eMJA: MJA/Wyeth Award 2005

Editorial

MJA/Wyeth Award 2005

MJA 2006; 185 (1): 45

The MJA/Wyeth Award 2005 for excellence in clinical research was awarded at the recent AMA National Conference in Adelaide in May 2006.

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, Wyeth Australia Medical Director, Dr Michael Lee, MJA Editor, Martin Van Der Weyden, Associate Professor Paul Johnson and Professor Lindsay Grayson at the MJA/Wyeth Award presentation for 2005.

It was presented to Associate Professor Paul D R Johnson and his colleagues: Rhea Martin, Laurelle J Burrell, Elizabeth A Grabsch, Susan W Kirsa, Jason O’Keeffe, Barrie C Mayall, Deidre Edmonds, Wendy Barr, Christopher Bolger, Humsha Naidoo and M Lindsay Grayson for their research paper “Efficacy of an alcohol/chlorhexidine hand hygiene program in a hospital with high rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection”, published in the 21 November 2005 issue of The Medical Journal of Australia.

The team’s research addressed a problem that has plagued hospital practice since the 19th century — nosocomial infection, which, of late, has become more deadly, with the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Dr Johnson and his team introduced a multi-faceted hand hygiene program at Austin Health in Melbourne using an alcohol/chlorhexidine solution. Through their efforts and tenacity, Dr Johnson and his colleagues produced an increased compliance with hand hygiene by hospital staff with a concomitant reduction in hospital-wide MRSA isolates and patient episodes of MRSA bacteraemia.

Dr Michael Lee, Medical Director of Wyeth Australia, in presenting the Award, noted that:

“. . . This year, Wyeth was particularly interested to learn that the winning publication was to be the result of work in the infectious diseases arena. Globally, we have had a long association with this therapy area, and we have been able to contribute to it in collaboration with other stakeholders in this field of medicine.

. . . We are heartened by the fact that measures such as hand hygiene, an altered approach to shared equipment, education, and other ‘culture change’ initiatives can pay dividends in terms of infection rates and other parameters. The findings of the research team at the Austin have a direct impact on economic considerations and more importantly, on patient outcomes.

. . . Interestingly, the publication of the 2005 Award has highlighted the very fundamental concept that prevention is better than cure”.

Recipients of the MJA/Wyeth Award 1995–2005

The Wyeth Award includes a $10,000 prize for the authors of the best clinical research article published in The Medical Journal of Australia each year.


2005	Efficacy of an alcohol/chlorhexidine hand hygiene program in a hospital with high rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection Paul D R Johnson, Rhea Martin, Laurelle J Burrell, Elizabeth A Grabsch, Susan W Kirsa, Jason O’Keeffe, Barrie C Mayall, Deidre Edmonds, Wendy Barr, Christopher Bolger, Humsha Naidoo and M Lindsay Grayson. Med J Aust 183: 509-514. <eMJA full text>
2004	Preventing pressure ulcers with the Australian Medical Sheepskin: an open-label randomised controlled trial Damien J Jolley, Robyn Wright, Sunita McGowan, Mark B Hickey, Don A Campbell, Rodney D Sinclair, Kenneth C Montgomery. Med J Aust 180: 324-327. <eMJA full text>
2003	Effectiveness of ototopical antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media in Aboriginal children: a community-based, multicentre, double-blind randomised controlled trial Sophie Couzos, Traven Lea, Reinhold Mueller, Richard Murray, Margaret Culbong. Med J Aust 179: 185-190. <eMJA full text>
2002	Sharing the true stories: improving communication between Aboriginal patients and healthcare workers Alan Cass, Anne Lowell, Michael Christie, Paul L Snelling, Melinda Flack, Betty Marrnganyin, Isaac Brown. Med J Aust 176: 466-470. <eMJA full text>
2001	The effects of quality improvement interventions on inhospital mortality after acute myocardial infarction Ian A Scott, Michael D Coory, Catherine M Harper. Med J Aust 175: 465-470.
2000	Reducing premature death and renal failure in Australian Aboriginals: a community-based cardiovascular and renal protective program Wendy E Hoy, Philip R Baker, Angela M Kelly, Zhiqiang Wang. Med J Aust 172: 473-478. <eMJA full text>
1999	Impact of improved diagnosis and treatment on prevalence of gonorrhoea and chlamydial infection in remote Aboriginal communities on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands Penny J Miller, Paul J Torzillo, Wayne Hateley. Med J Aust 170: 429-432.
1998	Outdoor air pollution and children's respiratory symptoms in steel cities of New South Wales Peter R Lewis, Michael J Hensley, John Wlodarczyk, Ruth C Toneguzzi, Victoria Westley-Wise, Trevor Dunn, Dennis Calvert. Med J Aust 169: 459-463. <eMJA full text>
1997	A high incidence of melanoma found in patients with multiple dysplastic naevi by photographic surveillance John W Kelly, Josephine M Yeatman, Cheryl Regalia, Grahame Mason, Amanda P Henham. Med J Aust 167: 191-194. <eMJA full text>
1996	An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in the Torres Strait, Australia, 1995 Jeffrey Hanna, Scott A Ritchie, Debra A Phillips, Jack Shield, M Clare Bailey, John S Mackenzie, Michael Poidinger, Bradley J McCall, Phillip J Mills. Med J Aust 165: 256-260. <eMJA full text>
1995	Gastric emptying in acute overdose: a prospective randomised controlled trial Susan M Pond, David J Lewis-Driver, Gail M Williams, Adèle C Green, Noel W Stevenson. Med J Aust 163: 345-349.