A national, multi-centre research project evaluating a new model of stroke rehabilitation is calling for more volunteers.
Western Australia’s Perron Institute is a partner in the UPLIFT trial which is evaluating intensive communication and combined arm training for people who have had a stroke within the past 3 to 24 months and are having difficulty with communication and arm movement.
These problems can persist long term for many people after experiencing a stroke and this can cause difficulties with everyday tasks such as chatting, eating, dressing, bathing, shopping, texting, reading and asking for help.
“It is thought that communication and arm movement share common pathways in the brain,” said University of Melbourne physiotherapist and Coordinating Principal Investigator of the UPLIFT trial Associate Professor Kate Hayward. “The aim is to recruit up to 160 patients across sites in four Australian states.”
Principal Investigator, neurophysiotherapist Claire Tucak, who is based at the Perron Institute in Perth/Nedlands, said participants complete some assessments before starting training to measure their current level of communication and arm function.
“Once this is determined, those with mild to moderate disability are assigned to at-home telerehabilitation training,” she explained.
“Volunteers with more severe limitation of communication or arm movement as a result of a stroke have supervised, in-person training at the Perron Institute clinic.”
Many Perron Institute physiotherapists are involved including Linh Le-Kavanagh, Tanya Smith, Taya Hamilton and Ruby Shehatha, as well as a team of therapists coordinated by speech pathologists Associate Professor Erin Godecke and Dr Emily Brogan via Edith Cowan University.
Training sessions run for either two or four hours per day, five days per week for 4 weeks.
If you are living in the community, have had a stroke within the past 3 to 24 months, are having trouble with communication and/or arm movement and would like to participate, please email: uplift-trial@unimelb.edu.au.