People in rural areas of Australia experience poorer health in almost every indicator compared with urban populations; however, rural communities have lower access to primary health, allied health and specialist healthcare. Timely access to care is compounded by persistent and widespread health workforce issues, including attracting and retaining staff.

Australian University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) have been established to address the needs of rural populations with the goal of improving recruitment and retention of health professionals across rural and remote Australia. The work-integrated learning team within The University of Melbourne works with nursing and allied health university students on clinical placement to provide exposure to working in rural health, with a remit to build the capacity of the existing and future workforce. The service-learning model aims to provide reciprocal benefits to stakeholders through purposefully co-designed placements that respond to rural health needs by providing services to underserved communities and ensuring university students are exposed to real world, diverse practice settings.

The overarching aim of this project is to determine the impact of the SL programme for key stakeholders, predominately end users and those stakeholders involved in the delivery of the SL model. The key stakeholders are host site staff, allied health university students, allied health supervisors and the end users of the programme. End users are those individuals that have received allied health services through the programme, such as clients, residents and children.

This study will adopt a convergent mixed methods methodology underpinned by a RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance)/PRISM (Practical, Robust Implementation Sustainability Model) approach. Data collection will include document review, existing programme data review and primary data collection. This will involve conducting surveys and interviews with allied health university students, host organisations and allied health supervisors, and interviews with adult recipients of the service-learning programme. Art-based consultation will be conducted with school-aged children recipients of the service-learning programme. Analysis will be underpinned by the RE-AIM/PRISM framework to inform programme learnings and impact for key stakeholders.

This study has been approved by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (Project ID: 30409).

Findings will be published in a stakeholder project report and peer-review journals in the fields of rural health, implementation science and work integrated learning.

Haematuria contributes significantly to emergency urology admissions with over 4 per 1000 annual UK emergency admissions and 10% readmitted within 30 days. However, there is limited focus on optimising inpatient pathways internationally. Existing studies highlight a substantial underlying malignancy rate (32%) in patients presenting with visible haematuria, yet many receive inconsistent care, leading to prolonged hospital stays and increased resource use. A systematic review performed by our research group found no large-scale prospective studies have been performed in this area, and little is known about current practice. This study aims to address these gaps by investigating current management practices and their impact on outcomes, with the goal of informing evidence-based guidelines and improving patient care.

The Ward AdmiSsion of Haematuria: an Observational mUlticentre sTudy is an international, multicentre prospective observational study designed to describe the management of patients with unplanned admission to hospital with haematuria under the care of the urology team. The study will use a collaborative methodology using the British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training model. This model delivers international multicentre studies by empowering trainees to lead all aspects of multi-centre clinical studies, building research skills cost-effectively while shaping the future urological consultant workforce. Data on demographics, comorbidities, management practices and outcomes will be collected using a standardised case report form and analysed using multilevel linear regression modelling. Primary outcomes include length of stay, while secondary outcomes cover hospitalisation free survival, mortality, readmission rates at 90 days and resource use. The study was launched in January 2024 and will continue follow-up data collection through December 2025. Patient and public involvement (PPI) has been integral to the study design, ensuring that outcomes reflect patient priorities and that the research addresses key areas of concern.

Ethical and regulatory approvals will be obtained as required in each participating region. In the UK, the study is classified as a service evaluation and does not require individual patient consent. Participating sites must obtain local audit department approval. Data will be collected and stored securely, ensuring patient confidentiality. Results will be disseminated through scientific conferences, peer-reviewed publications and patient advocacy groups.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a severe genetic mucocutaneous fragility disorder characterised by chronic blistering, slow wound healing and increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma. Current management options are very limited.

This is a randomised (1:1), placebo-controlled, double-blinded crossover (A/B) trial with an internal phase I dose de-escalation (4+5 design) in the first 3 months and a 12-month continued treatment follow-on open-label study if 3-month outcome data from the crossover trial indicate safe and beneficial effects. RDEB is a rare condition, so we expect to recruit a maximum of 36 participants based on feasibility and not formal power considerations. Participants aged>6 months and x10⁶ cells/kg intravenous infusion of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells or placebo at the start of each crossover period (day 0) and 14 days later. The dose will be de-escalated to 1–1.5x10⁶ cells/kg depending on observed toxicity. For the main crossover trial, the primary outcome is the change in disease severity as measured by the Epidermolysis Bullosa Disease Activity and Scarring Index at 3 months from day 0 infusion. Secondary outcomes measured at 3 and 6 months from day 0 infusion include changes in general clinical appearance of skin disease, pain and itch, and quality of life. Adverse events and serious adverse events will be monitored throughout the trial.

North East—York Research Ethics Committee approved the protocol (ref: 21/NE/0016) on 16 March 2021. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, presented at relevant national and international conferences, and an open-access final report submitted to the funder.

ISRCTN14409785. Protocol V. 8.0, 14 November 2022.

Where a person lives, the characteristics of their housing and neighbourhood environment influence their exposure to climate-related hazards and vulnerability to associated mental health impacts. This suggests that the built environment may be a promising focus for integrated policy responses to climate change and public mental health challenges. However, few empirical studies have focused on the role of the built environment as an important mediator of climate-attributable mental health burden. The proposed scoping review seeks to identify and synthesise existing conceptual models and frameworks linking climate change to mental health via built environment pathways. We aim to provide a preliminary overview of the housing and neighbourhood pathways through which climate change may impact mental health, which will inform future empirical work in this emerging area of research.

A systematic scoping review of the global peer-reviewed and grey literature will be conducted in accordance with Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and Joanna Briggs Institute recommendations. Included articles must present a conceptual model or framework incorporating relevant built environment pathways through which climate change may impact mental health and well-being. Relevant models and frameworks will be identified through systematic searches (for English-language reports) of Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature databases. Two reviewers will independently screen the article titles, abstracts and full texts, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Data extraction will occur using a predefined template. The presentation of findings will conform to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews, including a narrative synthesis of the role of housing and neighbourhood factors in the relationship between climate change and mental health, as identified from the existing literature. The review will lay essential foundations for future empirical research and place-based policy responses to the mental health consequences of a changing climate.

The scoping review will be a secondary analysis of published data, for which ethics approval is not required. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and targeted distribution to stakeholders involved in climate change, built environment and health research and policymaking.

Open Science Framework: doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XR74C.