Working together to improve the lives of people with brain impairment

Cyberscam intervention development for people with acquired brain injury (ABI)

The CyberABIlity team at Monash University, led by Dr Kate Gould, has been investigating the experiences of cyberscams in people with acquired brain injury to inform the development of an intervention to manage the psychological impacts post-cyberscam.

We are looking for clinicians and service providers practising in Australia who have experience working with people with ABI who have experienced cyberscams. You will be invited to participate in a once-off interview by teleconference or face-to-face about your experiences with clients who were scammed, available and desired resources, your thoughts and recommendations on future cyberscam recovery interventions and your confidence in supporting clients and your own internet safety. The interview will take approximately up to one hour.

This study has been approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee [Project no. 17984].

To find out more, please contact Kimberly Chew at kimberly.chew@monash.edu (supervised by Dr Kate Gould and Prof Jennie Ponsford).

Emotion Regulation after Brain Injury group therapy program (ER-ABI) - Perth

We are seeking research participants from the Perth area to take part in a group therapy program which aims to improve emotion regulation difficulties post-brain injury.

We are looking to include people with a recent (within 24 months) moderate-severe ABI/TBI who are experiencing difficulties managing their emotions (for example; anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety).

Participation in this study will involve:

• 1.      Completing a 2 hours screening assessment (interview and cognitive assessment)
• 2.      Attending 8 group sessions (1 x 2 hr session per week, plus a follow-up (9^th ) session one month later) at the Robin Winkler Clinic, University of Western Australia (may be via Zoom depending on COVID-19 restrictions)
• 3.      Nominating family members and/or friends to attend 2 information sessions about brain injury and emotional functioning (optional)

Participants will receive a reimbursement ($20) with each clinic visit to help cover travel/parking costs. This study has been approved by the University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee (RA/4/20/5902).

The ER-ABI group program will be running between June-December 2022 with anticipated start dates in early June, late July, and September 2022.

To learn more or to apply, please contact PhD student Natalie Pepping on 08) 6488 2644 or at er-abigroup@uwa.edu.au.

Having positive interactions with people with a brain injury: A self-guided online course

We have developed a new online resource called interact-ABI-lity. This is a free self-guided short course about how to interact more successfully with people who have a brain injury. It is intended for family, friends, carers and others who work with people with ABI.

On the interact-ABI-lity website, people can:

• Hear from people with a brain injury and their family members
• Learn about communication changes
• Learn how to support people with their communication
• Gain a certificate of completion

The course is currently being run as part of a research study funded by icare NSW, with approval from Western Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (reference number 2019/ETH13510). You can sign up at bit.ly/interact-ABI-lity and see more at https://youtu.be/rifkwsVyh00 

To find out more, contact Dr Rachael Rietdijk at rachael.rietdijk@sydney.edu.au.

Virtual reality applications for people with a cognitive-communication disorder

We are seeking research participants from the Sydney region to volunteer in a project to try virtual reality (VR) applications for people who have a cognitive-communication disorder following traumatic brain injury.

We are looking to include people with moderate-severe TBI, as well as speech pathologists who have experience in TBI rehabilitation.

Volunteering for this study will involve:

1.        Completing communication assessments via Zoom (participants with TBI only)

2.        Testing VR apps with the research team at The University of Sydney Camperdown campus

3.        Giving feedback about the VR apps and tasks

This study has been approved by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee [Project No. 2020/703]. We anticipate commencing data collection from late March 2022.

To find out more, please contact Sophie Brassel, PhD student at sophie.brassel@sydney.edu.au. 

Emotion regulation after brain injury group: Learning to regulate your emotions after brain injury

Email er-abigroup@uwa.edu.au (please put ER ABI Group in the subject or call 08 6488 2644

Self-Representation on Social Media by People with Neurological Conditions

We are looking for people who have an acquired neurological condition (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke, dementia) to share some of their social media posts with us and take part in an interview to talk about their social media profile/s and posts.

Dr Melissa Brunner (University of Sydney) and Dr Catherine Talbot (Bournemouth University) are doing a research study to find out more about how people with a brain injury or dementia share their identity in social media.

If you are interested in participating, please click the following link to the survey (which contains the online information statement and consent form) https://redcap.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=47AME8LJWN.

If you would like to discuss this study further, please contact Dr Melissa Brunner on melissa.brunner@sydney.edu.au.

Using social media safely and successfully after an ABI

The Acquired Brain Injury Communication Lab at the University of Sydney are working together with Brain Injury Australia on a project about using social media successfully and safely after a brain injury. We are looking for volunteers with brain injury to participate in this project. Volunteers may be located anywhere in Australia. Volunteering will include completing some interviews, completing an online course to develop social media skills, and participating in a private moderated Facebook group to practise social media skills over a 8 week program.

Interested participants can download a copy of the information statement as a first step. To find out more, contact Melissa Brunner at melissa.brunner@sydney.edu.au. This project is funded through the icare foundation. It has been approved by The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (reference number 2021/019).

Pocket MEC: Development of a screening version of the Montreal Protocol for the Evaluation of Communication.

you are invited to participate in the research study: Pocket MEC: Development of a screening version of the Montreal Protocol for the Evaluation of Communication. (GU ref no: 2021/847)  

Speech pathologists with expertise in working with people with Right Hemisphere Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury who have used the Montreal Protocol for the Evaluation of Communication (MEC) are purposefully being recruited.  The aim of the project is to gather recommendations on essential items from the MEC that should be retained in a screening tool, called the Pocket MEC.  

Please find information about the research here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Participant_Information. If you consent to participate, please access an online survey via the following link:   

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBM2Z2F   

If you have any questions about your participation in this research, contact Ronelle Hewetson at r.hewetson@griffith.edu.au 

We would like to invite you to participate in a research study to examine the current best practices for cognitive rehabilitation in post-COVID-19 patients with lingering subjective and/or objective cognitive deficits.

If you conduct cognitive rehabilitation, we would love to have you participate in this project, which involves filling out a short survey (e.g., about 20 minutes) about you and your clinical practice conducting cognitive rehabilitation with post-COVID-19 patients. The survey can be completed in multiple sittings if that is more convenient for you.

Please click the link below to start the survey, or to gain more information about the research project. You are also welcome to contact myself (clare.ramsden@ths.tas.gov.au) or Rachael Ellison from Illinois Institute of Technology (rellison1@iit.edu) at any time to answer any questions.

We hope that you will choose to participate in this study to contribute to our global understanding of best practices for treatment of patients with lingering cognitive symptoms post-COVID.  The information and responses to the survey will be kept confidential. Participation in this project is completely voluntary, and individuals may choose to withdraw their participation at any time.

https://iit.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZJBwyh3ZVDS8PY

Sincerely, Clare Ramsden, Tasmanian Health Service, Hospitals South