Bold Ideas Better Solutions 2024

Keynote Speaker

Professor David Berlowitz

Presentation:

Are we underestimating the importance of sleep disorders in the rehabilitation and lived experience of people with disability

Bio:
Professor David Berlowitz is a Physiotherapist with the Victorian Respiratory Support Service who holds the University of Melbourne Chair in Physiotherapy at Austin Health. David and his collaborators, students and staff examine the causes and treatments of sleep and breathing disorders in neuromuscular disease, especially Spinal Cord Injury and Motor Neurone Disease.

Prof. Berlowitz' research encompasses respiratory physiology, sleep, health systems research, implementations science, health data analytics, machine learning, and clinical trials of therapies and care models. David has published more than 140 papers and attracted over $34 million in research funding support. David has been a named investigator on 43 competitively funded, investigator-initiated clinical trials, led 26 as CIA, with 22 being multi-centre and 8 multi-national.

Executive Director Princess Alexandra Hospital

Dr Jeremy Wellwood

Dr Jeremy Wellwood oversees the day to day operations at Princess Alexandra Hospital. He provides values-based leadership and works to improve the hospital experience for patients and staff, and has a strong commitment to health research and evidence-based practice capability.

Jeremy has 25 years of clinical experience, with a background as a Clinical and Laboratory Haematologist. His passion for leadership grew when he led the development of tertiary cancer services on the Gold Coast.

He's also held other executive roles, including:

• Executive Director Medical Services and Chief Operations Officer – Gold Coast HHS
• Acting Chief Executive – Cairns and Hinterland HHS.

Dr Wellwood has completed his fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators.

Belinda Adams OAM

Presentation

Book Launch: "I Bought a Bus - A Memoir of love, resilience & adventure"

Bio

Belinda Adams OAM is a mother, carer, writer and filmmaker originally from Broken Hill in Far West NSW. She studied Creative Business at the University of Canberra, is an Adjunct Fellow at Griffith University and a member of The Hopkins Centre's Ambassador Council.

She has co-founded three arts-based rehabilitation programs under her company Citrine Sun Entertainment and has been the recipient of numerous community awards, including the Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2024 for her contributions to community health.

Belinda now resides in Brisbane, Queensland, where she works in the film and television industry on Australian and international film and television productions.

Dr. Suzy Stoikov

Presentation

Implementing principles of health literacy into rehabilitation practice using a change champion / co-design approach.

Bio

Dr. Suzy Stoikov is a Physiotherapist and Workforce Development Officer with a strong background in clinical practice and healthcare improvement. She earned her PhD in student clinical education, giving her valuable insight into training healthcare professionals. Suzy also holds a Master's in Public Health, which supports her experience across various clinical settings. Her research focuses on student clinical education, interprofessional collaboration, service redesign, and consumer engagement.

Associate Professor Melissa Kendall

Presentation

We are social beings…we are not islands: Friendship and social connection for people with spinal cord injury and acquired brain injury across the rehabilitation continuum-A Phase 1 study.

Bio

Associate Professor Melissa Kendall is the Senior Research Officer with the Acquired Brain Injury Outreach Service- a community rehabilitation program for people with acquired brain injury and the Transitional Rehabilitation Program- a community rehabilitation program for people with spinal cord injury, both located within the Division of Allied Health and Rehabilitation at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. She also holds an adjunct position as Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University and The Hopkins Centre. Her research interests include consumer engagement in healthcare, psychosocial adjustment following injury, community models of rehabilitation and outcome measurement in rehabilitation. Her research has spanned a broad range of transdisciplinary topics and she has over 70 international peer-reviewed journal publications and 4 book chapters.

Dr. Kerrin Watter

Presentation
Case studies of sustained employment following acquired brain or spinal cord injury

Bio
Dr Kerrin Watter is a certified practising Speech Pathologist and the Clinical Lead at the Acquired Brain Injury Transitional
Rehabilitation Service, Metro South Health. Kerrin’s interests include evidence based practice, translational research and
service delivery models for early brain injury rehabilitation.

Co-presentation: Dr. Evgeniya Zakharova-Luneva & Darren Meyers

Presentation 

Navigating the Hurdles: Overcoming Complications in Flap Repair Post-Surgery Recovery

Bios

Dr Evgeniya Zakharova-Luneva is a Staff Specialist at the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS), Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. Dr Zakharova-Luneva is a Rehabilitation Medicine Physician working in the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service with a particular interest in managing complex pressure injuries. Her vision is to conduct research which would benefit both people with a spinal cord injury and clinicians working in this field to deliver improved healthcare.

Mr Meyers is a person with lived experience of spinal cord injury as well as flap surgery. An accountant by background, Mr Meyers is committed to improving the health and experience of people with spinal cord injury who are receiving healthcare. He is involved in various hospital committees, and recently joined the Hopkins research team as an Associate Researcher.

