Clinician Researcher Training (CRT) Program

Status: Open

Applications open: 10/03/2023
Applications close: 14/04/2023

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About this scholarship
Description/Applicant information

Project Title: Implementation of a transformative equitable healthy lifestyle program for potential scale: health systems considerations. 

Clinical Profession: Pre-consultant (medical)

Aims: 
In Australia, one in four children are affected by overweight or obesity, with Aboriginal children over-represented in figures, where collected. Providing community-based healthy lifestyle programs is recommended best practice. This project will work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal stakeholders and families, to ensure an equitable, accessible and culturally safe program within community health, based on findings from a New Zealand program.

The project aims are: 

• To examine implementation aspects of a healthy lifestyle program, alongside a phase IV multiple-methods effectiveness study. 
• To determine feasibility of the program for scale

 

Objectives:

• To work with an implementation scoping working group within Community Health to assist with operationalising the program for scale, policy considerations and ongoing funding ensuring a pathway to implementation.
• To ensure immediate knowledge translation, understanding implementation considerations, addressing them in parallel with the effectiveness study to ensure program sustainability post effectiveness study.
• To determine feasibility including a costings exercise, program uptake and referrer and stakeholder evaluation.
• To create healthy lifestyle coordinator and program online training, with jurisdictional competency requirements.
• To identify critical success factors for scale

 

Significance:

This project aligns with current government priorities relating to childhood obesity. The project is a key step in implementation for potential scale of an impactful innovative approach to addressing this. 

Having been through a cycle of co-design to support knowledge translation in NZ, this project will be able to rapidly accelerate findings into the real-world service in Perth, and ensure that if effectiveness study findings are favourable, the program can be scaled. Importantly, the model created allows for accurate effective screening for weight-related comorbidities, whilst allowing for co-creation of a community-based intervention program in each jurisdiction.

 

• Expected outcomes: 
  The healthy lifestyle program will demonstrate feasibility based on cost-utility analysis, program uptake and demographics of participants, referrer and stakeholder evaluation, alongside conclusions of the implementation scoping working group determining a pathway to sustainability and scale within Community Health.
• Knowledge translation will be possible through an implementation scoping working group, and this project working in parallel with the effectiveness study.
• Online healthy lifestyle coordinator training will be possible and will allow for workforce capability growth and capacity building in the area of childhood obesity.

Student type

• Future Students

Faculty

• Faculty of Health Sciences

Course type

• Higher Degree by Research

Citizenship

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Permanent Humanitarian Visa

Scholarship base

• Merit Based

Value

This scholarship provides a living stipend of up to $375,000 over 3 to 6 years, PhD candidates 

 

Full time scholarships will be paid the total stipend over a maximum period of 3 years (PhD); and part-time scholarships will be the total stipend over a maximum period of  6 years (PhD).

 

For detailed information, applicants are encouraged to refer to page 6 of the CRT guidelines and conditions 

Scholarship Details
Maximum number awarded

1

Eligible courses

PhD applicants seeking to study Implementation science or childhood obesity

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must:

• be employed at the HSP/PPPP at time of application in a clinical discipline eg pre-consultant (medical), and once enrolled in the program be maintained in HSP/PPPP# employment at a maximum of 0.5FTE (part time) or 0.2FTE (full time study) in a position undertaking clinical duties* Adjustments to these requirements are possible for applicants with caring responsibilities.

• meet the host university’s admission requirements for the PhD, including prior research experience

• be able to commence the scholarship within one year of execution of the funding agreement.

The following high-level selection principles are applicable to all applicants:

• Appropriate educational/research/career background within the field of the HDR project including technical skills and research-related knowledge.

• Demonstrated commitment and expertise for a clinical career.

• Demonstrated commitment, expertise and motivation for a clinical research career.

• Demonstrated commitment to and suitability for the HDR Project.

• Appropriate organisational skills and personal attributes.

• After assessment of merit, consideration of capacity to contribute diversity to the clinical research environment.

International candidates are eligible to apply but should contact the potential host university and HSP/PPPP to determine if their application can be supported within relevant university international scholarship caps and eligibility and visa limitations.

* Clinical duties are activities directly related to individual patient care, as distinguished from administrative, research or academic activities.

# HSPs include Child and Adolescent Health Service, East Metropolitan Health Service, North Metropolitan Health Service, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, South Metropolitan Health Service & WA Country Health Service. PPPPs include Ramsay Health Care (covering Joondalup Health Campus & Peel Health Campus) & St John of God (Midland Public Hospital).

Application process

Process and timeline:

Submit the completed CRT candidate application form no later than 31 March to GRS via HDRSCH-applications@curtin.edu.au

The GRS team will email the applicant the how to apply for Curtin HDR admission details.

Enrolment Requirements

Recipients will be required to meet established university milestones in line with university policy and procedures. An annual progress report confirming that the student is making satisfactory progress against milestones must be provided to the Office of Medical Research and Innovation (OMRI) with any relevant reports or publications attached.

For detailed information, applicants are encouraged to refer to the CRT guidelines and conditions 

Enquiries

For further information about this opportunity, please contact:

Associate Professor Yvonne Anderson, Community Child Health enAble Institute via yvonne.anderson@curtin.edu.au   
 

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