opportunities

The Concussion Essentials Studies

Examining an individualised treatment, including education, physiotherapy & psychology for children and adolescents 8 – 18 years who have persisting symptoms following a concussion.

Study 1 - For children and adolescents less than 3 weeks post-concussion 8-week treatment vs. Usual Care

Study 2 - For children and adolescents 3 to 12 months post-concussion 12-week treatment

Plus, all participants receive

• concussion-targeted physiotherapy assessment,

• neuropsychology assessment, and

• symptom monitoring

Where?

The Royal Children’s Hospital, or Mt Waverley location Face-to-Face and telehealth appointments available

Interested?

Patients: Contact the study team for more information
E: takecare@mcri.edu.au
Ph: 0423 188 247

Health professionals: Refer by visiting https://redcap.link/concussion

Occupational therapy researchers at La Trobe University are seeking survey participants for a study exploring how occupational therapists treat behavioural changes to optimise participation for people living with brain injury

You may qualify if  

• You are an AHPRA accredited occupational therapist  

• You work, or have worked within the last 2 years, with adults living with brain injury and behavioural changes  

Complete a 15-minute survey, online 

Your decision to participate in research is voluntary. 

There are no additional costs associated with participation in this research study, nor will you or the participant be paid. 

https://redcap.latrobe.edu.au/redcap/surveys/?s=AJFF3NP7T8YDDD7E

Treatment for Persisting Post-Concussion Symptoms in Adults

We are trialling an 8-week inter-disciplinary intervention including neuropsychology, physiotherapy, and medicine disciplines for persisting symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury/concussion. The treatment is free of charge for all participants and is taking place in Melbourne.

Participants will receive one of two management regimes – (1) a full assessment (neuropsychology and physiotherapy) and psychoeducation or (2) a full assessment and interdisciplinary treatment.

We are looking for participants who:

• Have had a mild traumatic brain injury/concussion within the past 2 weeks-to-24 months
• Have persisting post-concussion symptoms (at least 2 weeks post-injury, but less than 24 months post injury)
• Are aged between 16-70 years
• Have adequate English language
• Do not have an acute psychiatric condition, active substance use, or significant neurological history

Interested?

If you or anyone you know might be interested in participating, contact Jack Nguyen or Stephanie Antonopoulos on 9426 8923 or by email at spp-irecover@monash.edu for more information. We welcome self-referrals and clinician referrals. 

This study is approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC no. 23005).

Are you a person with acquired brain injury (ABI), family member, clinician, or researcher? Help us develop resources to support coping with self-harm and suicide after ABI.

Our research team at Monash University has been investigating people with acquired brain injury’s (ABI) experiences of suicide and self-harm. People with ABI face a greater risk of suicide than the general population and commonly experience self-harm behaviours. We want to learn how to better support people with ABI with these experiences, to work toward developing clear strategies and resources for people with ABI, their family members, and clinicians.

We are seeking people with ABI, their close others, and clinicians/researchers to take part in a one-on-one interview, to explore needs in coping with, or supporting someone through, self-harm and suicide. You may access more information and express interest in this research here: https://redcap.link/2qi59v7d

Please contact Jill Hwang (Jill.Hwang@monash.edu) or Jao Carminati (Jao.Carminati@monash.edu) should you be interested, or if you have any questions.

EMCR Survey
The Australasian Society of Bipolar & Depressive Disorders (ASBDD) EMCR sub-committee would like to hear your thoughts relating to your professional development goals and areas of research interest. Your feedback is crucial as it will help us better understand the needs of EMCRs working in the area of bipolar and depressive disorders, and help inform the direction of ASBDD EMCR activities. The survey takes around 3 minutes to complete. Your responses will remain confidential and the information provided will only be used for ASBDD communication purposes, including notifications of future events and professional development opportunities.

