Tagged / physiotherapy

World Physiotherapy Congress 2021

Focused Symposium – Technology in Physiotherapy Education – Global Perspectives

World Physiotherapy Congress 2021 – online 9th-11th April

The overall aim of the focused symposium was to provide a platform to share practice and discuss the use of technology in physiotherapy education.  The abstracts for the symposium had been submitted prior to the pandemic and the transition across the globe to online learning. This meant there was more active engagement in the topic. We agreed there was a need for clearer definitions around online learning as we were all using different terms i.e., virtual classrooms, digital learning, simulated learning etc.

The objectives were:

  • To provide an up-to-date view on the benefits and challenges of digitalisation and technology in physiotherapy education and in particular experiences following the pandemic.
  • Identify and discuss facilitators and barriers to technology enhanced physiotherapy education and how these may vary globally.
  • Providing examples and discussion in relation to the role of blended learning and simulation-based learning including evidence for future development in this area.

Many of the discussions were around student engagement, and consideration of what elements of a curriculum can or cannot be delivered virtually. Recognised challenges across the globe were Wi-Fi connectivity, access to laptops and it was clear in some parts of the world physiotherapy programs had experienced significant delays, impacting on the future health care work force. This symposium was carried out with one of our partner organisations Sri Ramachandra HEI, Chennai, India.

 

BU Briefing – Mii-vitaliSe: Using Nintendo Wii™ to increase activity levels, vitality and well-being in people with multiple sclerosis.

Our BU briefing papers are designed to make our research outputs accessible and easily digestible so that our research findings can quickly be applied – whether to society, culture, public policy, services, the environment or to improve quality of life. They have been created to highlight research findings and their potential impact within their field. 

The benefits of physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been recognised. Physical activity has been shown to be associated with improvements in mobility, muscle strength and physical fitness. Other secondary benefits might include reduced fatigue, depression and anxiety and improved sense of wellbeing.

This research team have developed a home-based physiotherapist supported Nintendo Wii™ intervention (‘Mii-vitaliSe’) for people with MS that uses commercial software. This is a pilot study to explore the feasibility of conducting a full scale clinical and cost-effectiveness trial of Mii-vitaliSe.

Click here to read the briefing paper.

For more information about the research, contact Sarah Thomas at saraht@bournemouth.ac.uk.
To find out how your research output could be turned into a BU Briefing, contact research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Third Edition of the EU Falls Festival in Amsterdam (8-9 May 2017)

Student Engagement


Natalia Adamczewska and Yolanda Barrado-Martín represented the Psychology Department and Ageing & Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at the Third Edition of the EU Falls Festival in Amsterdam on 8th and 9th May 2017. The theme of the congress was: Developing Collaborations across Professions and throughout Europe.

This festival brought together over 200 professionals from multiple disciplines (such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Medicine, Psychology and Technology) working under a common target: The prevention of falls amongst older adults. It was a great opportunity to see how different countries in Europe, but also researchers in America, represented by Dr. Robin Lee, US Lead Home and Recreation Team; and Australia, represented by Kim Delbaere, Falls Balance and Injury Centre, NeuRa; are working under this objective, the resources different countries invest on this and the different approaches used from different disciplines. A variety of interventions were presented from educational to exercise, and a debate was organised regarding the relevance of the role of technologies to prevent falls and support research.

Falls are the first external cause of death amongst older adults which explains the importance of researchers, practitioners and policy makers working together.​ Members of the World Health Organisation and the European Commission were also attending this meeting and sharing their views on the relevance of falls prevention.

Yolanda’s PhD project looks into the acceptability and adherence of participants living with dementia to a Tai Chi exercise intervention. Adherence to falls interventions was one the main concerns of the congress, however, the experiences of those living with dementia remain mostly under-explored.

Natalia focuses on the psychological adjustment to falls in her PhD project and she looks at fall-related PTSD. Various interventions presented at the festival could possibly be applied in order to enable participants to cope with psychological consequences of falling, such as virtual reality treatment presented by Jeff Hausdorff that he originally developed for fall prevention in idiopathic fallers.

BU Physio makes it into Frontline!

Congratulations go to Debbie Neal, physiotherapy lecturer in HSS, for her recent appearance in the Frontline Journal (the professional magazine of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy). Debbie was interviewed in relation to her post as the training and evaluation lead for the South Somerset Symphony programme. The article is also available online at:

http://www.csp.org.uk/frontline/article/leadership-taking-flight

We are fortunate enough to have someone as experienced as Debbie within our team here at BU, and its great that her leadership role is being recognised by Frontline!

Hello from Osman Ahmed: Lecturer in Physiotherapy in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Hi all,

I’ve been a bit slow in uploading an introduction the BU research blog but wanted to say thanks to everyone for making feel at home at BU. I’ve been in the role of physiotherapy lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for about 2 months now and am enjoying it greatly so far.

My clinical background is as a physiotherapist, and I have worked both locally (at Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital) and internationally (in New Zealand). As well as working at BU, I am also currently working at Poole Hospital NHS Trust as an outpatient physiotherapist, and with the Football Association with their disability football squads. My work in this field is due to take me to Rio De Janeiro in September for the 2016 Paralympic Games.