Kristin Tynan

Presentation

Are monitored medicines effected whilst waiting to access persistent pain clinic.

Bio

Kristin is a senior clinical pharmacist who has an extensive experience in pain. She graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from University of Queensland 2005 and undertook her pre-registration at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She also has a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons) from James Cook University and a Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) at University of Sydney. Kristin is currently working at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and Metro South Health Persistent Pain Management Service.  Kristin has coordinated the Pharmacology in pain pre-conference workshops for the Australian Pain Society. Kristin is actively involved in pain and opioid education to staff at the PAH, and has been an invited speaker at a number of seminars.

Co-presentation: Stacey James & Izak Hollins

Presentation 

Navigating rail transport after acquired brain injury

Bio
Stacey is an experienced clinician working as an occupational therapist for over 15 years. She has primarily worked in neurological rehabilitation across the continuum of care from acute, inpatient rehabilitation and community-based rehabilitation.  Stacey has mostly worked in the public sector and is currently employed with Acquired Brain Injury Transitional Rehabilitation Service (ABI TRS).  Stacey has recently pursued research opportunities based on her interest in driving disruption interventions for acquired brain injuries in the community-based rehabilitation setting.

Bio
Izak is an architect specialising in social housing, with a particular focus on optimising end-user experience for diverse demographics. With a strong commitment to enhancing built environments, Izak has contributed to several Hopkins research projects that explore the intersection of the built environment and the needs of individuals with acquired brain injuries. Through design and empathetic understanding, Izak strives to create inclusive and functional spaces that improve the quality of life for all users.

Dr. Emily Bray 

Presentation

Setting me up or holding me back? Perspectives of people with spinal cord injury on rehabilitation supports at inpatient discharge and 3-months post-discharge

Bio

Dr Emily Bray is a Research Fellow at the Hopkins Centre, Griffith University. In this role, Emily works collaboratively with multidisciplinary clinicians, stakeholders, and research end-users on a range of projects that focus on improving experiences across the rehabilitation continuum and outcomes for people with neurological injuries. Specifically, Emily’s research interests include psychosocial adjustment after injury and consumer engagement in research. Notably, Emily also has experience as a clinician working as a social worker for Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.

Jayke Bennett

Presentation

Sleep disturbances following spinal cord injury: Understanding help-seeking behaviour and co-designing a sleep management resource

Bio

Jayke Bennett is a Senior Research Assistant at The Hopkins Centre, Griffith University. Jayke’s research interest is in cognitive psychology, motor skill learning, and how technology can be applied to assist emotional, physical, and occupational health and wellbeing throughout rehabilitation.

Matthew McShane 

Presentation

Design Cafe - Innovation through lived experience.

Co-presentation

Can we enhance the home modification process and outcomes using 3D visualisations of activities of daily living (ADLs) - with Dr Camila Shirota

Bio

Matt McShane is a two-time Paralympian and Project Coordinator of Disability Design at Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability. He is an Industrial Designer and creator of the Design Café, which received Seed Grant funding from The Hopkins Centre earlier this year. Matt is passionate about co-design of assistive technology (AT) with end-users with disability.

Co-Presentation: Dr. Camila Shirota & Jacquelin Donovan 

Presentation

EPIC-Tech - Engineering and Physiotherapy Interdisciplinary Collaboration with Technology - with Jacquelin Donovan

Bios

Camila is a Rehabilitation Engineer and Research Lead of HabITec. She is interested in making the most of technologies in disability and rehabilitation, especially through the inclusion of people with disability and other rehabilitation stakeholders in the development of technology-based tools. Camila will be co-presenting with Jacquelin Donovan. 

Jacqui is a titled Advanced Physiotherapist in Geriatrics at the Geriatrics and Rehabilitation Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital with over 20 years' clinical experience. Jacqui is passionate about research that impacts clinical practice, including identifying and applying current best evidence for therapists in rehabilitation.

Dr. Tenelle Hodson

Presentation 

Development of the ROBIN (Returning hOme after Brain INjury) smart device application

Bio 

Dr Tenelle Hodson is an occupational therapy lecturer with a strong research interest in the sustainability of healthcare services, inclusive of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Much of her research has focused on the lived experiences of people with illness and disability, particularly neurological conditions and injuries, in order to better understand what is required from services in order to meet needs.

Dr. Michael Norwood

Presentation

What effect does immersive virtual reality-based nature exposure have on anxiety and depression in people with brain injury in a hospital rehabilitation ward?

