BackgroundIn the pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Community Action for Health (CAH) is considered a crucial strategy. CAH empowers communities to define their healthcare priorities and monitor the effectiveness of implemented reforms. With a long history in India, CAH has been incorporated into national policies like the National Rural Health Mission and the National Health Policy. Globally, CAH is associated with improved health outcomes, increased health literacy, and stronger healthcare systems. However, despite its potential, CAH faces challenges in India. While a pilot program showed positive impacts, concerns about its confrontational nature led to a shift towards less confrontational methods. Currently, CAH is considered underutilized and under-researched.A 2020 review called for more systematic and nuanced documentation of CAH experiences, urging the need to identify contexts that enable or hinder its success, as well as scalable and adaptable tools. Current research is fragmented, focusing

Background SMARThealth is a digital primary health care ecosystem developed by The George Institute to overcome limitations in chronic disease care, particularly in low resource settings. Designed for use by community healthcare workers (CHWs), it supports the Systematic Medical Appraisal, Referral and Treatment (SMART) of chronic conditions through evidence-based point of care decision support. People living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) often receive care that is disjointed and focused on individual diseases rather than the person as a whole. This siloed approach leads to suboptimal health outcomes and inefficiencies in the healthcare system. Current health services are not designed to manage the complex and intersecting needs of individuals with MLTCs. There is a pressing need to develop integrated, person-centred approaches that can deliver coordinated, high-quality care for people with MLTCs in low-resource settings. Aim To develop and conduct a pre

Background Cancer incidence is rising rapidly worldwide, with projections estimating 24 million new cases annually by 2035. Low- and middle-income countries are expected to bear over 70% of this burden, with the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) particularly affected. In 2020, APAC accounted for nearly 60% of global cancer deaths, and cancer remains the second leading cause of mortality in the region, responsible for approximately 4.5 million deaths in 2016. A significant challenge in APAC is the shortfall in radiotherapy services, with projections indicating that over 5 million cancer patients annually will require radiotherapy by 2035. Despite technological advancements, audits of radiotherapy services across the region have highlighted gaps in quality and accessibility, underscoring the urgent need for investment in infrastructure and data-driven improvements. A key factor in enhancing radiotherapy services is the effective use of information systems, which can store and analyse crucial data on pa

Background Each year, more than 170,000 Australians are treated in intensive care units, where nearly all receive intravenous fluids to maintain their blood pressure and circulatory stability. However, when not carefully managed, this treatment can result in fluid overload, a condition linked to multi-organ failure and a higher risk of death. Studies show that for every extra millilitre per kilogram of fluid given, the risk of mortality rises by 2%. Despite the widespread use and potential serious consequences of fluid therapy, there is a major gap in evidence to guide when and how best to remove excess fluid. Fluid overload remains a complex and often overlooked issue in Australian ICUs, with research indicating that patients frequently maintain a positive fluid balance during the early days of intensive care, which correlates with higher hospital mortality. International findings highlight the global impact of this problem, yet no randomised trials have tested fluid removal strategies in gen

The RESist-NCD Partnership RESist-NCD comprises a comprehensive four-year program of work (2024-2028) to support governments in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia to develop interventions for the prevention and early treatment of diabetes and hypertension (a key cardiovascular disease risk factor). The RESist-NCD consortium includes: The George Institute for Global Health; UNSW, Sydney; and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and embeds strong partnership with relevant interest-holders in governments, health services, academic institutions, civil society organisations, communities and international agencies in the RESist-NCD partner countries. The RESist-NCD program is addressing crucial gaps in NCD policy implementation through three integrated workstreams that take a whole systems approach. Our program will not only strengthen high quality, equitable diabetes and hypertension prevention, screening and management services integrated with primary health care