BAIL's TALES : DECEMBER

Kia Ora from the team at BAIL

Where did 2014 go to? It never fails to amaze us how life seems to gain pace in the last quarter of every year especially here at the Burwood Hospital Campus.

This year we have again seen a consistently good turn out to our regular BAIL Research Peer Group meetings held on campus. These meetings provide new and more seasoned researchers opportunities to present in a supportive environment, whether the goal is to tease out a new study protocol, practise for an up and coming conference or to disseminate research findings.

This year we heard from a range of presenters with interesting topics relevant to rehabilitation beginning in March with the Mini Symposium on Living and Aging with Spinal Cord Injury (all of these great sessions are available on YouTube). The next meeting touched on factors associated with ageing in NZ and was followed up by two of our emerging researchers presenting protocols for their Masters and PhD’s focusing on disability issues. At our last meeting in November we co-hosted with the NZ Rehabilitation Association, a clinician oriented workshop on rethinking goal setting in rehabilitation. It was a fabulous afternoon and was well attended by Burwood clinicians and also off campus clinicians and other interested parties. There is an ongoing demand for these meaningful gatherings and the Peer Group meetings are an important part of why we are based here at Burwood.

Before we sign off for the year we want to inform you of this great study led by Claire Freeman and funded by Deloitte and Internet New Zealand.

Internet Use by People Living with a Neurological Condition: a scoping study.
After an exhaustive literature search, it has been revealed that there is a paucity of research regarding issues specific to those with a brain injury, multiple sclerosis and stroke and internet usage patterns. There is research regarding the concept of a digital divide and one of the groups this affects is those with disabilities. Other interesting issues have been identified which will also be explored such as cultural and language barriers for Māori and Pacific Peoples who live with one of these neurological conditions. We hope this work will provide a pathway toward more research activity in this area with the goal of improving internet accessibility and usage for disabled people.

WHAT’S COMING UP?
BAIL Research Peer group meeting dates 2015
For those of you who love to get these dates in your calendar early we are happy to advise you that the dates for the 2015 regular Peer Group meetings are Thursdays, 19th Feb, 30th April, 30th July, 24th Sept, 5th Nov. There will no doubt be other meetings to add as opportunities present themselves and we will keep you informed. If you are not on the regular mailing list and would like to be just let me know. Hans.Wouters@burwood.org.nz

The BAIL team of Debbie, Brain, Anne and Hans wish you all a very Merry Christmas and peaceful holiday.

Hans Wouters – Operations Manager Burwood Academy Of Independent Living.