Current projects

Comparing the Impact of Supported and Unsupported Implementation Strategies in the Use of an Injury Prevention Program in Women's/ Girl's Community Football.

The aim of this study is to determine how we can best support coaches to implement an injury prevention (IP) program (Prep-to-play) in female community Australian Football. We will recruit at least 140 female community football teams from 15 different football leagues in Victoria, Australia. Teams will be competing in U16, U17, U18, U19 or open women's competitions. We will train and support coaches to implement the IP program and evaluate the effects of the IP program on injuries across two football seasons.

For more information, please visit the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) website.

Assessing the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on hip osteoarthritis burden (the STIM HIPS study): a protocol for a randomised, triple blind controlled trial.

The primary objective of this randomised controlled trial is to quantify the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and exercise on pain, disability, and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA). Secondary objectives include quantifying the influence of motor cortex excitability and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) on treatment effects, as well as assessing the economic cost/benefit of tDCS for improving health-related QoL in people with hip OA.

For more information, please visit the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) website.

Back-on-Track: A Randomised controlled feasibility trial of behavioural activation in farmers with mood problems

The National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH), funded by the Gardiner Foundation, is launching the “Back On Track” project in Victoria to improve mental health support for farmers. The Back on Track program aims to train farmers to deliver Behavioural Activation to their peers, helping to overcome barriers to seeking mental health support and improving access to evidence-based psychological treatments. The project which is a partnership between Deakin University, Western District Health Service, La Trobe University, the University of South Australia and Edith Cowan University, is a randomised controlled pilot feasibility trial that aims to show that Behavioural Activation can be successfully delivered by Peer workers from the farming community.

For more information, please visit the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) website.

M-MAT Tele: Maximising Aphasia Treatment and Recovery

M-MAT Tele is a telehealth adaptation of Multi-Modality Aphasia Therapy (M-MAT), a proven group therapy for people with aphasia following stroke. Led by Dr John Peirce and his research team at La Trobe University, the trial compares immediate M-MAT Tele therapy with standard care, assessing language and communication outcomes before, after, and three months post-therapy. The study also evaluates participant satisfaction and the viability of online delivery. The Clinical Trials Platform is supporting the trial through ethics and governance submissions and developing clinical trial agreements for participating sites.

For more information, please visit the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) website.

HOpE Study: Hip Dysplasia Outcomes

Improving outcomes for adolescents and adults with hip dysplasia is the focus of the HOpE Study, led by Associate Professor Joanne Kemp. This MRFF-funded project includes a national registry and a multisite RCT comparing Periacetabular Osteotomy (PAO) surgery plus exercise therapy versus exercise therapy alone in individuals aged 10–55. Consumer input has shaped the trial’s design for relevance and feasibility. The Clinical Trials Platform supports ethics and governance submissions, consumer advisory group management, DMSB setup, trial agreements, and data management through REDCap, along with database development for clinical and service use data.

WaitLESS: Waiting List Evidence to Support Specialist Clinics

Reducing waiting times in specialist medical clinics is the goal of the WaitLESS project, led by Professor Katherine Harding from Eastern Health and La Trobe University. This NHMRC-funded trial applies the Specific Timely Assessment and Triage (STAT) model across eight clinics to improve access, outcomes, and system efficiency. Researchers from La Trobe, Monash, Deakin, and the University of Sydney are involved. The Clinical Trials Platform has contributed through database design and development for clinical and service use data, and by managing randomisation for implementation across selected clinics.