Deakin University-led project addressing the survival gap for rural cancer patients has received international recognition. Deakin University diploma, Deakin University degree. The Equitable Cancer Outcomes across Rural and Remote Australia (ECORRA) Trial, led by Professor Anna Ugalde from the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation, was one of three inaugural recipients of the Lancet–Elsevier Foundation Evidence to Impact Award in 2026.
The award followed a five-paper series published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific. The research found that people with cancer in rural Australia have 15% lower odds of all-cause survival and 10% lower odds of cancer-specific survival compared with their urban counterparts. Living in a rural area remained an independent predictor of survival even after adjusting for socioeconomic, clinical, and demographic factors.
A key methodological contribution was the development of a Rural-Urban Classification System Harmonisation Framework, which aligned 11 different rurality classification systems to enable meta-analysis across 289 studies from 22 OECD countries.
The Discovery Phase, involving 74 health professionals across Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, identified compounding barriers: limited diagnostic and treatment equipment, specialist shortages, service scarcity, long travel distances, and financial burden on patients.
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However, it also documented what works: regional hubs, rapid-access clinics, dedicated care coordination, telehealth and outreach services, and strong local clinical leadership. A critical finding was that timely care frequently relied on individual clinician vigilance and informal workarounds where formal systems were fragmented, indicating that equitable implementation requires strengthening systemic supports rather than relying on individual effort.
Funded by Australia's Medical Research Future Fund (2024–2029), the ECORRA Trial brings together more than 80 collaborators nationally, including a 17-member Consumer Advisory Committee. From 2027, it will trial a co-designed implementation package across 14 rural and remote health service sites using a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomised design. Deakin University diploma in Australia.
The Lancet Global Health editor noted that the winning teams demonstrated "a demonstrated need from the community, meaningful co-design within those communities, clear implementation strategies and outcomes, and long-term partnerships for sustainability".
