VicREN

VicREN is a practice-based research network (PBRN) managed by the University of Melbourne that enables collaboration between community-based health care practices, community members and academic institutions.

VicREN aims to encourage the conduct of evidence-based primary care practice by:

• supporting collaborative practice-based primary care research that makes a difference to health outcomes and experiences of care
• providing primary care providers and patients with opportunities to engage in research, access research expertise and other development opportunities available through the Department of General Practice and Primary Care and the University of Melbourne;
• contributing to dissemination of research findings.

Opportunities to collaborate with VicREN

We encourage researchers planning general practice-related research (including use of Patron data) to contact us at least 4 weeks before their deadline, and earlier where possible.

Our collaborators benefit from our research expertise including designing studies for the unique general practice environment, providing methodological advice around recruitment of GPs/practices and patients, and creation of appropriate recruitment materials and advertisements. Further information is available here.

Collaborate with us

We welcome requests to collaborate with researchers and clinicians from across universities and research centres. Please complete the enquiries form via the button below and a Primary Care Trials Unit team member will be in contact to discuss your request further.

Enquiry form

VicREN is a practice-based research and education network that enables collaboration between the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Melbourne, primary care practices around Australia (mostly in Victoria) and other researchers. VicREN and Data for Decisions are not for profit.

VicREN members are provided with opportunities to learn more about research and teaching and contribute to research projects that make a difference to practice, public health, and policy. It links primary care practitioners and community members with researchers. Go to the Membership page to learn more.

Community members are also invited to join our Advisory Pool for potential opportunities to contribute to the development of University of Melbourne's Department of General Practice and Primary Care and education activities.

Researchers or others interested in utilising VicREN's research/trial consultancy and recruitment services can find more information on the Research Services page.

Many of the practices that supervise medical students (teaching and learning practices) are also involved in research, that is why VicREN combines research and education in the one network.

Data for Decisions

VicREN has an e-research network called Data for Decisions. Over 100 general practices partner with us to provide de-identified data and are organisational members of VicREN. Learn more on the Research Services page.

Please contact us if you are part of an Australian general practice interested in becoming a Data for Decisions partner.

We encourage staff and clinicians at Data for Decisions practices to become individual members of VicREN.

History

Since 2007, the VicREN team have developed expertise in implementing research in the primary care setting, and in recruiting both practitioners and patients for primary care research without compromising or interrupting clinical care.

Follow the links to articles in the Australian Family Physician, written by VicREN team members, about the establishment of VicREN and about practice-based research networks in Australia.

Governance

Our updated governance structure and strategic advisory group will be described here soon.

VicREN Advisory Groups

VicREN primary care provider or consumer Advisory Groups provide advice to academics so that research and education activities are developed in ways that are important to them and practical to implement. Please contact us if you are interested in being a part of the Advisory Group.

Our Team

• Prof Lena Sanci: VicREN Chair, Head of Department
• A/Prof Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis: Deputy Head of Department
• Prof Meredith Temple-Smith: Director of Research Training
• Jane Henty: Teaching and Learning Manager
• Department Database Manager
• Practice Liaison and Recruitment Officers
• Research Assistants
• Department Business Manager and administrator support
• Last but not least, our active VicREN member advisors

VicREN members include GPs, practice nurses, practice managers and other healthcare providers working in general practice or community health care settings.
Membership is free.

Why do we need VicREN?

Primary care is the healthcare setting people use and attend most frequently; however, most health care research is conducted in the hospital or laboratory setting.

Research generated in hospital and laboratory settings may not be relevant to primary care clinical practice. To be applicable and meaningful, research about primary care should be designed for, and undertaken within, the primary care environment. VicREN helps this to happen.

Join VicREN

Are you:

• Interested in primary care research? Perhaps aged care, cancer, chronic illness, children and adolescent health, complementary medicine, data driven quality improvement, education, mental health, abuse & violence, sexual health, or other areas?
• Looking for something to complement your clinical work?
• Keen to be part of the ‘bigger picture’ of primary health care?
• Wanting to acquire research skills?
• Interested in meeting colleagues and other community members who share your interest in research and new knowledge?
• Interested in networking with other research and teaching practices?

Member Eligibility

VicREN accepts membership applications from all primary health care practitioners working in a general practice or community health setting, and community members are invited to join the Advisory Pool.

