Emergency Medicine Foundation - Australasia (EMF)

Following Dental Health Week earlier this month, we're spotlighting new EMF-funded research exploring a common reason people seek emergency care: dental pain. 🦷 Dental pain affects around one in five Australian adults and accounts for approximately 1% of ED presentations. Yet treatment options in the ED are often limited while patients wait to access definitive dental care. 💡Funded through Round 45 of EMF's Queensland Research Program, Gold Coast University Hospital Emergency Medicine Research Fellow Dr Colin Mak and a multidisciplinary team are leading the DEXA-DENT trial.  The randomised controlled trial will investigate whether a single dose of oral dexamethasone can improve pain relief for adults presenting with acute atraumatic dental pain, while also examining other pain medication use, patient satisfaction, ED re-presentations and subsequent dental treatment.   If shown to be effective, this inexpensive and readily available medication could provide emergency clinicians with an additional evidence-based option to support patients while they await definitive dental care. 👏 Congratulations to Dr Mak and the collaborative team at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, with expertise spanning emergency medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, dentistry, and pharmacy, with collaborators from Griffith University.  #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch Gerben Keijzers Michael Hurrell Robert Ware

What happens after we fund research? 💡 For children in rural and remote Queensland, a respiratory illness can mean a long transfer to a tertiary hospital, hundreds of kilometres from home and away from family and support networks. The PARIS on Country study, led by Associate Professor Donna Franklin and co-funded by EMF and the MRFF, is helping strengthen paediatric care closer to home. By equipping rural and remote teams with training, guidance and equipment to safely deliver nasal high-flow therapy, the project is building local capability and confidence. 🩺 Clinical Nurses Peta Taylor from Atherton Hospital and Ruby Elliott from Cloncurry Hospital have seen the difference firsthand, from increased confidence and capability among rural teams to more opportunities for children to remain closer to their families and communities during treatment. This is what funded research looks like: building capability, strengthening rural care and improving equity of access across Queensland. #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch #RuralHealth

🎢 Rides, showbags, dagwood dogs and strawberry sundaes, it can only mean one thing… Ekka Day is here! 🎡 The EMF office will be closed today, Wednesday 12 August, with the team back on Thursday. Have a wonderful day, Brisbane! 🍓

Could reviewing an existing hospital pathway help improve stroke care? 🧠 A transient ischaemic attack (TIA), often called a "mini stroke", can be an early warning sign of future stroke. Ensuring patients receive the right investigations and follow-up is critical to delivering timely, evidence-based care. 💡 Funded through Round 45 of EMF's Queensland Research Program, Redland Hospital ED Radiographer Hope Klinkenberg is leading a quality improvement project to evaluate how the hospital's TIA pathway is being used in practice. By reviewing patient records and surveying clinicians, the project aims to identify opportunities to strengthen pathway adherence, refine clinical practice and support staff education. The findings may help reduce unnecessary imaging and hospital admissions for low-risk patients while supporting more consistent, evidence-based care for people presenting with TIA. Congratulations to Hope, mentor Dr Henry Tsao, and the team at Redland Hospital. 👏 Round 46 of EMF's Queensland Research Program closes on 17 August for Jumpstart, Leading Edge and TranslatED grants & 31 August for Emerge grants. 📌Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gQa7qPYf #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch Metro South Health

📢 EMF is seeking expressions of interest from experienced emergency physicians to join our Research Committee. Current Research Committee Chair Dr Andrew Spiller says, serving on the committee has been a rewarding opportunity to contribute to research that improves emergency care. Working alongside clinicians, researchers and consumer representatives, you'll help guide EMF's research priorities, provide strategic advice and support research that improves emergency care for patients. We're looking for an emergency physician who:  🔹 Practices in a public hospital emergency department or pre-hospital setting  🔹 Has extensive research experience, preferably in emergency healthcare  🔹 Has experience reviewing research grant applications  🔹 Is preferably based in Queensland  📅 Expressions of Interest close 24 August 2026 📌 Find out more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gyyRQtjj #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch  

Could some trauma patients avoid unnecessary interhospital transfers?💡 Research exploring this question is one of several projects that will be featured at the Trauma Care in Regional, Rural and Remote Queensland Research Symposium, co-hosted by EMF and the Jamieson Trauma Institute (JTI). The symposium will showcase research and innovative approaches to improving trauma care, including: ▪️ Interhospital transfers for mild traumatic brain injury ▪️ Out-of-hospital pain management ▪️Telehealth-supported trauma care and retrieval medicine ▪️ Trauma research capability building ▪️ Future priorities for trauma research and innovation 📅 Thursday 20 August 2026 | 12- 5 pm 📍 Frazer Institute Auditorium, Building 71, RBWH Campus, Herston 🚨 View the full program and register here: https://lnkd.in/gw2hzPFu EMF and JTI gratefully acknowledge the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) for supporting the Trauma Care in Regional, Rural and Remote Queensland program. #TraumaCare #EmergencyMedicineResearch #EMFResearch

