Research Committee

Role of the Research Committee

• Consider the merit of research proposals and collaborations that are submitted to IFEM for endorsement
• Explore and potentially develop global research collaborations to further emergency care internationally
• Act as a resource for IFEM to develop a research agenda and assist in prioritization of research internationally
• Act as a resource of research training and scholarship for the international research community

Membership

Associate Professor Jonathan Knott | Chair
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine

Associate Professor Jonathan Knott is the Head of Emergency Research at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia and the Clinical sub-Dean for Emergency Medicine at the University of Melbourne. He has published on a wide variety of clinical topics but his expertise is in the management of Behavioural Emergencies and particularly the use of therapeutic sedation for acute agitation. He is a member of several local, national and international Boards and committees that cover research, education and the provision of safe and effective healthcare.

Professor Jonathan Benger | Vice Chair
Royal College of Emergency Physicians

Professor Jonathan Benger is the Director of the Academic Department of Emergency Care at the University of the West of England, Bristol, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at University Hospitals Bristol and Consultant in Pre-Hospital Care at South Western Ambulance Service. He was the founding medical advisor to the Great Western Air Ambulance, and remains active in pre-hospital care. Jonathan’s main research interests are the evaluation of new technologies and techniques, service configuration and workforce, emergency airway management, resuscitation and pre-hospital care. Since May 2013 Jonathan has been the National Clinical Director for Urgent Care at NHS England, working on NHS England’s review of urgent and emergency care including the Ambulance Response Programme.

Work and achievements

CENTER-TBI
Is the first project to be endorsed by IFEM. It is a large European project that aims to improve the care for patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Research Primers
The IFEM Core Curriculum and Education Committee and the Research Committee have collaborated on the development of a suite of 13 Research Primers. The suite has been published in the African Journal of Emergency Medicine.

ICEM2019
The Committee ran a pre-conference research workshop at ICEM2019 and as usual, the Committee assisted with ICEM abstract scoring, the MacFarlane Burnet poster prize and determination of the winners of the four new IFEM prizes (Best Paper at ICEM, Best Paper by a Young Investigator, Best Paper by a Trainee and Best Paper – Evidence into Practice).

Collaboration with the Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (AACEM)
In 2019, the Committee Chair and immediate past IFEM President collaborated with AACEM in the development of a questionnaire to be used to determine what involvement academic emergency departments have in international emergency medicine. After approval by the AACEM executive, surveys will be commenced, in the USA initially.

Resources and Training

Peer Review of Junior Researcher Protocol Service
The Research Committee has developed a service where junior researchers can submit their research protocols for peer review, with the aim of providing feedback that is educational, strengthens the projects’ methodology, facilitates project ethics/IRB approval and increases the chance of funding.

Peer Review of Junior Researcher Protocols
Download

Overcoming the Ethical and Operational Challenges in International Emergency Medicine Research
Medical research is fundamental for advancing the science of emergency medicine and
informing the development of best practice patient management. Clinical research
usually involves the active participation of patients and is associated with some patient
time commitment, inconvenience, and possibly risk. Following a series of research
atrocities, principles of human research ethics have been developed to mitigate this risk
and to protect both researchers and research participants. These ethical principles relate
to all medical research disciplines, including Emergency Medicine (EM).

However, the nature of EM and the Emergency Department (ED) setting present a
number of barriers to the application of these principles and can make research in this
area challenging. This document aims to describe these challenges, how they might
impact the case of a hypothetical ED patient and to suggest guidance on how they might
be addressed in order to provide best clinical research practice.

The development of EM, and research in the discipline, is expanding world-wide.
Accordingly, this document is written from an international perspective, with particular
focus on collaboration and global differences in research capacity, experience and
resource.

Download

Ethical Conduct in Research Checklist
The Research Committee has produced a Checklist to aid Ethical Conduct in Research.

List of Research Content Experts and Areas of Specialization
The Research Committee has developed a list of researchers who are interested in international research – as content reviewers for IFEM sponsored or supported conferences and for multi-country research. You can view the list here. If you are interested in contacting members of the research panel, please contact IFEM.

Emergency Medicine Research
Useful emergency medicine research links

Criteria for Endorsement of Research Projects and Collaborations

The Research Committee has developed a process for endorsement of International Research Projects and Collaborations.

IFEM research project endorsement – Interactive

IFEM research collaboration endorsement – application form 2020 interactive

Distribution of Surveys

IFEM will consider applications to distribute surveys that align with its mission.  Details and application form here.