FUNDING HEALTHCARE RESEARCH FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS

The HCF Research Foundation was set up to fund research into health services to benefit HCF members and all Australians. Now in its 22nd year, its work shows why research is important in healthcare.

In our 90th year, HCF is proud to make quality healthcare accessible to more Australians, through our innovative health and wellbeing programs and investment into new technologies and business models to better meet our members’ needs, now and in the future.

What is the HCF Research Foundation?

The HCF Research Foundation is a charitable trust which was set up to fund research into the provision, administration and delivery of health services in Australia for the benefit of HCF members and all Australians.

Now in its 22nd year, it was established in 2000 as the HCF Health and Medical Research Foundation. Its aim was to fund health and medical research for the benefit of HCF members and all Australians.

In 2008, its focus shifted to health services research, identified by HCF as an area that doesn’t receive significant funding from other sources. In 2013, the name was simplified to the HCF Research Foundation.

One of the ways HCF lives up to its promise of Uncommon Care is to improve the lives of not just our members, but all Australians. Establishing the Foundation has seen HCF invest more than $26 million in research over the past 22 years, making it the leading non-government funder of health services research and a significant contributor to improving health services delivery for all Australians.

What are the objectives of the HCF Research Foundation?

Health services research examines how people get access to healthcare, how much healthcare costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care. The objectives of the HCF Research Foundation’s health services research program are to improve the prevention, treatment and cure of diseases in the general community by funding research to improve health and health services; and improve the quality, efficiency, access to and equity of provision of health services.

Dr Chris Pettigrew was appointed Head of HCF Research Foundation in March 2021. With his 10-year experience as a researcher across breast cancer, prostate cancer, retinal degeneration and muscular dystrophy, he’s acutely aware of the importance of the Foundation’s work in the health services sector.

“What drew me to the Foundation is our focus on health services research – innovations in how the patient, health professionals and system all work together to improve patient outcomes,” explains Dr Pettigrew.

The HCF Research Foundation’s mission and vision

The vision of HCF’s Research Foundation is three-fold, with an over-arching mission to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for HCF members and all Australians by providing funding and support to encourage health services research. The Foundation’s vision is to:

• be known as a leading independent funder of high-quality research that leads to the improvement of healthcare services for all Australians
• facilitate easy-to-access funding so researchers can focus their efforts on delivering the benefits of their research projects
• drive more research by providing transparent and fair funding opportunities for all Australian researchers, institutions and organisations.

Dr Pettigrew believes HCF’s Research Foundation is uniquely positioned as a not-for-profit fund to leverage the insights of HCF and member experiences, as well as healthcare providers, to identify and address areas of high priority for health services research. He says, ”It’s great to see HCF investing in research to make healthcare more effective for everyone.”

HCF Research Foundation’s achievements

Often the Foundation’s study areas reflect the direction of medical research both in Australia and abroad. Through the pandemic years, the research projects covered various aspects of telehealth, with studies on digital cardiac rehabilitation and telehealth monitoring, telerehabilitation for rotator cuff-related shoulder pain, preventing hospital admission for back pain using a virtual hospital model, and a blended digital mental health intervention for anxiety and depression.

Other future-forward studies are looking at innovations like virtual reality therapy for chronic neuropathic pain, improving patient selection for knee replacements, and optimising rehabilitation following elective hip and knee replacement surgery.

A few interesting highlights of grants to research projects include:

• online tools that help Australians assess whether a knee replacement is the best solution for them
• decision aids to empower people to make informed decisions about their breast cancer treatment
• funded study to improve care for hospitalised dementia patients
• models of care for children presenting to the emergency department (ED) with possible appendicitis.

And over the past 10 years, the HCF Research Foundation and the RACGP Foundation have partnered to fund research into health services issues that are relevant to general practice, so GPs can access funding to make a positive impact on the daily healthcare they provide their patients.

HCF Research Foundation Chair Professor Claire Jackson is proud of the significant impact the Foundation has on delivering better health outcomes for HCF members and all Australians.

“The HCF Research Foundation is a driving force behind some of our nation’s most innovative research teams, helping them focus on innovative and translatable health services research that can make a profound difference,” Prof Jackson said. “We are very proud of the support we’ve been able to provide researchers over many years.”

As we head into the next 90 years of Uncommon Care, we continue to expand our investment into health services research, helping to make healthcare more responsive, affordable and high quality for all Australians.

HCF Research Foundation finds success with its RACGP Partnership

The HCF Research Foundation has successfully partnered with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioner’s (RACGP) since 2012 to provide annual research scholarships to the general practice researchers. The research funded by these grants aims to inform practice, improve health services, and position Australia’s healthcare system to better meet the needs of Australians, improving the health of Australians and keeping them out of hospital. Learn more.

Published August 2022