Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, is a leading killer-disease, threatening the health and wellbeing of millions of Chinese people. China has a particular high share of the global burden of stroke because of the large ‘high-risk’ population. Acute spontaneous non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), or bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel within the brain, is the most serious and difficult-to-treat type of stroke. How best to manage various physiological abnormalities, such as elevated blood pressure and glucose (‘sugar’) in the blood, of patients with ICH is a hot topic at home and abroad.   Co-sponsored and implemented by West China Hospital and The George Institute China, INTERACT3 is a clinical research project to tackle the increasing challenge imposed by ICH, the most serious type of acute stroke due to bleeding in the brain.  It was initiated to determine the effects of a ‘care bundle’, or package of treatment involving systems of care to ensure rapid use of int

Background Geographic clusters with high burden of CKD of unknown cause (CKDu) have been identified in several parts of the world. In Sri Lanka and Central America (Mesoamerican nephropathy), manual labour under very hot conditions in agricultural fields leading to heat stress has been established as the cause. The role of heat exposure on kidney health has not been evaluated in patients with CKDu in the Uddanam region of Andhra Pradesh.  Andhra Pradesh has experienced repeated heat waves for the past 4 to 5 years, and so evaluating the effect of heat stress on kidney function provides a unique opportunity to understand if prolonged exposure to heat is responsible for the high burden of CKD in this region. This study will pave the path for better insights into the role that heat stress plays in the development of on kidney disease in the Indian population. The interventional component of the study will help identify public health strategies towards implementing preventive approaches to mini

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third-leading cause of global health-related disease and deaths. Heart disease is very common in people diagnosed with COPD, and is often the cause of health-related sickness and hospitalisations, causing 30-50% of deaths. Studies repeatedly show that cardiovascular disease in patients with COPD is under-recognised and under-treated yet patients with COPD are frequently not included in clinical trials of drugs which treat heart disease and reduce cardiac deaths.Beta (β)-blockers are medications often used to treat heart disease.  In this study, we will be investigating whether pro-active treatment with a β-blocker in participants with COPD can reduce cardiac events, such as stroke and heart attacks from occurring in the future, compared to placebo. This is important for people with COPD with either known or unknown underlying heart disease. The study also aims to investigate whether this treatment reduces the number of episodes of respiratory exacerba

This research is building on the Ironbark: Standing Strong and Tall project conducted by TGI in 2015 – 2016.  This project found that there was a lack of Aboriginal specific falls prevention and other healthy ageing programs for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The Ironbark: Standing Strong and Tall program was developed to address this gap.      The Ironbark trial is a cluster randomised control trial comparing the health outcomes of the Ironbark: Standing Strong & Tall program (a weekly exercise and yarning circle) to the Ironbark: Healthy Community program (a weekly social program) among groups of Aboriginal people aged 45 years and older.   The research includes funding local Aboriginal services to deliver one of the programs for 10 – 15 Aboriginal people for 12 months.  We aim to recruit 60 services and around 600 participants (both men and women) into the trial over the next 4 years.  We are working with collaborators i

To address the low access to health care services among tribal communities, we are implementing a research project among the tribal and tea tribe communities in the Kokrajhar district in Assam state. This study intends to develop implementation strategies to improve primary healthcare access through the existing public healthcare system.