Timeframe for review:                 Every five years, or earlier if required

Document authorisation:            ACEM Board

Document implementation:        ACEM Finance, Governance and Risk 

Document maintenance:             Lead, ACEM Foundation and Honours

Copyright

2024. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. All rights reserved.

Supporting and encouraging research into Global Emergency Care is an essential step in reducing current global health disparities for peoples from developing countries. Evidence about emergency care, and research priorities for emergency care largely come from mature systems and high-resource contexts.

Research activities conducted jointly between high and limited-resource countries are often critiqued as extractive and neo-colonial, with high-resource researchers gaining unique access to data and information without equal skills and value transfer with their local collaborators. The ACEM Global Emergency Care Committee aims to support and encourage research that is driven by the emergency care needs, gaps and priorities of developing countries and is performed in partnership and collaboration with researchers within these countries.

The award will achieve this by:

• Fostering collaborative research partnerships that involve equal exchange of skills and knowledge;
• Recognising the importance of participatory action research and research methods that enhance collaborative research
• Encouraging ACEM trainee interest (thereby increasing trainee exposure) in Global Emergency Care.

This policy governs the awarding of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM, the College) Global Emergency Care Research Award, which is made annually in respect of a published research paper to be most significant in the field of emergency medicine as it relates to Global Emergency Care.

ACEM / the College

means the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

College member

means a person admitted as a member of the College pursuant to the provisions of the ACEM Constitution and associated regulations.

Trainee

an individual enrolled in an ACEM training program and, for the purposes of this policy, undertaking College requirements for the purpose of attaining eligibility for election to Fellowship of the College.

Global health (GH)

is defined as an area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide. It emphasises transnational health issues and synthesises population-based prevention with individual-level care.

Global Emergency Care (GEC)

is a subset of global health and is primarily concerned with the development and practice of emergency care in resource limited environments. GEC relates to emergency care in developing countries (as defined in COR446 Policy on Defining ‘Developing Country’). It does not include remote or resource challenged environments within Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand or other developed settings. GEC encompasses all aspects of emergency care, including direct clinical service provision, teaching and training, emergency health systems development, quality improvement, leadership, advocacy and research.

Global Emergency Care practice

generally falls within two broad areas:

• Capacity development for emergency care, and
• Emergency assistance in the setting of disasters and complex emergencies.

Good standing

For the purposes of this policy means, a member who is currently compliant with all relevant ACEM renewal of membership requirements and has no financial debts to the College, or a trainee who has no financial debts to the College and has fulfilled all training and assessment requirements applicable to their stage of training.

Published

For the purposes of this policy means publication in an online or printed refereed/peer-reviewed journal. It does not include articles which are not yet published but have been made available via early online access prior to publication.

Quantitative methods

For the purposes of this policy means research utilising methods that emphasise objective measurements and a statistical analysis of data, focusing on collecting and analysing data on numerical and/or categorical variables and generating inferences across groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon.

Qualitative methods

For the purposes of this policy means research:

• examining people’s lives, experiences and behaviours, and the stories and meanings individuals ascribe to them;
• investigating organisational functioning, relationships between individuals and groups, and social environments;
• involving the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials such as case studies, personal experience, life stories, interviews, observations, and cultural texts.

Global Emergency Care research would often use a combination of methods, to ensure the quantitative data and qualitative information is combined in reaching final recommendations and outcomes.

Participatory action research

For the purposes of this policy means research utilizing reflection, data collection, and action that aims to improve health and reduce health inequities through involving the people who, in turn, take actions to improve their own health or health systems.

3.1 Eligibility Criteria

The award may be made to the author of research which, in the opinion of ACEM, makes a significant contribution to emergency medicine as it relates to Global Emergency Care.

A published article which is within its first year of publication is eligible for consideration for this award if:

• its lead author is an ACEM Fellow, FACEM trainee or International Affiliate; and
• the research team is comprised of ACEM and local collaborators, who jointly design the research topic, project design and final report; and
• it is most significant in the field of emergency medicine as it relates to Global Emergency Care; and
• it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal; and
• it has not previously been adjudicated for the award.

Fellows, trainees or international affiliates who have authored an eligible article published during the immediately preceding financial year (1 July to 30 June), may apply for the award when invitations to do so are issued annually by the College.

To be eligible for consideration for possible receipt of the award, the applicant must also be of good standing with the College.

Each application must be accompanied by a copy of the article, and by the relevant application form. signed by the lead author. Where there is more than one author or presenter, the application must indicate the lead author or presenter and confirm that they have obtained consent from all author Fellows, trainees, international affiliates and research partners to apply for this honour.

The award is made annually, if no applicant meets the criteria in a particular year, then the award will not be made.

4. Selection process

5. Award presentation

6. Associated Documents