Professor Claire Rickard1
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland, Australia
Biography:
Claire is an Australian National Health and Medical Council (NHMRC) Investigator (Leadership 2). She is a Professor of Infection Prevention and Vascular Access with The University of Queensland and Metro North Health’s Herston Infectious Diseases Institute. After specializing as an ICU nurse, and completing a PhD in infection prevention, she established the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATARgroup.org.au). Prof Rickard has completed >50 randomised controlled trials, has 350 publications including in The Lancet, NEJM and JAMA Paediatrics. She has won AUD$30 million in research funding. She has mentored numerous outstanding research students and researchers, and her work has shaped many international clinical practice guidelines. Prof Rickard’s achievements have seen her Elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, American Academy of Nursing, Australian College of Nursing, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. Prof Rickard is ranked as the #1 author worldwide over the past decade for both “Catheter Infection; Central Venous Catheter; Intensive Care Unit” and “Catheterization; Peripheral Venous Catheter; Patient Safety” (Scival).
Abstract:
Adaptive platform trials offer a powerful and efficient framework for advancing infection prevention, enabling the simultaneous evaluation of multiple interventions within a single, continuously evolving protocol. Unlike traditional fixed designs, adaptive trials incorporate ongoing analyses that allow for the addition or removal of treatment arms based on emerging data. This accelerates the pace of discovery, reduces research waste, and builds the evidence base far more rapidly than conventional approaches. Such agility is critical in addressing healthcare-associated infections, including central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) — major contributors to patient harm and healthcare costs, and where multiple unanswered clinical questions about the efficacy of prevention strategies exist. Funded by the Medical Research Future Fund, The IVCare Trial exemplifies this innovation by investigating multiple consumer and clinician prioritised strategies to prevent CLABSI across diverse hospital settings. Its adaptive design allows for real-time learning and protocol refinement, ensuring that only the most promising interventions are pursued. Learnings from IVCare may inform use of the adaptive platform approach for other infection prevention topics. This will ensure not only faster generation of high-quality evidence, but also support a responsive, learning healthcare system committed to continuous improvement in patient safety and infection prevention.