Rachel Brown (Enable) has kindly shared this resource with the rehabilitation community. Please feel free to forward it on to anyone you think would find it useful.

Thanks Rachel!

A Guide to Using Telehealth - Enable New Zealand 2020.pdf

Dr Fiona (Fi) Graham is providing rapid response tele-teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown.  These resources relate to Telehealth in Rehabilitation - the use of technology in delivering healthcare.  

The following recordings of presentations on this topic are now available:

Session 1. Introduction to Telehealth

Session 2. Effective communication for tele-delivery

Session 3. Rethinking 'hands-on' rehabilitation in telehealth delivery

More demonstrations will be added in coming weeks, including:

Session 4. Group work by tele-delivery

Session 5. Measuring outcomes by tele-delivery

Also available is a Demonstration of Telehealth coaching for caregiver 

and session playlist.  This is the best place to find everything in one location. 

Some encouragement for those who are supporting others during COVID-19 in this 2-minute video from the Bridges Self-Management team.

Useful for the current time - but actually relevant for all times and spaces!

The resources on this page have been collected for use by stroke care and rehabilitation professionals to provide telehealth services due to COVID-19 isolation or social distancing.

https://informme.org.au/telehealth

Resource categories include:

This £3000 prize award that is open to anyone worldwide who has contributed in a substantive way to neurorehabilitation.  Not even limited to research, this is a great opportunity for younger clinicians or academics.

Further information and apply here

What is the survey about? Do NZ concussion clinicians use clinical practice guidelines? What do they like or dislike about currently available guidelines? Are there gaps? What makes a guideline useful? These are some of the things we are seeking more information about in our new study.

Concussion is a very common injury and while most people do well and recover uneventfully, for some recovery can last a long time and can be very distressing and disruptive.  In New Zealand we have services funded by ACC for assisting people recover from concussion. However there is a lot of information floating around about concussion management and the body of research is growing exponentially.  That means there is a lot of evidence out there for clinicians to integrate into their practice, not all of it necessarily of the best quality. 

What are clinical practice guidelines? Clinical practice guidelines are one way research evidence is ‘packaged’ so it is easy to use by healthcare providers. However there are a range of different concussion guidelines available and not all clinicians find it easy to choose between them or find them helpful and we want to know more about why this might be. 

Take the survey: In our survey (see link below) we ask questions about barriers and facilitators to guideline use by concussion clinicians.  Based on pilot feedback, the survey will take five-10 minutes of your time and your responses will be anonymous. Please send the link to others you know who work with concussion – the more responses we get the more confident we will feel about the findings.  Thank you in advance for your thoughts. We will circulate the findings once these have been analysed – here’s the link to the survey: 

https://is.gd/concussionguidelines

Thank you!

The latest issue of NZ Rehabilitation Review (Issue 50) is now available.

Featured content is:

• Questionnaires for assessing function in lower back disorders
• ABI and experiences of fatigue in daily life
• Framework for rehabilitation after SCI
• Setting meaningful goals in rehabilitation
• Interventions for sedentary behaviour in older adults
• Long-term efficacy of post-acute neuropsychological rehabilitation in ABI
• Service delivery models for community integration after SCI
• Outcome prediction from post-injury resilience after TBI
• Road traffic injury fault attribution and work participation
• Physical activity after inpatient occupational rehabilitation

Last month NZRA was delighted to host Professor Jacinta Douglas presenting on:

"Community reintegration and social connection for people with brain injury”

Professor Douglas discussed the social isolation and loneliness frequently experienced by people with acquired brain injury. Around 70 people – mainly clinicians working with people following brain within inpatient and community-based rehabilitation settings - attended the two symposia in Christchurch and Auckland 

Social connection refers to forming and maintaining various interpersonal relationships which are significant and satisfying and that extend beyond the family. People who experience disability frequently report wanting to be actively integrated and connected within their social relationships. Their sense of self is often maintained in terms of their experiences in social and activity contexts – whether they were feeling ‘part of things’ or not. Importantly, people often prioritise being able to contribute to relationships, rather than just being in receipt of care and support.

It was wonderful to spend the morning thinking about these issues and having time to reflect on the ways that the services support (or don’t do so well at supporting) the development or maintenance of social connections.

Submitted by Ally Calder

The School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago PHTY 535 Neurorehabilitation for Physiotherapists paper is offered by distance or on campus. It aims to provide practising physiotherapists with a more advanced level of knowledge, competence and skill in the neurorehabilitation field through integrating theory, practice, and reflection. The student will develop an ability to critically appraise and evaluate current neurorehabilitation practice trends beyond that of the entry–level practitioner, and apply this information to the evaluation and management of the patient. One of the most valuable aspects of this paper is being able to “put your own spin on it” within the context of the broad topics covered. Topics include exploring physical activity and health, management of secondary conditions, fatigue management, neuropathophysiology, and philosophies of healthcare and service delivery. Within these areas, the student can individualise their learning to their particular interests within a neurorehabilitation context (e.g., TBI, Concussion, Stroke, MS, Parkinson’s Disease, Spinal Cord Injury, Paediatrics). To illustrate such diversity, previous students have explored the effects of cycling on gait parameters in paediatric rehabilitation, the management of central post-stroke pain, passive standing in the long term management of people with spinal cord injury, and strength training in people with chronic stroke. The paper is assessed via three written assignments, one reflective piece, and an oral presentation.

