility and factors affecting
it.
CONTINUE ON PAGE 3

T&LTEACHING AND LEARNING
| 3
DOUBLE TEACHING YEAR IN 2013
2013, our “double teaching year”, is the busiest year yet for
the Teaching and Learning team. The team has been working
tirelessly placing students across both medical courses
(MBBS and MD) into practices for all their GP placements.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all our
dedicated teaching practices, many of whom are taking
extra students this year. We would also like to extend
a warm welcome to all the practices that are teaching
our students for the first time this year. We hope that
you have a rewarding clinical teaching experience.
Recently we completed the student matching process for
the first three rotations of the five-week GP block placement
for third year MD students. The preference process is well
underway for the block placement for the last cohort of
MBBS final year (Semester 12) students. These students will
be matched with practices in the coming weeks. Later this
year we will be matching students to practices for rotations
4, 5 and 6 of the GP block placement (third year MD), but
Short course update
This year the Centre is
advertising its short courses at
the start of the year rather than
course by course during the
year. We hoped that this would
allow interested parties a bit
more time to plan ahead. So far
we have run five short courses – introductions to primary
health care research, ethics, survey design and qualitative
research methods. In addition to our own students, we have
had a range of external participants in these courses and
have had many enquiries for other courses later in the year.
We are also working out the logistics of delivering these
courses off-campus so if you have an interest in this please
contact Weilun Nien, wnien@unimelb.edu.au.
FROM PAGE 2 > 2013 HONOURS STUDENTS
we are still in need of some places for these later rotations
(five-week blocks from October - December). Please do let us
know if you would be willing to host an extra student during
this time.
Meanwhile the Primary Care Community Base (PCCB)
program has begun for second year MD students, who
are attending a general practice one day per week for the
year. Once again we have an excellent group of high quality
practices taking part in this program who will continue to take
the students into next year. Our third year PCCB students
are soon to recommence at their practices, whilst also
undertaking their specialty block rotations in Women’s Health,
Child and Adolescent Health, Mental Health, Aged Care and
of course the General Practice block itself. Some students are
staying at their PCCB for their block rotation, whilst others
are choosing to spend the rotation at a rural practice. Some
students are electing to do a Community Based Specialty
Selective at a practice with a particular specialty.
Interview with Tracy Murphy
Coordinator Women’s Health Screening subject
General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre
I knew from an early age that I wanted to
be a nurse and a midwife. After an exciting
career with the Queen Alexander Royal Army
Nursing Corps travelling to Germany, Hong
Kong and Nepal, we migrated to Australia and I reluctantly
entered general practice. However it wasn’t long before I
enthusiastically discovered the variety of opportunities that
general practice had to offer, which led me to complete a
Masters of Advanced Nursing Practice at The University of
Melbourne. Since commencing the course I have set up nurse
led clinics in youth and women’s health, provided outreach
clinics to rural areas and have been involved in teaching and
research. For the last two years I have been coordinating the
Women’s Health Screening subject for the Department.
SUPERVISOR A/Prof Meredith
Temple-Smith
Laura Snyders
Graduated with Bachelor of
Biomedicine
Research Exploring young
women’s knowledge
and understanding of
contraception.
Supervisor A/Prof Meredith
Temple-Smith
Trang Vo
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Biomedicine
RESEARCH Exploring the
effectiveness of community
prevention programs on
violence against women in a
multicultural setting.
SUPERVISOR A/Prof Kelsey
Hegarty
Oliver Wahlstrom-Schatt
GRADUATED WITH Bachelor of
Biomedicine
RESEARCH An ethical
evaluation of informed
decision making for prostate
cancer screening.
SUPERVISOR Dr Victoria Palmer
Did you hear ... ?
Professors Doris Young and Jim Best are in training to walk the Le
Puy section of the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St James de
Compostela (or just the ‘Way’) in Spain. The walk will take 5 days and
cover a distance of 87 km.
If they succeed in this ‘pilot
study’, Professors Young and
Best will attempt to conquer a
section of the ‘Way’ each year
until they complete the whole
500 km of the ‘Way’.
Best of luck Doris and Jim!
