OTHER NEWS Quality of Life Office Update The Quality of Life (QOL) Office is funded by Cancer Australia to provide advice and support to members of ANZUP on assessing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in cancer clinical trials. This year we welcomed MargaretAnn Tait as our new Research Administration Officer. For any queries regarding the QOL Office please contact Margaret on: margaret-ann.tait@sydney.edu.au
The 2015 Below the Belt Pedalthon was a huge success. The great efforts of all involved in raising funds have allowed ANZUP to launch the Below the Belt Research Fund. The goal of the new fund is to create a pipeline of new ideas to keep trial momentum moving forward. Up to $150,000 will be made available for up to 4 successful investigator initiated studies.
We have been working on a number of projects this year including a systematic review of modes of PRO questionnaire administration to determine whether mode of administration (pen and paper, electronic, phone interview) leads to bias or differences in response rates. You can find our mode of administration frequently asked questions (FAQ) via our webpage: http://www.pocog.org.au/qolfaq.aspx?category=2.
The 2015 applications were opened in late October and we saw an excellent response. 18 high quality applications were submitted by ANZUP members. A grant panel has been appointed by the ANZUP Scientific Advisory Committee to assess the applications and will include consumer representation. The applications are currently being assessed with consideration of scientific excellence, Significance and/or innovation, feasibility, alignment with goals and objectives of ANZUP (20%) and potential to leverage additional funds.
For further details, please see our published systematic review:
Applicants will be notified in December and funds will potentially be made available to projects in January 2016.
Rutherford C, Costa DJ, Mercieca-Bebber R, Rice H, Gabb L, King M. (2015) Mode of administration does not cause bias in patient-reported outcome results: A metaanalysis. Qual Life Res; DOI 10.1007/s11136-015-1110-8 We are also available to assist ANZUP members with PRO research queries via email: https://sydneypsy. qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eV85Bh9eW84R0ln
Wishing Sandra well Sandra is stepping down from her role at ANZUP as Marketing and Communications Coordinator. We were fortunate to have Sandra join us this year with her expertise and experience across social media, marketing and stakeholder relations. As well providing another key point of view to the small ANZUP team, Sandra was a crucial part of our event production and promotions. In particular, she helped us turn the 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting into the most successful so far. We thank Sandra for all her help, and wish her the very best in future. 16 | ANZUP UPdate
ANZUP at City2Sea The Sunday Age City2Sea was held on 15th November in Melbourne. Once again Belinda Jago and the Bec’s Troops team brought friends and family to the race for a great day of fun and friendship. Together they walked, talked and supported ANZUP by reaching their amazing target of $10K of donations. We thank them kindly for all their hard work to assist ANZUP’s ongoing research.
