FAST Strides: Software for faster diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening infections

About the project and the involvement opportunity

This project relates to a new test to help doctors prescribe the right antibiotic to treat patients with serious life-threatening infections quicker. The new test is much faster than existing tests, taking hours instead of days.

Benefits for individual patients:

Right treatment quicker
Avoid being prescribed ineffective antibiotics, which could lead to getting sicker
Avoid being treated with overly strong antibiotics, and unnecessarily disturbing too many of your ‘good bugs’

The steps to perform the new test are established. Analytical software is being refined to automatically analyse the test results. This is a critical step since it removes the need for specialist personnel in every lab that wants to use the test. A lot of testing and performance evaluation must be conducted before the test is approved by regulators in each country for use in clinical labs.

We would like to learn more about the perspectives patients have on the types of tests used to tailor the treatment of their infections. We want to consider in our data analysis and reporting tools, patient insights into the impact on them of the methods used to make antibiotic treatment decisions.

About the position

Working with the researchers, you can share your insights into the desirable features of antimicrobial susceptibility tests from a patient perspective.

What skills or experience do I need?

Using your lived experience of bloodstream infections, preferably sepsis, the research team will assist you to understand the tests already developed, and the analytical software and reporting system under development. This will enable you to give a consumer perspective on the new tests and how the results influence treatment choices. The research team an provide you with the information to understand the basic principles of serious life-threatening infection but would prefer a lived experience either directly or indirectly of bloodstream infections, such as sepsis.

How long am I expected to be involved?

This project runs until February 2024, meetings will be arranged to suit consumers and researchers.

Where will meetings be held?

Meetings will be held at a mutually convenient location or online, mindful of privacy and confidentiality issues when discussing health-related matters.

What support is offered?

$37.50 per hour honorarium. Training and support is offered by the Consumer and Community Involvement Program.

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