THURSDAY April 21, 2022: Australia’s leading non-Government funder of health services research, the HCF Research Foundation, has announced the pool of 2021 grant recipients, with research projects that will significantly improve healthcare outcomes for Australians in areas including mental health, joint pain and cancer care.

The Foundation has invested more than $24 million in research over the past 21 years, making a meaningful contribution towards improving the delivery of health services for all Australians.

The recipients of the 2021 grants, who have received more than $2 million in combined funding, are:

• Avoiding a Trip to Emergency for Older People, Sydney Local Health District: A newly established team of nurses, medics and paramedic staff is aiming to treat elderly patients at home, saving them a trip to the emergency department if they don’t need hospital care. 
• Alcohol Approach Avoidance Trap, Monash University: A brain training app to help prevent people who have completed treatment for alcohol use disorder relapsing after leaving rehab.
• Psychiatric In-Patient Care for Youth, Orygen: A Hospital-in-the-Home model giving young patients the equivalent level of care they’d be experiencing as a psychiatric inpatient to try to lower the long wait times associated with mental health treatment.
• Treating Kids’ Bone and Joint Infections at Home, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute: To change the treatment approach for children with bone and joint infections from in-hospital IV therapy to an oral therapy given at home.
• Exercise Education for those with Knee Osteoarthritis, Macquarie University: Improve awareness of exercise programs and access to appropriate care for people with knee osteoarthritis.
• Digital Health Solution for Monitoring IPC, Northern Health: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is the build-up of fluid in the chest due to advanced cancer and can be treated with a semi-permanent indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) to drain the fluid. The team is building a teleultrasound solution to improve IPC uptake and enable community care.

The 2022 Health Services Research Grants round is a competitive, peer reviewed research grant scheme that is open to researchers across Australia. This year’s round will focus on women’s and mental health research areas.

HCF Research Foundation Chair Professor Claire Jackson said this year's focus areas were of significant importance to Australians in 2022.

“We look forward to receiving this year’s round of applications to help us deliver on our mission is to encourage the examination and improvement of the provision, administration and delivery of health care services to drive better health care for all Australians.”

Applications for the 2022 Grants will close on May 13, 2022.

Details: https://www.hcf.com.au/about-us/hcf-foundation

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Media Enquiries: Rebecca Page 0439130400 rpage@hcf.com.au 

ABOUT HCF 
 HCF, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund protecting Australians since 1932, covers more than 1.8 million members with health and life insurance, and travel and pet insurance. On average over the last five years, HCF has paid out more cents in every dollar in premiums to members as benefits than the industry average. To learn more about HCF go to hcf.com.au/about-us