People with cancer in rural Australia are up to 72% less likely to survive than those living in cities, and face waits of up to 53 days longer for diagnosis and treatment to begin. Geographic isolation, in a high-income country, can create health inequities as serious as those in lower-resource settings, and rural Australians are now named as a priority population in Australia's national cancer policy. The Equitable Cancer Outcomes across Rural and Remote Australia (ECORRA) Trial, led by Professor Anna Ugalde at Deakin University and funded by Australia's Medical Research Future Fund (2024-2029), is co-designing an implementation package with rural health services, clinicians, and a 17-member consumer advisory committee, to help those services align with national cancer guidelines. The trial brings together over 80 collaborators nationally and will test the implementation package across 14 rural and remote health service sites from 2027.
"We are truly honoured to be recipients of the 2026 Elsevier Foundation-Lancet Evidence to Impact Award." said Professor Anna Ugalde.
"This project represents a national partnership of collaborators from across the Australian cancer control sector, including academia, health services leadership and management, people with a lived experience, policymakers, and advocacy groups who are dedicated to reducing the inequities experienced by people living in rural and remote areas of Australia. We are delighted to be recognised for our methods, in particular, our application of implementation science. We hope this project advances research methods in our field while also driving real-world impact."
"These three winning teams have demonstrated everything we wished to champion when it came to turning evidence into impact: a demonstrated need from the community, meaningful co-design within those communities, clear implementation strategies and outcomes, and long-term partnerships for sustainability. We wholeheartedly congratulate these teams and encourage others to explore the model projects they have conducted in the pursuit of health equity."
Zoe Mullan, Editor in Chief, The Lancet Global Health
"We created these awards to shine a light on the people doing the hard work of turning evidence into better health outcomes. Our winning teams show that lasting change comes from building strong community-driven partnerships and making implementation part of the research from the start. We're also deeply grateful to our outstanding international jury and our colleagues at The Lancet, whose expertise and commitment helped shape and will continue evolve our awards. We're thrilled to recognize these impressive teams and the impact they're making."
Ylann Schemm, Executive Director, Elsevier Foundation
The scientific jury comprised leading implementation scientists from Brown University, Advocate Aurora Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the University of Aberdeen.
Learn more about The Lancet-Elsevier Foundation Evidence to Impact Awards at elsevierfoundation.org/awards/lancet-ef-evidence-to-impact-awards/
Notes for editors
More information about the winning and shortlisted projects and the teams behind them is available on request.
About the Elsevier Foundation
The Elsevier Foundation contributes a million USD a year to non-profit organizations through partnerships which incubate new approaches, highlight inequities, and catalyse change toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Funded by Elsevier, a global information analytics company specializing in science and health, the Elsevier Foundation is part of Elsevier's wider corporate responsibility program. By leveraging Elsevier's networks and unique insights in content, data and analytics, the Elsevier Foundation is able to expand its impact in gender, health, climate action and reduced inequalities. Since 2005, the Elsevier Foundation has contributed over $19 million in grants to over 100 partners in 70 countries around the world. In addition, the Elsevier Foundation offers a special fund to support disaster relief, matching employees' donations, and volunteering to enable employees to work closely with Foundation partners and support their communities. www.elsevierfoundation.org/
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support. For over a century, we have been helping advance science and healthcare to advance human progress. We support academic and corporate research communities, doctors, nurses, future healthcare professionals, and educators across 170 countries in their vital work. We help impact makers achieve better outcomes with research and clinical-grade solutions built on the world's leading evidence-based scientific and medical content, precision AI, and expert human assessment. We champion inclusion and sustainability, working with the communities that we serve. The Elsevier Foundation supports research and health partnerships around the world.
Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.elsevier.com and follow us on social media @elsevierconnect.
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