BAIL'S TALES : June

Kia Ora from the team at BAIL

Are you ready to roll if a disaster strikes?

In the last 12 months people in New Zealand have been affected by earthquakes in Marlborough and Wellington, severe wind storms in Canterbury, West Coast and central New Zealand as well as flooding in Auckland, Northland, Wellington and Christchurch. And who can forget the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010/2011?
New Zealand is geologically and meteorologically a very busy place so, as media campaigns continually tell us, we all need to be ready to cope with disasters, both big and small. But how easy is it for people with mobility or other disabilities to make the preparations necessary? How prepared are you? What are the problems that you face? Who will check on you in an emergency, and how will this happen? What do you think of a register of people with disabilities that responders could use in an emergency to get help to those who are likely to need it most?
All of these questions and more are the subject of the “Ready to Roll Survey”, a project currently being undertaken by the University of Otago and the Burwood Academy of Independent Living (BAIL). The study involves an anonymous nationwide survey of wheelchair users and takes about 10 minutes to complete, so if you are:
• 18 years or older
• Use a wheelchair ½ the time or more
• Live anywhere in NZ except a residential care facility (e.g.: a rest home or hospital)
Please consider completing the survey. All the information you will need, including written and video material, can be found on the BAIL website. Just follow the links to www.burwood.org.nz/node/62.

Or if you would like more information about participating and want to talk to the researcher, contact Jason Nicholls directly via: email nicja964@otago.student.ac.nz or mobile 021 0231 6451

By the way, have you ever visited our BAIL website? www.burwood.org.nz it is a rich vein of information and we encourage you to take a visit. You will find out about us, our people and our work. You will see we are currently involved in a number of national and international research projects and you will find more information and video about Jason’s ‘Ready to Roll Survey.’ We have an entire page committed to our “End User Consultation Committee” which is a very exciting initiative created to promote consultation between researchers and their populations of interest. The EU Committee works in partnership with the Burwood Academy of Independent Living and is gaining interest nationally and internationally. The committee’s primary aim is to engage with researchers to provide feedback on research proposals from end users of services and research outputs.

WHAT’S COMING UP?
Thurs 19th June 12pm BAIL Research Peer Group Meeting: ABC Conference Room
The theme for this meeting will be factors associated with ageing in New Zealand. The two speakers will be,
Dr Sally Keeling (Senior Lecturer, Dept of Medicine, University of Otago Christchurch) and Dr Deborah Snell (Academic Director BAIL; Senior Research Fellow Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Otago Christchurch). There are a few spaces left so contact Hans.Wouters@burwood.org.nz

NZRA clinician oriented workshop September
The NZ Rehabilitation Association is planning on presenting a clinician orientated workshop in Christchurch in September, hosted by BAIL. Watch this space for more details about this exciting opportunity.