Comparative effectiveness study using linked data from a randomised controlled trial of a discharge support package after acute stroke (ReCAPS data linkage study)

Stroke imposes a large burden of suffering on survivors, with ongoing risk of recurrent stroke, depression and poor quality of life post discharge. Few survivors of stroke are discharged with the self-management tools or support needed to successfully return with confidence back into the community. This means that patients often leave the hospital unprepared for life back in the community and many report that their long-term needs are unmet. Providing survivors of stroke with the necessary support to continue with their recovery and secondary prevention once they have been discharged home is challenging, particularly in those with limited mobility or living far from hospitals. The increase in use of mobile phones and personal computers/tablets represents an important resource for lifestyle behaviour change and disease management. This project has received funding from the Victorian government, Monash University and the National Health and Medical Research Council. This is an opportunity for a student to work on data from a large, prospective, parallel two group, double blind, multi-site, individual-randomised controlled trial (www.recaps.com.au; ACTRN12618001468213). A component of the program includes sending information via SMS or email for a period of 12 weeks. The study is being run in collaboration with a team of researchers from Monash University, University of Nottingham and University of Technology Sydney, along with partners at hospital sites in Victoria, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Queensland. Our objective is to link data from this RCT to emergency department, hospital admissions, Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data to explore 12 month and longer term outcomes (i.e. readmissions, adherence to stroke prevention medications) among the intervention group compared to the control group. The summarised data will also inform an economic evaluation that is complemented by participant self-reported resource use surveys. The student will work within the Translational Public Health & Evaluation Division within the School of Clinical Sciences from Monash University. Depending on the background and qualifications of the student, they will be able to interrogate data to build expertise in epidemiology, clinical trials data analysis or health economics. The student is expected to summarise the work completed and their contributions to the research in a thesis by publication. The project is most suitable for a PhD degree, however, modification to suit the requirements of a Masters by Research may be considered.