Cardiorespiratory Research Unit
Role Description:
The focus of the Cardiopulmonary Research Unit is to investigate the use of physiotherapy interventions in the management of people with cardiac and pulmonary conditions, across the lifespan, as well as the teaching and learning approaches for physiotherapy students in the cardiorespiratory curricula.
The clinical projects aim to validate the assessment and treatment methods employed in the management of this population as well as to improve the understanding of the physiology underlying these techniques. The telerehabilitation projects aim to investigate the effectiveness of innovative telehealth strategies in the management of people with cardiorespiratory conditions. The teaching and learning projects aim to investigate integration of emerging technologies into education of entry-level physiotherapy students; and to establish indicators for student preparedness prior to entering clinical placements.
Group Leader:
Team Members:
Professor Bill Vicenzino
Dr Jennifer Paratz
Professor Trevor Russell
Dr Alice Jones
Rita Hwang
Collaborations:
Professor Jennifer Alison, Physiotherapy, University of Sydney
Conjoint Professor Allied Health (Chronic Diseases) Sydney Local Health District
Julie Adsett, Physiotherapy, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
Professor Terrence Haines, Southern Physiotherapy Clinical School, Monash University
Professor Ian Yang, Director of Thoracic Medicine, The Prince Charles Hospital; Head of the Northside Clinical School, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland
Dr Christian Osadnik, Physiotherapy, Monash University
Professor Alison Mudge, Clinical Director Research and Education, Internal Medicine and Aged Care, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
Prudence McRae, Safety and Quality Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
Mark Cruickshank, Director Physiotherapy, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
Dr Anne Jones, Discipline of Physiotherapy, College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University
Christine Wilson, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane
Dr Suzanne Kuys, Australian Catholic University
Key Research Activities:
- Comparison of pulmonary rehabilitation and self management in improving function, activity and participation of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Presentation of people with COPD compared to typical older people, using measures of function, activity and participation.
- Presentation of young people with cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to young people developing typically, such as muscle strength, muscle power and habitual physical activity levels.
- Effect of targeted physiotherapy exercise intervention on function, activity and participation of young people with CF.
- Investigation of telehealth strategies for the assessment and management of people with cardiac and respiratory impairments, across the lifespan.
- Scoping of exercise programs in Australia for people with heart failure.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of standardised partients in developing students' skills and facilitating transition to clinical placement in the cardiorespiratory field.
- Development of tools for measuring student performance in simulation