Advancing real-world medicines research: an umbrella project in pharmacoepidemiology and quality use of medicines

This project represents an umbrella theme encompassing a range of research opportunities focused on the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) . It brings together multiple related projects that examine how medicines are prescribed, dispensed, and used, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and minimising harm. Under this umbrella, individual projects may focus on areas such as medicine utilisation patterns, medication adherence, prescribing quality, medication safety, and the real-world effectiveness of treatments. Students may explore issues including inappropriate use, adverse drug events, patient behaviour, and health system factors influencing medicine use. Projects may use a variety of data sources, including administrative datasets, electronic medical records, or patient-reported data, and apply methods from epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, and health services research. This umbrella project is designed to connect students with supervisors working across different aspects of QUM, allowing flexibility to tailor a specific research question aligned with student interests and available datasets. It is suitable for students interested in public health, pharmacy, clinical research, or health policy, and provides opportunities to develop skills in data analysis, critical appraisal, and scientific communication.