The main aims of our research activities in the Epidemiology research area are to determine how stroke impacts on patients and Australian society. Over the last 13 years, in collaboration with A/Professor Amanda Thrift at the Baker IDI, Heart and Diabetes Institute we have been focussed on the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS) which initially enrolled stroke patients in 1996-98. A group of more than 1600 stroke patients were enrolled and followed in this study to assess how they fared in the long term. The 10 year follow ups for the final year of the cohort were completed in 2009.
Information collected from NEMESIS over 10 years of follow-up, has allowed us to update our estimates of the costs and burden of stroke in Australia.
The research activities of the Public Health research area include a range of projects related to improving clinical management of stroke and disease prevention. Research quantifying the quality of stroke care in public hospitals is an important area of research. Examples include the establishment of the first Australian clinical quality registry for stroke and involvement in various national audit and evaluation programs, as well as more specific assessments lead by our group in Victoria and New South Wales. We work with the National Stroke Foundation on several public health programs (e.g. Know Your Numbers blood pressure program) and health services evaluations providing academic and statistical contributions.
“The human brain now holds the key to our future. We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space: a single entity in which air, water, and continents are interconnected. That is our home.”
