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ROAR: Using ROAR for more

The Roadmap Of Australian primary health care Research (ROAR) is a free, easily accessed on-line database informing researchers, policy advisors, health professionals and funding bodies alike about who is doing what and where in Australian primary health care (PHC) research.

ROAR provides a snapshot of current Australian PHC research activities listing projects which are often in progress or just completed. As results are frequently not yet published, these projects cannot be captured by searches of journal databases.

How can ROAR work for you?

ROAR lists four project categories which can be searched for specific purposes:

• research project title and description (528)
• profiles of researchers (259)
• funding bodies and programs (41)
• research organisations (165).

Policy advisors/makers often need specific information on current health developments. Are there new studies and who could give expert advice? For example, a keyword search using ‘diabetes' and either ‘indigenous' or ‘aboriginal' of ROAR projects retrieved six projects on diabetes management in the indigenous population and a search of the researcher profiles identified Prof Mark Harris (UNSW) as an expert in diabetes management and indigenous health. In addition, searches of funding and research organisations listed in ROAR provide relevant information on institutional (geographical) distribution of primary health care research and the impact of funding bodies.

Researchers, particularly when planning a study, can use similar keyword searches to identify comparable current research to a) avoid duplication, b) establish collaborations or c) to find mentor(s) for their work. Scanning ROAR for potential funding bodies and research institutions provides further assistance in implementing a particular research idea, especially for independent practitioners.

ROAR projects present a broad spectrum of important fields in PHC and health professionals can find information about what is topical, as well as providing inspiration for their own research efforts.

We welcome your suggestions to enhance ROAR's utility. Please contact:
Gerhard Winter
Research Associate
Ph: 08 8204 3186
E: gerhard.winter@flinders.edu.au

You can submit your researcher profile and project details by electronic submission.
The forms are available on the ROAR webpage: www.phcris.org.au/ROAR