Bio

Michael Norwood is a research fellow in the area of environmental psychology and cognitive and clinical neuropsychology. He is the academic lead of the Brain and Enriched Environment laboratory (BEEHive lab), a collaboration between neurorehabilitation clinicians at Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith University researchers interested in understanding how the rehabilitation environment can be used to facilitate positive patient outcomes. The research focus includes technology, recreation, and physical environments. One of his goals is to understand the impact of natural environments at all stages of neurorehabilitation. This includes virtual and real nature. 

Samantha Borg
 

Presentation 

Prescription opioid dispensing in the 12-months post-discharge following an acute spinal cord injury

Bio

Sam is a health services researcher with The Hopkins Centre and a PhD candidate, with a focus on trauma and injury populations. Her PhD work is focused on opioid prescribing after a spinal cord injury (SCI). Sam's work at Hopkins Centre has centred around the Australian Arm of the International Spinal Cord Injuiry (Aus-InSCI) Community Survey Project since 2017, which aims to bring more research about the lived experience of people with SCI to light as a means to improve outcomes for these individuals.

Co-presentation: Kaitlyn Spalding & Hannah Simmonds

Presentation 

If, How and Why Patients Modify and Personalise Their Rooms in Inpatient Neurorehabilitation Environments

Bio 

Kaitlyn Spalding is an occupational therapist with over 12 years experience in the healthcare industry, specialising in adult neurological rehabilitation at major tertiary hospitals in Brisbane, Queensland. She is now a lecturer at Griffith University and research collaborator with the Hopkins Centre, passionate about clinical research with a focus on value-based initiatives that engage meaningful outcomes for consumers and clinicians. Kaitlyn has secured several hospital and seed grants and scholarships to progress her research over the years. Her MPhil in 2021 explored occupation-based groups in inpatient rehabilitation, demonstrating the effectiveness on patient outcomes for this unique, resource-valuable approach in a busy rehab environment. She is now completing her PhD exploring how technology can support the transition to home for people with an acquired brain injury.

Mrs Hannah Simmonds (nee Gawne) is a lived experience researcher and PhD student with an Honours degree in Biology. She has lived with a complete spinal cord injury for 24 years and has had experience within the paediatric and adult health systems within Queesland. Her PhD currently investigating access to social inclusion and leisure for people with a disability. Hannah has previously worked in disability inclusion programs, being selected to take part in Brisbane City Councils Disability Action at Work program in 2018, where she was able to interact with fellow lived experience graduates navigating accessible work places. Hannah currently works as a researcher for the Hopkins Centre at Griffith University, assisting in two ongoing seed grants. This research includes utilising new technologies for home modification practice for people with a spinal cord injury and understanding the importance of hospital room personalisation in the rehabilitation of people with a brain injury. Hannah also previously worked on projects relating to public transport access and lived experience co-design of tertiary health education. She also co-teches at Nathan Campus for a third year Occupational Therapy subject. As well as being apart of the Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability program and an ambassador of the Hopkins Centre.

Dr. Christy Hogan

Presentation 

The Influence of Resilience and Hope on Stress and Quality of Life during Early Community Reintegration: An Interim Analysis

Bio

Dr Christy Hogan is a Research Fellow at The Hopkins Centre. With specific interests in service access and community integration, vocational rehabilitation, and psychological wellbeing, she collaborates with stakeholders, clinicians, and other researchers on a range of projects that broadly focus on improving outcomes for people with brain and spinal injuries.

Kelly Walsh

Presentation

Making interdisciplinary pain management programs more patient-centred: a qualitative study of patients’ perceptions of the Engage pain group.

Bio

Kelly is an experienced senior Physiotherapist at the Metro South Pain Rehabilitation Centre. With 20 years of clinical experience, she has worked in musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapy settings before moving into the persistent pain field in 2012. Kelly further advanced her clinical skills and knowledge through her completion of a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours Psychology) in 2016. Kelly is dedicated to improving patient outcomes through evidence-based treatment and individualised care. She has a keen interest in supporting patients along their pain rehabilitation journey, in particular, helping patients to understand the complexity of the pain experience, providing support and guidance to patients to facilitate a return to function and the self-management of pain conditions. Kelly is dedicated to improving pain rehabilitation and making it more patient-centred. She has been involved in research focusing on the human aspects of patient care and is currently the Principal Investigator on the research project Making interdisciplinary pain management programs more patient-centred: a qualitative study of patients’ perceptions of the Engage pain group.

Emily Allan

Presentation

Investigating the factors influencing usability, usefulness and continued utilisation  of aggregate healthcare data dashboards for rehabilitation clinicians

Bio

Emily Allan is an Occupational Therapist with the Spinal Outreach Team at the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service. Through a Hopkins Centre Clinical Fellowship, Emily Allan is currently investigating the factors influencing usability, usefulness and continued utilisation of aggregate healthcare data dashboards for rehabilitation clinicians, also known as the Rehab Data Dashboard Design Project. Emily has been an Occupational Therapist for 22 years and worked in the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS) for 16 years. Recently, Emily has been involved in the pilot data analysis of the new arm of QSCIS called QuickStart, which offers in-reach model of support to clinicians working with patients with new spinal cord injuries. This has highlighted the opportunity to leverage data visualisation and data dashboards for communication of actionable data insights for rehabilitation clinicians.

