Fellowship to look at impact of Parkinson’s disease program
8 Nov 2022
Karen, who has worked at St John of God Geelong Hospital since 2013, is one of four inaugural St John of God Health Care Clinical and Research Fellowship candidates who will be supported to study a Master of Philosophy, at the University of Notre Dame Australia, while remaining on full pay and receiving necessary leave and support to complete her studies.
St John of God Geelong Hospital runs a suite of outpatient programs for patients at different stages of Parkinson’s disease, one being for people who have been recently diagnosed with the disease.
It’s this program, which is overseen by a geriatrician and run by Karen, in partnership with a physiotherapist and speech pathologist, that will be the focus of Karen’s research.
She will investigate the impact this eight-week multidisciplinary program has on those in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
“This program provides patients with a network of peers but also very practical education and advice in terms of what Parkinson’s is, how to manage and live with it and how to accomplish the things you want to regardless of the diagnosis,” Karen said.
“We see people enter the program quite tentative, some of them clearly not accepting the diagnosis and not really feeling like it applies to them.
“By the end of the eight weeks, patients have moved from denial of diagnosis and reluctance to participate, to a sense of acceptance and hope for the future.
“Anecdotally, we know patients appreciate the program and we’ve seen some encouraging results, but now, through the Fellowship, I can measure and quantify exactly what we are achieving.
“We’ll look at the figures, outcome measures and what are patients achieving numerically, but also interview patients who have completed the program, both recently and a while ago, and understand what they think the benefit has been and the difference it has made to their life.”
Karen said she was looking forward to seeing the impact her research has on patient outcomes in the future.
“This is a valuable opportunity to reflect on what we’ve been doing as a rehabilitation team, but also look more broadly at similar programs run elsewhere, the research base behind them, the results they are achieving, how we compare and what we can do to improve our program,” she said.
“It’s the outcomes of my research that will impact patient care long-term and hopefully give our patients, and others around the world, a better quality of life.
“To have the funding for the study but also the time is an indulgence, and I’m grateful that St John of God Health Care have chosen to support and invest in me.”
Karen said she was passionate about working with the multidisciplinary team at St John of God Geelong Hospital to help patients achieve their goals.
“Occupational therapists help people live well regardless of what limitations they might have. In some cases, we might be able to reduce or eliminate someone’s limitation, but in many cases, we’re teaching them to adapt and find different ways of achieving their goals,” she said.
“Helping people grow, develop and face the challenges ahead of them, while working with a multidisciplinary team to achieve that, is the most rewarding thing for me.”
St John of God Health Care Group Allied Health and Rehabilitation Research Lead Dr Sangeeta Rathi congratulated Karen as one of the well-deserving candidates of the Fellowship, which enables part-time study over three years.
“I’m really excited about Karen’s research because I can already see her research is going to help inform how we do things in our hospitals and more broadly in health care,” Sangeeta said.
“Karen’s research will help St John of God Health Care achieve its focus on clinical excellence and our strategic intent of becoming the best performing health care provider by 2025.”
St John of God Health Care Group Director Workforce Carla Bonev said the Fellowship was an example of how the organisation was investing in and supporting caregivers to advance their careers.
“The Fellowship is one of the ways we are recognising and rewarding performance excellence, supporting career development and professional growth and helping foster a positive and satisfying work culture,” Carla said.
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