In Australia, approximately seven million people live in rural and remote areas, where they make significant and integral contributions to their country, and are deserving of timely cancer care.
“People living in rural and remote areas may experience delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment of up to 53 days, compared to their metropolitan counterparts”, says Prof Anna Ugalde.”These delays to cancer diagnosis and treatment can lead to poorer cancer survival,” she continues.
Quality cancer care cannot be dependent on postcode. This is the ethos of the 5-year Equitable Cancer Outcomes across Rural and Remote Australia (ECORRA) Trial. Launched in 2024, the ECORRA Trial will co-design and embed an implementation package to support rural and remote cancer services to align with the Optimal Care Pathways, nationally endorsed frameworks for best-practice cancer care, as recommended in the 2023 Australian Cancer Plan.
The ECORRA Trial implementation package is hypothesised to improve adherence to the diagnosis- and treatment-related time-frames set out in the Optimal Care Pathways in rural and remote cancer services, to be acceptable and feasible, and lead to reduced healthcare costs.
The ECORRA Trial represents a significant investment and commitment to develop a sustainable and nationally scalable model that ensures people living in rural and remote areas of Australia receive optimal cancer care.
Lancet-Elsevier Foundation 2026 Evidence to Impact Award
In July 2026 the ECORRA Trial was recognised as one of three projects internationally in The Lancet-Elsevier Foundation Evidence to Impact Awards.
This award is dedicated to supporting research projects that address health challenges internationally and for disadvantaged groups and bridge the gap between scientific evidence and practical application – that make a difference to lives with outstanding methodological rigour. Emphasising the importance of implementation science, the award focuses on sustainability, scalability, collaboration, and community engagement.
Congratulations to our co-investigators, Steering Committee, Advisory group, consumer representatives, and stakeholders across Australia who made this project possible through outstanding collaboration, partnership, science, and stories.
Phases
The ECORRA Trial will achieve its aim via three phases:
Discovery Phase
Aimed to understand the delivery of cancer care across rural and remote health services
2024 – 2025
Co-design Phase
Aims to co-design an evidence-informed sustainable and scalable implementation package
2026-2027
Implementation Phase
Aims to embed and evaluate the co-designed implementation package via a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial
2027 – 2029
Funding
The ECORRA Trial was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund, funding identification number: MRF2030313 (Early to Mid-Career Researchers Scheme). The contents of the published material are solely the responsibility of the participating institutions and/or individual authors and do not reflect the views of the Commonwealth.
Steering Committee
Steering Committee
The ECORRA Trial Steering Committee advises on the research methodology and risk management and supports study conduct.
Advisory Committee
Advisory Committee
The ECORRA Trial Advisory Committee advises and supports site participation and progression of the overall project.
Partnering organisations
Partnerships with stakeholder organisations, healthcare professionals, and people with the lived experience of cancer have been formalised and will facilitate nationwide dissemination and initiative scaling from 2029. Partners include:
- Health Translation SA
- South West Hospital and Health Service
- South Australia Health Rural Support Service
- Western Alliance (Including Colac Area Health and Southwest Healthcare)
- Barwon South Western Regional Integrated Cancer Service
- Grampians Integrated Cancer Service
- Grampians Health
- Cancer Council Queensland
- Cancer Australia
The ECORRA Trial governance operates in accordance with the ECORRA Trial Charter, established 1st October 2024, as coordinated by Chief Investigator Prof Anna Ugalde and Project Manager A/Prof Skye Marshall.
Beyond the incredible support of the ECORRA Trial Partners, and Steering and Advisory Committees, the ECORRA Trial is supported by the ECORRA National Consumer Program, the ECORRA Trial Sustainability and Scalability Subcommittee, the ECORRA Trial Project Management Committee, and the ECORRA Trial Mentors.
Research Team
The research team represent some of Australia’s most outstanding researchers who are responsible for actively conducting the research and delivering on the outcomes of the ECORRA Trial as part of the Discovery and Co-Design Phase Working Groups, and include PhD students, early and mid-career researchers, collaborators, and consumer investigators.
Interested in working towards equitable cancer care by pursing a PhD?
The ECORRA Trial is offering multiple PhD stipends with scholarship top-ups to competitive candidates who have a demonstrated commitment to improving health outcomes in rural and remote Australia.
Publications
Phase 1 of the ECORRA Trial is currently being analysed and we look forward to sharing the findings with you soon.
