Research is the backbone of our profession and the APA has a long history of joining forces with academic institutions to strengthen the evidence base of physiotherapy.

Our research partners are conducting valuable and innovative work that will increase clinical knowledge to optimise outcomes for patients.

This kind of work also underlines the vital role that physiotherapists play within the healthcare system.

The APA supports and promotes research through the Physiotherapy Research Foundation, Journal of Physiotherapy, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, the research portal, the Pat Cosh Trust, research commissioned by the APA, the promotion of members’ research projects and research translation activities.

Over the past two years, the Policy and Government Relations team has identified further opportunities to develop and strategically support physiotherapy-specific research by partnering with universities in grant applications.

There is considerable public money available for approved research projects.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the Australian Government’s primary health and medical research funding agency, while the Medical Research Future Fund is a $20 billion long-term investment supporting health and medical research.

The grant programs these two entities manage offer hundreds of millions of dollars to a range of eligible applicants whose projects meet the criteria of excellence across the health and medical research spectrum.

What research partnerships involve

Clinical researchers and others representing Australian academic institutions regularly approach the APA to ask us to support their proposed research projects and/or applications for NHMRC and Medical Research Future Fund funding.

These research projects vary greatly—from relatively small (in scope and duration) to major, million-dollar clinical trials.

Most requests, but not all, ask for APA assistance either ‘in kind’ or through ‘cash’ support for the research project.

The cash component isn’t necessarily money—it can be in the form of merchandise or other tangible deliverables.

However, it is our in-kind contributions that are most sought after and of primary benefit to researchers.

In-kind contributions are crucial to research applications.

Without them, researchers would have to ‘purchase’ these components using project funds.

They typically include time spent on providing advice, strategic decision-making, giving feedback on directions, project planning and participation in the research project.

In many cases, the contribution we are asked to provide is our expertise and specialised knowledge.

Other examples of in-kind support include access to communications and marketing expertise, design work and access to data and in-house information.

It might be as simple as a supporting letter advising that we endorse the project’s aims and its value.

There is also time and work involved in monitoring research projects and ensuring that their progress continues as intended.

For larger scale research projects, our in-kind support includes a representative joining the project’s steering committee or advisory committee.

This means we have direct stakeholder engagement with the research.

APA research partnerships

The APA is a current partner on a number of approved research projects with NHMRC or Medical Research Future Fund funding.

Current partner universities include La Trobe University, the University of Melbourne, Curtin University, Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and Monash University.

Physiotherapist knowledge is an essential resource for active people and people engaged in sports and we are keen to back research that improves outcomes for this patient cohort.

We are supporting La Trobe University’s research evaluating Prep to Play, which aims to ‘train the trainer’ to adopt injury prevention strategies within training and game preparation.

We are also supporting the University of Melbourne’s project ‘Force-reducing minimalist footwear for adolescents with chronic knee pain: a randomised clinical trial’.

The APA enthusiastically assists researchers who are doing much needed work on chronic health conditions that place a large burden on public health.

We are partnering with the University of Melbourne on its Better Hip study, a trial aiming to reduce pain and morbidity for those living with hip osteoarthritis.

Another project we are supporting, ‘Reducing inappropriate knee joint replacement surgery and hospital burden’, involves a breadth of academic partners from La Trobe University, Curtin University and the University of Melbourne.

To improve outcomes for patients living with low back pain, we are supporting researchers from Macquarie University, Monash University, Bond University, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Queen’s University and the University of Sydney conducting a cluster randomised trial, ‘Determining the impact of a new primary care model for low back pain’.

Physiotherapy is a keystone in the healthcare of older people and those with disabilities and the APA is proud to be supporting research that optimises physical activity and exercise programs specific to the care of these vulnerable patient groups.

We are currently partnering with the University of Sydney on its research project ‘Promotion of evidence-based physical activity for older adults and people with disabilities by health professionals’.

We are also supporting Monash University’s ‘The right to rehabilitation for people with dementia: tackling stigma and implementing evidence-based interventions’, which draws on a partnership with two Primary Health Networks to strengthen local access to quality healthcare for people living with dementia.

In November last year, the APA, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Musculoskeletal Australia, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, Duke University and Medibank came together to support an NHMRC Partnership Project grant application, ‘Direct access to publicly funded physiotherapy for musculoskeletal pain: effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and scalability’.

This groundbreaking research project proposes to trial a model of care in which people with musculoskeletal pain are offered direct and compensable access to physiotherapists who are expert at applying guideline-recommended treatment.

Studies conducted outside Australia show that patients offered direct access to physiotherapy services report similar clinical outcomes to those receiving GP-led usual care, but with significantly fewer opioid prescriptions and imaging referrals.

Providing patients with compensable, direct access to physiotherapy may improve patient choice and access to evidence-based care.

If the grant application is successful, this will be the first cluster randomised controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of direct access physiotherapy to GP-led usual care in Australia for patients with musculoskeletal pain.

It is anticipated that a direct access physiotherapy model will result in similar improvements in patients’ function, with lower medication prescription, more efficient use of imaging, a reduction in unnecessary specialist referrals and subsequent lower costs.