The Knowledge Translation Portfolio is central to stakeholder engagement, communication of research findings, and translation of evidence. The Portfolio seeks to build and maintain connections between our researchers and medicines policy, clinician, and consumer stakeholders in order to inform and enhance the quality and relevance of our research and optimise use of 'Medicines Intelligence' in stakeholder decision-making.
The Knowledge Translation Portfolio is actively engaged in a number of activities including:
The Portfolio also manages the highly successful MI-CRE Project Incubator Program which provides an opportunity for early- and mid-career researchers to engage with stakeholders from government, industry, the research community, and consumers to gain valuable feedback and input on their projects throughout the research cycle and develop new collaborations in a supportive environment. Â
In 2023, to help contextualise our Tapentadol vs Oxycodone Study, we engaged a lived-experience research buddy, Steve Marsh, to provide advice and guidance. Steve is taking prescription opioids (including tapentadol) to manage chronic pain and has valuable insights on patient perspectives and priorities. We have had several meetings to review and finalise the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, and preliminary analysis results.
The research team’s initial plan had been to conduct an emulated randomised trial where existing data (e.g., data collected during routine care) can be set up and analysed as if it was from a clinical trial, without actually having to conduct the trial. That approach would have given us more robust results but would have been less reflective of real-world opioid use due to a tightly restricted study population. On Steve’s advice, we decided to take a slightly different approach and assess the risk of falls and fractures in all people prescribed tapentadol, including people prescribed multiple opioids. While this may provide potentially less robust evidence, it will reflect real-world clinical practice and answer a question more relevant for people receiving treatment for pain.
Once the analysis is complete, Steve and I will work together developing a communication plan for targeting relevant stakeholders, including policymakers, clinicians, and consumers.
This was my first experience working with a consumer and I have found it to be incredibly rewarding. Without doubt, Steve’s contributions have made our research more relevant to consumers, care providers, and policymakers. I am grateful for Steve’s patience, candidness, and advice as the work has progressed. Our study is the first in a larger research program that will assess the safety of tapentadol. I look forward to continuing to work with Steve in designing and conducting our subsequent studies.
Working with an inspiring group of three consumer researchers with a lived experience of ovarian cancer has had a big impact on my research. Consumers help to frame the priorities and the questions that I ask, to put our work into context, and to support me to communicate my results in a meaningful way. Listening to the stories of our consumers is highly motivating, and they are not shy to hold me to account on the relevance of my work. This is a very humbling experience!Â
Ovarian cancer is a devastating disease, and up until recently has had a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to treatment. My work using the Medicines Intelligence Data Platform has been developed with consumer input from the beginning and will look at the use of a new targeted therapy treatment to help us understand its utilisation in the real world. It will also investigate whether there are sub-groups of patients with ovarian cancer who are not receiving the relevant genetic and tumour testing to assess their eligibility for these treatments based on demographic, comorbidity, or socio-economic factors. Our consumers are highly connected to their community of people with a lived experience of ovarian cancer and are passionate advocates for equity in access, especially for regional patients.
