Australians in rural and remote areas may experience delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment of up to 53 days, compared to their metropolitan counterparts, contributing to poorer cancer survival.
“Quality cancer care cannot be dependent on postcode”, says A/Prof Anna Ugalde, Chief Investigator A on 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, as recommended in the 2023 Australian Cancer Plan.
The ECORRA Trial implementation package is hypothesised to improve adherence to the diagnosis- and treatment-related components of the Optimal Care Pathways in rural and remote cancer services, to be acceptable and feasible, and lead to reduced healthcare costs. Partnerships with stakeholder organisations, healthcare professionals, and people with the lived experience of cancer have been formalised and will facilitate nationwide scaling from 2029.
The ECORRA Trial represents a significant investment and commitment to develop a nationally scalable model that ensures rural and remote living Australians receive optimal cancer care to improve the survival and equity gap.
Phases
The ECORRA Trial will achieve its aim via three phases:
2024 – 2025
Aims to understand the delivery of cancer care across rural and remote health services
2025 – 2026
Aims to co-design an evidence-informed sustainable and scalable implementation package
2026 – 2029
Aims to implement and evaluate the implementation package with a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial
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.
Investigators
Partnering organisations
The ECORRA Trial partners include leading health organisations committed to ensuring equitable cancer outcomes in rural and remote Australia. Together, these partners work with the Investigator team to drive research, maximise impact, and disseminate findings:
- 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 West Regional Integrated Care Service
- Grampians Integrated Care Service
- Grampians Health
- Cancer Council Queensland
- Cancer Australia
Governance
The ECORRA Trial governance operates in accordance with the ECORRA Trial Charter, established 1st October 2024, as coordinated by Chief Investigator A A/Prof Anna Ugalde and Project Manager A/Prof Skye Marshall.
Research Team
Our research team represent some of Australia’s most outstanding early and mid-career researchers who are responsible for conducting the research and delivering on the outcomes of the ECORRA Trial. The research team include members of the ECORRA Research Group, ECORRA Trial Chief or Associate Investigators, and representatives from collaborating organisations.
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
The ECORRA Trial investigators are currently conducting multiple reviews alongside Phase 1 of the ECORRA Trial, and look forward to sharing the findings in 2025.
