Supporting nursing and midwifery-led clinical research to guide, inform and change healthcare
Supporting nursing and midwifery-led clinical research to guide, inform and change healthcare
Professor Marion Eckert
Chair, Executive Committee
Australasian Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Trials Network
⏰ 2 min read
The Outcome
Established in 2020, the Australasian Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Trials Network (ANMCTN) is helping to improve health care delivery and care experience by enabling the growth of nursing and midwifery-led clinical research.
Promoted by the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (Australia and New Zealand) (CDNM), the ANMCTN brings together academic institutions to overcome the gaps and the challenges of obtaining Category 1 research funding1 for nurse or midwife-led clinical research.
Further to creating a space for nurse and midwife clinician researchers to engage and network, the ANMCTN supports research by endorsing clinical trial protocols for submissions deemed to benefit, inform and change care, practice and policy.
They have also developed an advocacy statement directed to the Commonwealth Government to obtain funding to further develop the network’s sustainability and workforce development opportunities.
Future projects include creating education programs to build research capacity, providing nursing and midwifery reference tools via an education platform and establishing an annual symposium to showcase ANMCTN-facilitated clinician research across Australasia.
ANMCTN membership is free and available to institutions and individuals.
Find out more about the membership benefits and how to subscribe to their membership.
The Demand
531,000 nurses and midwives in Australia and New Zealand make up approximately 60% of the healthcare workforce2.
Of the 200 grants funded to clinical research networks between 2004 and 2014, only 9 were awarded to nursing and midwifery-specific research3.
Nursing and midwifery-led research have great potential to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities as nurses and midwives are well positioned to lead high quality, scalable research4.
Being involved in a network when submitting a Grant, leads to a higher acceptance success
rate3.
Development & Governance
The ANMCTN was established with the guidance of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA), which was approached by a team of nursing and midwifery research experts from across Australia. This team included Professor Marion Eckert, Professor Claire Rickard, Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates and Emeritus Professor Gavin Leslie, who had identified the need for nursing and midwifery-led clinical research representation and funding.
This team then operationalised the ANMCTN through monthly meetings and via engagement with the CDNM, who facilitated the ANMCTN to build founding memberships from universities across Australasia.
The network is currently
governed by an Executive Committee and a Strategic Advisory Committee.
Founding Members
- Auckland University of Technology
- Australian Catholic University
- Australian Clinical Trials Alliance
- Charles Darwin University
- Curtin University
- Deakin University
- Edith Cowan University
- Flinders University
- Griffith University
- James Cook University
- La Trobe University
- Massey University
- Queensland University of Technology
- The University of Adelaide
- University of Auckland
- The University of Melbourne
- The University of Sydney
- University of Otago
- The University of Queensland
- University of South Australia
- University of Southern Queensland
- University of Tasmania
- University of Technology Sydney
- Victoria University of Wellington
- The University of Waikato
Publications & References
Publications
- https://anmctn.com.au/publications/
- 2022 ANMCTN Advocacy Statement
- Nurse- and midwife-led trials in Australia and New Zealand: Scoping review protocol
- A scoping review of nurse-led randomised controlled trials
- Midwife led randomised controlled trials in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review
- Harnessing the nursing and midwifery workforce to boost Australia’s clinical research impact.
References
- Eckert, Marion., Rickard, Claire.M., Forsythe, Deborah., Baird, Kathleen., Finn, Judith., Gilkison, Andrea., Gray, Richard., Homer, Caroline.S., Middleton, Sandy., Neville, Stephen. and Whitehead, Lisa., 2022. Harnessing the nursing and midwifery workforce to boost Australia’s clinical research impact. The Medical Journal of Australia, 217(10), pp.n-a. doi: 10.5694/mja2.51758
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Health workforce. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/health-workforce (viewed Oct 2022).
- Australian Clinical Trials Alliance. Report on the activities and achievements of clinical trials networks in Australia: 2004–2014. Melbourne: National Health and Medical Research Council, 2015. https://clinicaltrialsalliance.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ACTA_Networks_Report_2004-14_online.pdf (viewed Apr 2022).
- Borbasi, S., Hawes, C., Wilkes, L., Stewart, M., May, D. Measuring the outputs of Australian nursing research published 1995–2000. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2002;38(5):489-97.