Take survey here

Improving outcomes for people with a concussion: the AUS-mTBI study and app using HeadCheck

The Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI) is proud to be a key partner in the Australian Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (AUS-mTBI) study; a national endeavour that is developing an online tool to improve care and recovery for people who suffer a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion.

While most people recover fully within a few days or weeks after a concussion injury, for some, the recovery process may be longer. A major problem is that there is currently no way to predict how long recovery will take.

The AUS-mTBI study will identify what predicts recovery after concussion by analysing data collected through the AUS-mTBI part of the HeadCheck app, an evidence-based concussion management app. The app can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play, or accessed via the web-based platform at https://app.headcheck.com.au/home.

The AUS-mTBI study via HeadCheck aims to recognise and assist in the management of any suspected concussion, for both adults and children. The study is open to people who have had a concussion in the past 14 days. Participants should enter information into the online platform directly; if you are clinician working with someone who has had a concussion, we encourage you to support them to enter in this information.

By clicking on the link to the AUS-mTBI study in HeadCheck, participants can help improve care and outcomes for others who get a concussion in the future. Participants will also be able to get guidance and track their own recovery through a unique symptom tracking tool.

To thank participants for completing the study, they will go into a draw with the chance to win one of five Visa gift cards (see the AUS-mTBI website for details – https://tinyurl.com/4aphncrn).

The AUS-mTBI study is being led by John Curtin Distinguished Professor Melinda Fitzgerald. Project partners include Curtin University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Monash University, Edith Cowan University, The Queensland Brain Institute, Griffith University, The University of Sydney, Deakin University, the National Imaging Facility, brain injury organisation Synapse Australia Limited, and software company Curve Tomorrow.

If you have any questions or would like further information about the AUS-mTBI study, please visit the AUS-mTBI websiteor email the study team on ausmtbi@gmail.com.

Have you worked with people with post-stroke aphasia who have return to work goals?

Medical professionals and health practitioners are invited to participate in a brief online survey about current clinical practice and views of professionals when working with individuals with post-stroke aphasia who have return to work goals.

The survey has been designed to align to your identified profession to minimize the time required for completion. When piloted the survey, it was completed in 10-15 minutes. Findings of this survey will contribute to our understanding of work-focussed rehabilitation and inform future projects to optimize meaningful work outcomes for people with aphasia.

For further information please click link or QR code below for the Patient Information Sheet, access to online consent and the online survey:

https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5dn6zgiFoWLYW2

You are welcome to forward this survey invitation to your colleagues and relevant networks. The survey has UQ HREC ethical approval no. 2024/HE001145. 

Researchers:

Ms Penni Burfein^a,b, Dr Emmah Doig^b, Prof David Copland^a,b
a Queensland Aphasia Research Centre, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
^b Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) Education and Research Alliance, The University of Queensland and Metro North Health, Brisbane, Australia. 

Aims:
We want to understand more about:

• Current practices and views of professionals across the care continuum (from acute care to the community) when working with individuals with post-stroke aphasia who have return to work goals.
• Current practices and views of medical or authorized professionals to determine fitness or readiness for RTW.
• Clinicians’ perspectives regarding confidence, knowledge as well as barriers and facilitators when delivering vocationally focussed services (including RTW co-ordination or case management) to people with post-stroke aphasia.

Eligibility criteria:
To be eligible to participate in the study participants need to meet all four of the following criteria, by selecting each box that applies during the online consent process.

1. I am a qualified medical officer or health practitioner (speech pathologist, occupational therapist, clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, physiotherapist, social worker, clinical linguist and/or return to work co-ordinator or counsellor).
2. I have experience working with people with post-stroke aphasia in the last five years who have identified return to work goals at any time on the care continuum (from acute to community services).
3. I work within a public, private, self-employed and/or research setting in a discipline specific or case management role.
4. I have sufficient English proficiency and technology skills to complete this written survey.

If you would like to discuss the study with a member of the research team, please contact p.burfein@uqconnect.edu.au or via phone on +617 3365 7595.

Thank you for considering supporting and participating in this research.