THE effectiveness and importance of treatment advice for bowel disease at pharmacies is under the microscope at Curtin University.
The Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) has been working on programs to improve early detection of bowel cancer in patients who present with symptoms at pharmacies.
The work was boosted last week with the Jodi Lee Foundation Research Fellowship granted to Deepa Sriram.
Mrs Sriram will focus her studies on the effectiveness of a questionnaire in helping pharmacists and patients recognise early symptoms.
“Research has shown early detection would improve the prognosis of many patients,” Mrs Sriram said.
“I hope this research and the questionnaire encourages people and chemists to be aware of the symptons and seek the appropriate care early.”
CHIRI chair of health innovation Moyez Jiwa said Mrs Sriram was chosen for her background knowledge in bowel diseases.
“We also wanted someone who was committed to the vision we have, which is trying to improve the outcome for patients not only with colorectal cancers, but other patients with bowel disease,” he said.
The Jodi Lee Foundation granted the PhD funding which will be delivered over the next three years.
Foundation chief executive Nick Lee said the research could help improve the rates of early detection.
“Successful implementation of the questionnaire could see it become a regular early detection tool in pharmacies, with the potential to direct more patients to early treatment,” he said.