Membership Benefits

• Membership is free with no obligations.
• Introduction to research and the wider research community
• Links with other network members and access to academic research staff
• e-bulletins about current research projects, training opportunities, conferences & University events
• Regular newsletters
• Access to research training, events and other educational opportunities

Join now

Member Testimonial

Dr Debra Wilson MBBS FRACGP DRANZCOG, Practice Principal, Grantham Street General Practice, Brunswick West, Victoria, Australia

"I have been a member of VicREN from its inception. I have actively engaged with the network and so I find it a vibrant connection of people able to engage in and drive priorities in primary health care research.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to discuss ideas with my GP colleagues and to see these ideas evolve into meaningful, practical knowledge and research, brought to life by the expertise of our academic colleagues at the Department. I highly recommend VicREN to all my curious GP colleagues as we continue to navigate the fast-moving world of primary health care."

Recruitment, GP Consulting and Data Services

The VicREN team works with the Department of General Practice and Primary Care Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit (PCTU) to provide a general practice and primary care trial recruiting and research consulting service. We provide various levels of assistance. Contact us for pricing and service enquiries.

Collaboration. Department of General Practice and Primary Care academic GPs can collaborate on general practice projects arising outside of our Department. This can have many benefits. The extent of the collaboration varies from project to project.

Our collaborators benefit from our research expertise including designing studies for the unique general practice environment, providing methodological advice around recruitment of GPs/practices and patients, and creation of appropriate recruitment materials and advertisements.

Advertising/promoting studies. We promote primary care related research through the distribution and promotion in regular e-bulletins and notices to GPs, practice managers, practice nurses and broader primary care organisations. Contact us if you have a general practice-related project to promote (Conditions apply – not all requests will be promoted).

Active recruitment. VicREN has services to recruit GPs, general practices and/or patients (fee based). The level of involvement can range from:

• identifying a GP/practice that may be interested in a study/trial and passing on details to a researcher and/or recruiting a GP advisor / associate investigator for a study;
• engaging with and visiting practices, educating staff about study details, and gaining their consent to participate;
• recruiting patients for trials within consenting practices under direction from the research team;
• identifying patients who may be eligible in our Data for Decisions/ Patron network and working with the GP practice to recruitment them;
• organising and hosting events, e.g. practitioner of consumer focus or advisory groups; and
• undertaking commissioned and/or collaborative research studies or evaluations, including recruitment, data collection, analysis and write up.

Patron primary care data repository. Over 100 general practices across Victoria contribute de-identified data from their electronic medical records to the Department of General Practice and Primary Care Patron data repository. This is part of VicREN’s Data for Decisions program of research. Get more information from the Data for Decisions website (go to the ‘Communities and Data Use’ tab and then the ‘Researchers’ section). There are costs associated with accessing Patron data and due dates for submission of applications to access Patron data. The independent Patron Data Governance Committee meets quarterly to assess applications.

• Quotes for access Patron data. Be sure to contact the VicREN / Data for Decisions team as soon as you commence grant writing. Not all quotes are straightforward. Some projects require a single data extraction, others require extractions at multiple timepoints, data linkage capability, in-house data anslysis, and/or VicREN liaison with practices to gain practice consent to be part of an intervention study that might or might not require re-identification of Patron data (which can only happen with patient consent, and patient consent can only be gained by having a consenting practice contact the patient on behalf of the researchers).

When to contact VicREN

We encourage researchers planning general practice-related research (including use of Patron data) to contact us a minimum of four to six weeks before the deadline for their research proposal/project. This time is essential to understand your project, enable us to provide appropriate advice/options specific to your project and determine if we can assist.

Researcher often find out too late that they have under budgeted (or not budgeted at all) for general practice recruitment or use of general practice data, leading to study time and expense blow outs.  We regularly receive requests for recruitment assistance after researchers discover how difficult it can be to engage general practice staff and clinicians in research and trials. Be sure to contact us BEFORE you write your grant proposal!

Example projects assisted by VicREN through active recruitment of practices and/or participants:

• Future Health Today
• Data for Decisions
• The PARTNER Project
• HARMONY
• I-PACED: Implementing Pathways for Cancer Early Diagnosis
• SpringboarD
• The Target-D Trial
• Great Expectations: Achieving the promise of public reporting of health service performance
• The CRISP tool
• First cohort recruitment for NPS MedicineInsight