Merrick Zwarenstein - KT ICEBeRG / GReBECI

Biography

Merrick Zwarenstein has an overarching interest in quality in health care, and strategies for improving it. This requires changing professional clinical choices and behaviours using multifaceted strategies including academic detailing, record based prompts, patient mediated interventions. These interventions are aimed mainly at chronic disease, including asthma and diabetes, and at other respiratory conditions including Tuberculosis. He has a further interest in doctor-nurse collaboration, and patient-carer interactions.

Mr. Zwarenstein’s methodological interests are pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trials of complex interventions, integrated with qualitative research. He also conducts systematic reviews for evaluation of health care interventions.

His teaching and educational interests have been focused on intensive interactive short courses for in-service training of healthcare professionals. He designed, convened and taught for ten years an 80-hour introductory, practical course in health services research techniques. He also designed, taught and convened an intermediate level follow up course of similar style and subject lasting 40 hours. Related to his knowledge translation interests mentioned above, he has designed very short educational interventions delivered by academic detailers, developed using qualitative research method to identify barriers to evidence based clinical practice.

His information technology interest is in the use of palm top computers for data collection for surveys, where he had a provisional patent. He has also done work on large datasets describing health professionals, hospitals and their distribution, using geographic information systems to map access to care.

Fairall L, Zwarenstein M et al. Educational outreach to nurses improves tuberculosis case detection and primary care of respiratory illness: a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. (Accepted August 2005 BMJ).

Fairall L, Zwarenstein M, Bateman E, Bachmann M, Lombard C, Majara B, Joubert G, English R, Bheekie A, van Rensburg HC, Mayers P, Peters A, Chapmen R, of the Multi-Country Evaluation Network for the World Health Organization’s Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL). Educational Outreach to Nurses Improves Tuberculosis Case Detection and Primary Care of Respiratory Illness: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. (Submitted JAMA)

Aaserud M, Lewin S, Innvaer S, Paulsen EJ, Dahlgren AT, Trommald M, DUley L, Zwarenstein M and Oxman AD. Translating research into policy in developing countries: a case study of magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia (Submitted BMC Health Services Research)

Lewin S, Zwarenstein M et al. Economic evaluation of a staff training intervention to improve quality of tuberculosis care in primary care clinics in South Africa. (Submitted International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases)

Grimshaw J, McAuley LM, Bero LA, Grilli R, Oxman AD, Ramsay C, Vale L, Zwarenstein M. Systematic Reviews of the Effectiveness of Quality Improvement Strategies and Programs. In Quality Improvement: Understanding the science of change in health care. London: BMJ Publication, 2004:79-96.

Austin P, Mamdani M, Tu K, Zwarenstein M. Changes in prescribing patterns following publication of the ALLHAT study. JAMA. 2004;291:44-45.

Dick J, Lewin S, Rose E, Zwarenstein M, Van Der Walt H. Attempting To Change Professional Practice In tuberculosis Care In South Africa: The Development Of An Educational Intervention. (Accepted [pending revisions] by the J Adv Nurs. May 2003.)

Davis D, Evans M, Jadad A, Perrier L, Rath D, Ryan D, Sibbald G, Straus S, Rappolt S, Wowk M, Zwarenstein M. The Case for Knowledge Translation: shortening the journey from evidence to effect. BMJ. July 2003; 327(7405):33-5.

Grimshaw J, McAuley LM, Bero LA, Grilli R, Oxman AD, Ramsay C, Vale L, Zwarenstein M. Systematic Reviews of the Effectiveness of Quality Improvement Strategies and Programs. Qual and Saf Health Care. Aug 2003;12:298-30.