Research highlight: The Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration

Professor Mark Fitzgerald (2nd from left) speaking at a recent AITSC forum hosted
by the National Trauma Research Institute. Prof Fitzgerald will be giving
Central Clinical School's public lecture on 12 Oct 2016, on trauma systems.

Commencing in 2013, the Australian and Indian governments invested over $2.6 million through their Australia-India Strategic Research Fund Grand Challenge Scheme, to find the best ways of delivering needed care to injured people.

The Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration (AITSC) brings together governments, industry, clinicians and researchers to improve information and resources, and to pilot new systems of care.


Led by the National Trauma Research Institute in Australia, and the JPN Apex Trauma Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in India, the program brings together some of the world’s leaders in trauma care.  The Australian investigator group consists of members from the NTRI/The Alfred, Monash University, Ambulance Victoria, the Australian Centre for Health Innovation, The George Institute for Global Health and the World Health Organization.

This multifaceted and complex program of work is currently commencing its third year. Together with our Indian partners, the collaboration has established, or in the next phase, will commence:

•    A clinical data platform to lay foundations for an Indian national trauma registry.  A pilot was performed in October 2014, and in 2015, a new dataset, reducing the numbers of data points from 134 to 80 commenced.  This project is consistent with global initiatives led by the WHO;
•    A pre-hospital notification system in four major trauma hospitals in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and three major ambulance service providers.  An evaluation of the effect on trauma patients arriving at trauma centres by ambulance will be commencing soon;
•    A real time, computer-aided decision and action support system (TR&R system) and studying the effect in reducing  the incidence of management errors for severely injured patients in the first 30 minutes after admission to an adult Trauma Center (JPNATC);
•    A prospective observational study to evaluate the impact of introducing a structured Trauma Quality Improvement (TQI) meeting on the processes and outcomes in four Indian trauma centres; and
•    A trial to evaluate the effect of a rehabilitation prescription using a novel mobile application for trauma patients with lower limb fractures requiring fixation or stabilization on functional outcomes, post-discharge complications and quality of life.

Long term, all projects will have application and impact within the context of Australia’s own trauma care.  Further information on this program can be found at: www.aitsc.org.