RESEARCH

Find more information on:

Rehabilitation Studies Unit
Rehabilitation Nursing Research and Development Unit
Centre for Developmental Disabilities Studies Unit
Community Based Health Care Research Unit
F R S Dawes Library
Human Research Ethics Committee

Rehabilitation Studies Unit

The Rehabilitation Studies Unit is one of four academic units located at Royal Rehab. It is an interdisciplinary research and educational unit of the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney. The Unit's main focus is injury related disability, particularly severe disability following motor vehicle accidents. The Unit has collaborative links with other university departments, clinical colleagues working in rehabilitation, as well as groups and individuals with interest in injury related disability. It is funded by a substantial grant from the Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales (MAA), and also receives funding from Royal Rehab and the University of Sydney. www.rehab.med.usyd.edu.au

Rehabilitation Nursing Research and Development Unit (RNRDU)

The Rehabilitation Nursing Research and Development Unit is the only rehabilitation nursing research unit in Australia and provides leadership in rehabilitation nursing research and practice.

The Unit promotes the development of rehabilitation and disability nursing’s body of knowledge and evidence based practice through:

Critical appraisal and utilisation of professional knowledge
Development of nursing’s research capacity
Creating opportunities for nurses to develop practical research skills
Fostering the development of nurses and nursing practice
Proactively linking with a wide range of organisations, including universities
Providing consultancy advice
Designing and running evidence informed education programs

The RNRDU has a number of publications available for purchase. Monographs of research projects relating to rehabilitation are available. Posters, which provide a creative visual medium for educating staff, are also available.

Click here for further information on the publications.

Centre for Disability Studies (CDS)

The Centre for Disabilities Studies is a multi-disciplinary unit which disseminates current information and knowledge concerning those services that ensure the best quality of life for people with disabilities. It offers technical assistance and advice to organisations providing health, community support, accommodation and employment services to persons with developmental disabilities.

The Unit has its own independent Board of Directors.

The Community Based Health Care Research Unit (CBHCRU)

The Community Based Health Care Research Unit was established in December 2007 with the appointment of Prof. Craig Veitch as Chair in Community Based Health Care. He draws on a wealth of experience in establishing and evaluating successful models of care, particularly to people living in community settings as well as rural and remote areas. The Unit is jointly funded by the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney, where it is located, and The University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences. The Unit provides critical support to Royal Rehab as it continues to develop its community-based rehabilitation services.

The Unit’s focus is the extension of care from rehabilitation facility into community. In particular, the Unit’s aim is to develop research programs that address the effectiveness of community-based health care for people with major traumatic injuries and long-term conditions with complex care needs, concentrating on finding ways, in which people with a disability can participate in everyday tasks and be integrated into communities of their choice. The Unit also examines the impact of impairments on activity and life participation, and the development and efficacy of interventions across the lifespan. Members of the Unit are currently undertaking research projects with staff in several clinical units. In 2009 the Unit was successful in gaining funding for a large 4 year NHMRC project investigating the most effective utilisation of therapy services in rural and remote NSW.

www.sydney.edu.au/health_sciences

F R S Dawes Library

The Library provides a range of information resources and services to enable staff and students of Royal Rehab to meet their needs for continuing education, teaching and research in the field of rehabilitation and disability studies. Services include Athena (networked catalogue with links to websites) and CIAP, an internet based project that allows health professionals to access clinical information.

Royal Rehab Human Research Ethics Committee

The Royal Rehab Human Research Ethics Committee is predominantly responsible for providing ethical review for single site research proposals; and for monitoring the ongoing conduct of research regarding compliance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) for the life of the projects. The Committee includes external community members, who give their time voluntarily, and we thank them for their contributions during 2009-10.
Royal Rehab provides support for the ongoing education and development of committee members, as well as support for staff undertaking research that is related to their area of practice at Royal Rehab.

Click here to download the Meetings Schedule for the Human Research Ethics Committee.

The current members of the Committee are:
Professor Ian Cameron - Chairperson
Mr Ian Miller - Lawyer (Community Member)
Mr Ben Brungs - Layman not associated with Royal Rehab (Community Member)
Ms Jane Rothman - Laywoman not associated with Royal Rehab (Community Member)
Mr Phillip Boorman - Pastoral care role in a community
Associate Professor Lisa Harvey- Member with experience in research areas considered by the HREC
Dr Penelope Kearney - Member with experience in research areas considered by the HREC
Ms Kate Martin - Member with knowledge of/ current experience in professional care
Ms Elizabeth Drolz - (Executive Officer. Ex Officio)
Ms Bernadette Nicholl - Acting Research Governance Officer (from July 2009)
Joe Hanna - Member with knowledge of/ current experience in professional care

Research Project Approvals
During the period 1/7/09 - 30/6/10 a total of eight studies were given full approval.
Each was fully funded, with three studies receiving funding from external organisations.
They include:

Improving Self-Awareness in People with Brain Injury Using Video-Feedback

Construction of Disability Services’ Support Needs Tool (Funded by Department of Human Services Victoria)

The lived experiences & needs of people with spinal cord injury who can walk (Funded by the Rehabilitation & Disability Research Foundation, Royal Rehab.)
Comprehensive rehabilitation case management: building lifetime wellbeing from hospital to home
Telephone peer support groups for attendant care program participants with
spinal cord injury (Funded by NSW Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care (DADHC)

Seven Site Specific Assessments were also approved in the period, including:

Effects of dual diagnosis, spinal cord injury (SCI) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on medical and functional outcomes 5 years post-injury (Funded by Lifetime Care and Support Authority)
Storytelling after acquired brain injury (Funded by Macquarie University)
The experiences of occupational therapists in prescribing equipment for the elderly: a phenomenological study (Funded by University of Sydney)
SCIPA (Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity) Hands-on (Funded by Lifetime Care and Support Authority NSW