📢 EMF is proud to announce the recipients of Round 45 of the Queensland Research Program, investing $1.8 million in 21 clinician-led research projects that aim to improve emergency care for Queenslanders. This highly competitive round supports research tackling some of emergency care's biggest challenges, including rural and remote healthcare access, retrieval medicine, artificial intelligence, culturally safe care and innovative new models of care. A key feature of this round is investment in building research capability where it is needed most. Across the state, from Kingaroy to Cairns, EMF is supporting clinicians to generate evidence that benefits their local communities and helps ensure all Queenslanders can access high-quality emergency care, regardless of where they live. 🗨️ "These projects demonstrate the enormous commitment of Queensland clinicians to improving emergency care through research and innovation," said EMF Board Chair Prof Hugh Grantham ASM. Supported by the Queensland Government through Queensland Health, these projects will generate practical evidence to improve patient outcomes and strengthen emergency care systems statewide. 📖 Read more about the successful projects: https://lnkd.in/gWVfGXuw 📌 Round 46 is open for applications. Find out more on our website: https://lnkd.in/gQa7qPYf  #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch #QueenslandResearchProgram  

Through the Queensland Research Program, EMF invests in clinician-led research that addresses real-world challenges and improves emergency care for Queenslanders. 🗨️ As an emergency medicine registrar and EMF grant reviewer, Dr Thomas Shanahan has seen first-hand why investment in emergency care research matters. His message is a timely reminder of the impact research can have for patients, clinicians and the health system. In Round 46, provides funding across four grant schemes, supporting research from early-stage ideas through to projects that translate evidence into practice. 📅 Applications close:  🔹 17 August – Jumpstart, Leading Edge & TranslatED  🔸 31 August – Emerge 📌 Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gQa7qPYf  EMF thanks the Queensland Government for funding this program through Queensland Health. #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch #QueenslandResearchProgram 

🩸 Faster detection of bloodstream infections in the ED Supported by the EMF-funded TEAM SEPSIS collaboration led by Dr Julian Williams and a multidisciplinary team, the BETTER study evaluated a novel rapid diagnostic test that can identify common bloodstream pathogens directly from whole blood within hours. The study explored whether earlier identification of bacteraemia could support more timely and targeted treatment for patients with suspected sepsis. 🧪 Researchers compared the T2Bacteria test with conventional blood cultures in 101 emergency department patients at high risk of bloodstream infection.   Findings:  🔹 Results were available in a median of 8.7 hours, substantially faster than conventional blood culture methods  🔸 The test demonstrated high specificity (94%) for detecting pathogens included in the testing panel  🔹 Earlier results could potentially have supported adjustment of antibiotic treatment in almost one-third of patients with confirmed bacteraemia  🔸 The test appeared most useful for identifying patients who may require earlier escalation of antimicrobial therapy While further research is needed before routine implementation, the findings highlight the potential role of rapid diagnostics in supporting earlier, more targeted treatment for patients with suspected sepsis. 📖 Publication: https://lnkd.in/g7uBNbY5  Authors: Anna Maria Peri, Jaimi Greenslade, Angela Z. Hills, Mercedes T. Ray, Patrick N. A. Harris, David L. Paterson and Julian M. Williams #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch #Sepsis Metro North Health

📢 Trauma Care Scholarships Open Now  Dr Elyssia Bourke has recently joined the teaching faculty for the Emergency Medicine Research Course, delivered by Monash University and The Alfred Emergency & Trauma Centre, helping equip clinicians with the skills and confidence to turn questions from clinical practice into meaningful research. 📚 Through EMF's Trauma Care Scholarships, Queensland-based emergency clinicians can undertake this semester-long course and build practical skills in research design, critical appraisal and evidence-based care. 🤝 Designed for clinicians who are new to research, the program also provides mentorship support, with applicants able to nominate their own mentor or select from a panel of experienced researchers through the Jamieson Trauma Institute.  The scholarships aim to support research capability and improve trauma care in regional, rural and remote Queensland. 📅 Applications close: 10 August 2026 📌 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gCzxa597  EMF thanks the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) for supporting this program. #EMFResearch #EmergencyMedicineResearch #TraumaCare #ResearchScholarships