Leanne Robinson provided feedback about her experiences of this paper. “I would like to express my gratitude for the fantastic friendly and open way that this paper was facilitated. As an older adult learner I valued the way you were able to facilitate so everyone had the ability to share and learn from each other no matter where they were on the spectrum of experience or area of practice. It has provided me with a framework for taking limited research in some areas of my area of work, synthesizing and then being able to articulate what that means to my practice. I have already been able to further support a 4th year student, my new grad physio and my other colleagues to look at research in a slightly different and more robust way. I have renewed my enthusiasm for research and the implementation of physiotherapy in my very slow rehabilitation area is of huge benefit to those families and children I have known for a very long time.”

The PHTY 535 paper is primarily facilitated by Dr Ally Calder along with her colleagues at the School of Physiotherapy whose expertise and interests span a wide range of areas within the field of neurorehabilitation. For further information about this paper, please don’t hesitate to contact Ally at ally.calder@otago.ac.nz or to discuss your postgraduate programme of study at the School of Physiotherapy contact the Associate Dean of Postgraduate studies Dr Meredith Perry (meredith.perry@otago.ac.nz)

Postgraduate Study – Rehabilitation pathway at AUT

Many practitioners find the skills and knowledge they develop through their undergraduate qualification are necessary, but not sufficient, to manage the complexities of rehabilitation practice. In the postgraduate rehabilitation pathway in the School of Clinical Sciences at AUT, they help you explore some of these complexities and then apply your new knowledge in your practice. The pathway is intended for rehabilitation practitioners or other professionals working in a range of patient populations, across a range of practice settings.

• AUT offer the benefits of connecting on campus with lecturers and peers at block courses, alongside the flexibility of online and self-directed learning.
• Papers are delivered by lecturers from a range of disciplines who are leaders in rehabilitation research.
• Course content is continually updated in response to current research and engagement with industry.
• Focus is on up-to-date evidence-based learning with immediate application to practice.

Enrol yourself in the following programmes:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Health Science in Rehabilitation, PgCertHSc
• Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science in Rehabilitation, PgDipHSc
• Master of Health Practice in Rehabilitation, MHPrac
• Master of Health Science, MHSc
• Doctor of Health Science, DHSc
• Doctor of Philosophy, PhD

Rehabilitation papers on offer in 2020 semester 1 (Feb to June)

• RHAB801 Occupational Ergonomics: Concepts of Moving and Handling: provides a foundation in the academic and contextual setting for the moving and handling professional. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB802 Vocational Management and Rehabilitation: Fosters critical synthesis and application of current evidence and theory to practice in vocational management and rehabilitation. Examines the relationship between work and health at individual and societal levels. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB805 Concepts of Rehabilitation (also offered in semester 2): Examines core concepts which underpin rehabilitation. Enables students to explore and challenge their own rehabilitation practice through critical review of theory, evidence, and practice. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB814 Clinical Anatomy: Provides detailed advanced applied and theoretical anatomy that links the anatomical evidence with advanced clinical practice. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB817 Biomechanics: Fosters the advanced study of mechanical principles and their association with the musculoskeletal system. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB818 Pain: Mechanisms and Management (also offered in semester 2): Provides neurophysiologic mechanisms of acute and chronic pain and the relation to clinical practice. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB819 Therapeutic Exercise Science: Explores and debates the scientific basis of exercise testing and prescription for special populations. Click on link to view paper flyer.

Rehabilitation papers on offer in 2020 semester 2 (July to November)

• HEAL801 Disability and Health: Develops a critical understanding of theories, policies and practices that influence the provision of health services to disabled people in New Zealand and Internationally. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB807 Motor Control in Rehabilitation: Develops a scientific approach to the therapeutic management of people with movement disorders. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB809 Stroke Management: Critiques and advances the knowledge of principles and practice of stroke care, prevention, management and rehabilitation in hospital and community settings. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB811 Health Ergonomics: Provides a broad based introduction to ergonomic principles and their application in the design of work, equipment and the workplace. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB812 Innovative Strategies: Engaging in Rehabilitation : Provides an overview of concepts, theories and research related to behaviour, beliefs and cognition and investigates how nursing, allied health professionals and others can apply them to practice in rehabilitation. Click on link to view paper flyer.
• RHAB813 Breathing, Performance and Rehabilitation: Explores the role of breathing retraining in performance and rehabilitation for a wide range of professional practitioners who wish to optimise physical performance or rehabilitate disordered breathing patterns. Click on link to view paper flyer.

Full Year rehabilitation paper (Feb to November )

• RHAB806 Hand and Upper Limb Therapy: Encompasses advanced study in the practical and applied assessment of hand and upper limb dysfunction and the understanding and integration of the scientific and clinical research foundation of current medical, surgical and therapeutic management strategies for such dysfunction. Click on link to view paper flyer.

View landscape graphic of postgraduate study progression in the rehabilitation pathway.

For further information, contact Nicola Kayes (Professor of Rehabilitation and Director, Centre for Person Centred Research, School of Clinical Sciences):

Phone: 09 921 9999 ext 7309 Email: nicola.kayes@aut.ac.nz