Developing and testing a digital intervention to improve medication adherence after stroke

Globally, stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Prevention of stroke involves the management of modifiable risk factors through lifestyle changes and the use of specific medications (e.g. antihypertensive, antithrombotic and lipid-lowering medications). Although the safety and efficacy of these medications has been demonstrated in randomised controlled trials, long-term medication adherence is often sub-optimal. We have previously shown that almost 1 in 3 patients discontinue their secondary prevention medications within the first year post-stroke. Innovative digital solutions are needed to individualise support for patients post-stroke to maximise long-term medication adherence and patient outcomes. The student will work within the Big Data, Epidemiology and Prevention Division of the Stroke and Ageing Research (STAR) group, Monash University to: • evaluate published evidence related to digital interventions for medication adherence (phase 1) • engage with relevant stakeholders to co-design a prototype intervention to support medication adherence (phase 2) • pilot test the digital intervention to ascertain its feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness (phase 3) With the support of the supervisory team, the student is expected to independently lead this innovative program of work. Each phase, will involve seeking ethics approval (as required), formulating novel research questions and hypotheses, developing a protocol with iterative feedback from supervisors and collaborators, collecting and analysing data, and preparing a scientific manuscript for submission to a leading medical journal. Following successful completion of each annual milestone review, the student will be required to submit a PhD thesis by publication. With supportive supervision, the student will develop the following skills and experience during the research program: • Public Health Research • Theoretical and practical knowledge of clinical trials and statistics • Ability to undertake a systematic review (and meta-analysis) • Publication in prominent scientific journals The project is most suitable for a PhD degree, however, modification to suit the requirements of a Masters by Research may be considered.