Round 42 Grant Recipients
Photo: Dr Elizabeth Marsden, with Sharon Hodby
16 December 2024
EMF is excited to announce the successful grants in round 42 of the Queensland Research Program, awarding a total of $559,151 to nine research projects. Congratulations to all grant recipients!
These projects cover a diverse range of topics aimed at transforming policy and clinical practice to enhance patient care and empower frontline clinicians. They include innovative tools such as point-of-care ultrasound for heart failure, automated clinical data extraction systems for toxicology, and the analysis of clinical outcomes of patients in acute overflow related to ED overcrowding. Additionally, studies on horse-related injuries, the effects of heatwaves on vulnerable populations, and standardising care pathways for drug overdoses highlight our commitment to improving patient outcomes and informing healthcare policies across Queensland.
EMF’s General Manager, Dr Angie Nguyen Vu, shares:
“At EMF, we believe that addressing the diverse needs of patients presenting to the ED requires equally diverse research initiatives. By empowering clinicians across various disciplines to innovate and improve patient care, we ensure that every clinician can contribute to meaningful change in our healthcare system.
In this grant round, we awarded funding to five emergency physicians, three emergency nurses, and one ED social worker. We are proud to see how diverse the research teams on EMF-funded projects have become since we broadened Principal Investigator eligibility to all emergency clinicians in 2018.”
EMF’s latest grant round placed special emphasis on research that focuses on enhancing care for vulnerable populations and exploring under-researched areas.
We are particularly pleased to support an important project led by Ms Tileah Drahm from Cairns Hospital who aims to establish a model of culturally safe emergency care within her ED. In Cairns and elsewhere in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples tend to be overrepresented in EDs, attending with higher levels of acuity and are more likely to discharge against medical advice or leave without being seen. In Cairns, they frequently express, especially during times of distress, a lack of cultural safety in the ED.
Seeing these statistics reflected in their daily work at the frontline, Ms Drahm and colleagues set out to bring about meaningful change. She explains,
“This research aims to transform the Cairns Hospital Emergency Department to a place of cultural safety, as determined by grassroots Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. By centering their voices, educating the ED workforce, and documenting the changes as they occur, we aim to position the community as expert knowers and teachers to inform the delivery of emergency care in Queensland and Australia.”
EMF is also proud to award a Research Capacity Building grant to the Older Person Emergency Network (OPEN) at Metro North Hospital and Health Service, led by Dr Elizabeth Marsden. The OPEN program provides equivalent ED service in Residential Aged Care Facilities, allowing older people to avoid EDs and reducing the burden on over-subscribed EDs and hospital resources for long-stay patients. The EMF Research Capacity Building grant will enhance OPEN’s research capacity and capability by funding the employment of a qualified research officer. The goal is to strengthen OPEN’s research culture, support both ongoing and new projects, and integrate research into clinical practice, fostering continued growth within this vital network. Dr Marsden reflects,
“Emergency Medicine is adaptable, innovative and offers clinicians the opportunity to delve into a variety of specialities. My area of interest is geriatric emergency medicine and prehospital alternative care pathways. I feel older persons have given so much to society that it’s our opportunity to give something back.”
EMF’s flagship Queensland Research Program offers research grants twice a year to all emergency clinicians working in public EDs, at the Queensland Ambulance Service (including Retrieval Services Queensland), LifeFlight and Royal Flying Doctors Service (Queensland Section).
Round 43 of this grant program will open for applications in early 2025 for all Queensland Research Program grant schemes. The closing date for applications is April/May 2025 for all schemes. EMF thanks the Queensland Government for its support of this program through Queensland Health.
Find out more about the Queensland Research Program here.
Successful grants in EMF Queensland Research Program Round 42
Principal Investigator (PI) |
Project Title |
PI Institution |
Amount Awarded |
| Jumpstart | |||
| Dr Ngoc Hanh Pham | The Utility of POCUS by Novice Clinicians in Diagnosing Heart Failure Project |
The Prince Charles Hospital |
$39,835 |
| Ms Tileah Drahm | Cultural Safety in the Cairns Hospital Emergency Department |
Cairns Hospital |
$39,914 |
| Dr Vinay Gangathimmaiah | QuED HEAT: Queensland Emergency Departments: exploring the impact of Heatwave Exposure And Temperature |
Townsville University Hospital |
$44,201 |
| Dr Richard Pellatt | Drug Overdose with Reduced Consciousness: Patient and Staff Perspectives. A Mixed Methods Study. |
Gold Coast University Hospital |
$27,510 |
| Leading Edge | |||
| Ms Kym Roberts | The impact of horse-related injuries presenting to the Emergency Department and patient-reported outcomes measures: A two-phase cohort study |
Sunshine Coast University Hospital |
$108,546 |
| Ms Kendall Williams | Retrospect matched-cohort study of the clinical outcomes of emergency department patients streamed to acute overflow. |
Redland Hospital |
$94,067 |
| A/Prof Andrew Staib | Automated Clinical Data Extraction to Enhance Toxicology Services and Improve Emergency Medicine Outcomes: Project STREAM (System for Toxicology Research and Emergency Medicine) |
Princess Alexandra Hospital |
$99,723 |
| Emerge | |||
| Ms Amelia Batty | Exploring Effective Communication Strategies for Children and their Caregivers in a Paediatric Emergency Department Waiting Room | Queensland Children’s Hospital | $9,961 |
| Research Capacity Building | |||
| Dr EJ Marsden | Research Capacity Building for Older Persons Emergency Network Metro North | Metro North Hospital and Health Service | $95,394 |
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