My main areas of research interest are eHealth/mHealth, sports concussion, and disability sport. I was lucky enough to do my PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand, where my thesis centred upon the use of Facebook to assist the return to play following sports-concussion. I am looking forwards to helping to educate the next generation of physiotherapists to be forward-thinking and able to cope with the demands of an ever-changing world.

Being Dorset born and bred, I am very proud to be working at BU at this exciting time for the university. I hope that BU can mirror the development of AFC Bournemouth (where I have a season ticket) with regards to reaching new heights and levels of success!

Best wishes,

Osman

Successful Fusion Investment Fund Award – Study Leave Strand

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

Caroline Belchamber, a part-time physiotherapy lecturer, Doctor of Professional Practice (DProf) student and private practitioner has successfully been awarded Fusion Investment Funding for six months study leave enabling her to finalise her doctorate.

Caroline currently has a contract with a local hospice developing a breathlessness clinic for people with chronic lung conditions. She also holds an honorary contract with another local hospice, where her research is being carried out. Caroline identified the need for further research following her MSc research in 2002 on rehabilitation in the context of palliative cancer care. She observed the need to determine service users and health care professionals’ understanding of the benefits of physiotherapy and whether the profession is meeting National Standards and best practice recommendations in the area of supportive and palliative cancer care. Caroline’s case study research uses a mixed qualitative methods approach to identify the extent to which physiotherapy palliative cancer care service provision meets best practice recommendations. Caroline’s research has been funded by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) Charitable Trust and the Association of Physiotherapists in Oncology and Palliative Care (ACPOPC).  It was also given the support of the Dorset Cancer Network Service Improvement Facilitator in 2009. It is anticipated that Caroline’s work will place BU at the forefront of this evolving area of practice.

Caroline is supervised by Professor Elizabeth Rosser and Dr. Caroline Ellis-Hill

FIF Networking visit to New Zealand

Funding opportunities, Fusion

My Fusion journey started well before the Fusion fund came into being. Medicine 2.0 logoI’ve attended several Medicine 2.0 conferences, increasing my network of people researching in a similar area to myself along the way.  Last year this led to an invitation to visit Prof John Sullivan at the University of Otago, New Zealand. The University of Otago, founded in 1869, is New Zealand’s oldest university.

My research interests are around the role of the Internet and Social Media in supporting people living with long term conditions, and the related implications for healthcare professionals’ practice and education. Prof Sullivan researches in the area of sport concussion, including projects examining the role of the world wide web (www) in facilitating concussion awareness.

I applied to the Staff Networking and Mobility strand for support to take up this invitation, and was awarded funds for a 2 week visit to explore potential collaboration in research and education initiatives.

While I was there I was invited to give a guest lecture, where I shared some recent research I have undertaken into the ethics of using online discussion boards as research data. I was lucky enough to meet other Otago academics with an interest in this, including Dr Lynley Anderson in the Bioethics Centre, and Dr Lisa Whitehead, the Director of the Centre for Postgraduate Nursing.

I had an inspiring fortnight, mainly at the Dunedin campus. The School of Physiotherapy were kind enough to give me office space and computer access during my stay.  The University of Otago has grown over the years and has a historic core, surrounded by a collection of buildings of various ages and styles. Prof Sullivan took me on a walk around the campus and told me something of its history.

University of Otago. Copyright C Bond
I also visited several local coffee shops, where a lot of networking meetings seem to happen. Prof David Baxter, the Dean, gave me an overview of the work of the School, and I discussed research into low back pain with Dr Ramakrishnan Mani, and use of the Internet in education with Dr Daniel Ribeiro.

I also visited the University of Otago’s Christchurch campus where Dr Whitehead is based.

The Centre for Postgraduate Nursing is located in the City Centre, and while there I took some time out to walk around the areas of the downtown area that have been opened to the public after the devastating earthquakes suffered by the city two years ago.

I’ve come back with ideas for two possible research projects that now need to be developed, and funding found.

If anyone would like to know more about my research, or to discuss the Staff Mobility and Networking fund, please email me (cbond)

 

Presentation from Paula Kersten ‘Supporting strategies for self-management of rehabilitation in the home: a feasibility study’

You are cordially invited to a lunchtime presentation being delivered by Paula Kersten the Associate Professor of Rehabilitation at Auckland University of Technology and Visiting Professor with HSC. This is an hour long presentation entitled ‘Supporting strategies for self-management of rehabilitation in the home: a feasibility study’.  This talk would be of interest to health professionals working in health and rehabilitation.  We very much hope you will be able to attend this informative presentation.

For Paula Kersten’s Biography, please follow link below:

http://www.aut.ac.nz/profiles/paula-kersten

Thursday 16th May 2013

‘Supporting strategies for self-management of rehabilitation in the home: a feasibility study’

Presentation by Paula Kersten, Associate Professor Rehabilitation, Auckland University of Technology

12.00-1.00pm

BG11, Bournemouth House, Lansdowne Campus, BH1 3LH

 

Hosted by Clinical Research Unit