The Clinical Fellowship is currently affording Emily the opportunity to (a) conduct a national benchmarking survey on dashboard use in SCI services, (b) conduct a scoping review investigating factors that impact dashboards usefulness, usability and utilisation in healthcare, (c) conducting focus group interviews with QSCIS clinicans to gain deeper insights into how and why clinicians would utilise data in clinical practice and (d) leveraging these findings to build a prototype dashboard for QSCIS clinicians.

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Janet Danielson & Katherine Olsson 

Presentation 

At a Crossroad - A shared collaborative care approach to adding mental health care to outpatient ABI rehabilitation clinics

Bios

Mrs. Janet Danielson is a Speech Pathologist and the Clinical Program Lead for both outreach and outpatients (ABI) at the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (QPRS). She has a particular interest in improving outcomes for children and adolescents with social-communication challenges following a brain injury. She has over 25 years as a Speech Pathologist working in paediatric settings including Tertiary, Community Health, Education, NGOs, Private Practice and with Disability Service across Australia. Her greatest enjoyment comes from working as part of a dynamic team to support young people with brain injuries, and their families, feel empowered and positive about their future.

Dr. Katherine Olsson is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Clinical Psychologist from the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (QPRS). She has an interest in childhood brain injuries and supporting post-injury outcomes including mental health, social-emotional well-being and cognitive and academic outcomes. She has more than a decade experience in this area including clinical roles and contributing to research projects in this field.  In addition to her clinical role, Dr Olsson has been the clinician leading the collaborative care acquired brain injury and psychiatry clinic at QPRS.

Alice Pashley 

Presentation

Co-designed framework for maximising the therapeutic value of rehabilitation mealtimes

Bio

Alice is a PhD Candidate with UQ and senior project officer at the Internal Medicine Research Unit, RBWH. Her PhD research has focused on exploring how mealtimes can support patient's recovery, health, and wellbeing in rehabilitation. She takes an interdisciplinary perspective to her research, collaborating with multidisciplinary clinicians, service leaders, and consumers to create innovative approaches to service delivery.

Co-presentation: Amber Ali, Anthea Rogers & Elizabeth (Elle) Harvey

Presentation

Refugees and Rehabilitation : the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to settlement in Logan

Bios

Anthea is a Senior Occupational Therapist with Refugee Health Service.  She has over 25 years experience in the field, primarily in community based rehabilitation with a few forays into psychology and research.  Anthea takes a client/family based approach with a focus on equity and advocacy.  She enjoys learning about people, their strengths and their culture.

Amber is a Senior Social Worker with Refugee Health Team. Amber hails from Pakistan and arrived in Australia in 2012 as a Social Work student. Amber has extensive experience in working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities in various aspects of migration, displacement and settlement, parenting, child protection, domestic and family violence, youth engagement and trauma informed practice. Amber is also a trainer for culturally proficient practice for professionals working with CALD communities. Amber is a passionate advocate for refugee voices, equitable settlement experience and access to culturally safe quality healthcare services. Amber is proficient in English, Urdu and Punjabi.        

Elle is the acting CNC with Refugee Health Services.  Elle provides a primary health care model, underpinned by the philosophy of trauma informed care and delivers culturally informed, inclusive, sensitive and safe nursing care to refugee clients and families upon their arrival to the Logan area.  She has experience working in the busy Emergency Department of major hospitals, and currently leads the Refugee Health Team based in Logan.

Rhonda Beggs

Presentation 

Pilot of a low technology communication aid 'Talking Mats®' to undertake qualitative healthcare research with people with intellectual or cognitive disabilities

Bio 

Rhonda completed her nurse training in the UK specialising in intellectual disability nursing, with a later addition of a postgraduate mental health nursing registration. Rhonda has worked in a variety of settings including hospital, community (paediatric and adult), sexual health and drug and alcohol services, with a focus on intellectual disability and/or mental health nursing. Rhonda has worked as a lecturer in the UK and in Australia, and currently holds an adjunct position with Griffith University School of Nursing and Midwifery. Rhonda is a member of the Professional Association of Nurses in Developmental Disability Australia (PANDDA).

Rhonda is currently employed as Disability Nurse Navigator within Metro South Health (MSH) and as Project Officer on a joint research project between Griffith University and MSH. Starting work in the early 1990's, Rhonda has seen significant change from institution-based care, but many barriers still exist and Rhonda is committed to create positive environments for people with intellectual disabilities to have their health and psychosocial needs met.