Targeted Approaches To Improve Cancer Services (TACTICS)

Aim 1 - Increase cancer prevention and early detection through immunisation and screening

• Study 1A: An alternative bowel screening pathway: A RCT to increase Indigenous participation
• Study 1B: A Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to improve cervical screening uptake among never- and under-screened Indigenous women
• Study 1C: Understanding knowledge of and attitudes towards HPV vaccination among Indigenous Australians

Aim - 2 Improve diagnosis and treatment through health service innovation

• Study 2A: Facilitating communication and providing culturally appropriate resources to Indigenous patients receiving external beam radiotherapy
• Study 2B: Empowering Indigenous cancer patients in clinical consultations
• Study 2C: Implementation of optimal care pathways for Indigenous cancer patients
• Study 2D: Adjuvant endocrine therapy underuse in breast cancer survivors
• Study 2E: Indigenous cancer patients’ participation in clinical trials

Aim - 3 Provide appropriate care to enhance psychosocial wellbeing of Indigenous cancer survivors, their partners and carers across the cancer continuum

• Study 3A: National implementation: Supportive Care Needs Assessment Tool for Indigenous Cancer Patients (SCNAT-IP)
• Study 3B: Supportive care needs of partners and caregivers of Indigenous cancer survivors
• Study 3C: Developing a tool to assess Indigenous cancer survivors’ wellbeing and quality of life
• Study 3D: Identifying the dimensions of Indigenous wellbeing: an international perspective
• Study 3E: Understanding survivorship amongst Indigenous women with breast cancer

TACTICS Investigators

Key Staff

• Senior Researchers

  • Gail Garvey, Senior Principal Research Fellow
  • Joan Cunningham, Senior Principal Research Fellow
  • John Condon, Senior Principal Research Fellow

• PostDocs

  • Lorraine Bell, Project Coordinator
  • Abbey Diaz, Menzies Early Career Research Fellow
  • Lisa Whop, Senior Research Fellow
  • Kate Anderson, Postdoctoral Researcher
  • Tamara Butler, Postdoctoral Researcher

• PhD/Masters students

  • Monica Green, PhD candidate
  • Beverley Marcusson, Masters student
  • Alana Gall, PhD candidate
  • Research Assistants
  • Rachael Jaenke, Research Assistant

• CRE Management

  • Bronwyn Morris, Research Program Manager

• Research Team Staff

  • Caitlin Wharton, Engagement, Translation & Communication Support Officer
  • Mark Westby, Study Coordinator
  • Boden Tighe, Training & Site Support Officer 
  • Jenny Brands, Research & Translation Coordinator
  • Brian Arley, Project Officer

• Cadets

  • Sam Whitney, Cadet

Contact:

• Dr Bronwyn Morris - Phone: 07 3169 4214 - Email: Bronwyn.Morris@menzies.edu.au

Cancer survival rates in Australia are amongst the best in the world, yet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to experience disparities in cancer outcomes, with cancer being the second leading cause of death among Indigenous Australians.

The Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Targeted Approaches To Improve Cancer Services (TACTICS) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians will build an evidence base through innovative, high-quality, priority-driven, and applied health services research.

TACTICS will focus on emerging priorities in cancer-related health services research. These priorities have been identified through extensive consultations with key stakeholders, with a review of seminal documents, and the substantial research and translation foundation established through the CRE in Discovering Indigenous Strategies to improve Cancer Outcomes Via Engagement, Research Translation and Training (DISCOVER-TT) and a Cancer Council NSW Strategic Partnership (STREP CaCIndA).

The aims of the TACTICS CRE will address critical current issues to:

• increase cancer prevention and early detection through immunisation and screening;
• improve diagnosis and treatment through health service innovation; and
• provide appropriate care to enhance psychosocial wellbeing of Indigenous cancer survivors, their partners and carers across the cancer continuum.

This CRE is an Indigenous-led research program that brings together an impressive team of researchers supported by a strong and culturally sensitive governance structure, along with practitioners, consumers, and other key collaborators nationally and internationally. This collaborative approach will actively promote the translation of research knowledge into Australian public health policy and practice, and build research capacity through training the next generation of researchers in Indigenous cancer control.