“Stjacquescompostelle1.png” by Manfred Zentgraf. Licenced under Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Accessed 17 April 2013. http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/
File:Stjacquescompostelle1.png

4 |
VicReNVICTORIAN PRIMARY CARE
PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH NETWORK
Successful funding submission
to establish a national Network
Secretariat and support service for
PBRNs across Australia
The Australian Association for
Academic Primary Care (AAAPC) in
partnership with the Department of
General Practice at The University of
Melbourne submitted an application
to the Australian Primary Health
Care Research Institute (APHCRI)
for funding to establish a service to
provide support for a national network
of Practice-Based Research Networks
(PBRNs). This submission has been
successful and the AAAPC has
secured $50,000 per annum for the
next two years to commence this very
ambitious exercise.
PBRNs have evolved slowly in Australia
with the growing realisation that
academics and clinicians need to work
together to develop research questions
of relevance to both practitioners
and patients. The new secretariat will
aim to build and strengthen linkages
between the existing PBRNs as well
as with new structures including
Medicare Locals and Local Health/
Hospital Networks. The secretariat will
also aim to support research that is
related to the national reform agenda
and is intended to improve primary
care services for consumers based on
research at the practice level.
Used with permission from AAAPC
Identifying and Managing Dry
Mouth in General Practice
A joint study between VicReN and
eviDent, the dental practiced-based
research network has generated recent
interest. The study set out to identify
GPs’ knowledge and awareness of dry
mouth and these findings were used
to successfully design and implement
an intervention which helped GPs
to identify their patients at risk of
dry mouth, diagnose dry mouth and
implement a dry mouth management
program that included improved
communication between GPs and
dental professionals.
Findings were recently presented
at the International Association for
Dental Research (IADR) Conference
on 22 March in Seattle, USA and
the 35 th Australian Dental Congress
Conference in Melbourne on 6 April. Dr
Margaret Stacey presented a poster at
the IADR Conference which received
the British Dental Journal Prize,
while A/Prof Meredith Temple-Smith
presented to a large local audience
of dentists at the Australian Dental
Congress Conference.
Dr Margaret Stacey at the IADR Conference in Seattle
Photo used with permission from the British Dental Journal
A/Prof Meredith Temple-Smith presenting in Melbourne
Photo credit: Nancy Mai, ADAVB
Study published in AFP
Managing Same Day appointments
- A qualitative study in Australian
General Practice
A study undertaken by the VicReN
UPCOMING SHORT COURSES AND
WORKSHOP
INTENSIVE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS CLINIC
20 - 21 May 2013
This two-day intensive clinic is for researchers
analysing qualitative data. It will introduce
principles and practice of qualitative analysis –
data sets required to participate in the course.
RESEARCH AND EVALUATION OF SENSITIVE
ISSUES FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS
29 - 30 May 2013
This two-day intensive course aims to assist
participants to develop skills in designing and
running research and evaluation projects on
sensitive topics.
IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOP
22 - 23 August 2013
This two-day workshop aims to assist participants
to develop skills in implementing evidence-based
practices into primary care settings.
NURSE LED MODELS OF PRIMARY CARE:
LESSONS FROM RESEARCH, TRAINING AND
PRACTICE
September 2013
This one-day course explores how we can make
nurse led models of care more effective.
For further information or registration go to
www.gp.unimelb.edu.au/shortcourse
team in 2011 investigated how general
practices and their staff manage same
day appointments. This study has been
published in the Australian Family
Physician Vol 42, No. 4, April 2013.
The study identified that managing
urgent appointments can prove
challenging due to differing perceptions
of patients and clinic staff about what
was considered urgent. Five types of
urgent needs were identified in the
study indicating that practices may
need to develop clearer definitions of
what is ‘urgent for today’ and improve
patients’ understanding of this. The
study illustrates that there must be a
balance between need for chronic care
and non-urgent appointments.
To read this article go to www.racgp.
org.au/afp/2013/april/managingsame-day-appointments.
CONTACT
General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, The University of Melbourne
200 Berkeley Street, Carlton VIC 3053
T: +61 3 8344 7276 | F: +61 3 9347 6136 | E: gp-enquiries@unimelb.edu.au
editor
Vanessa Ho