Rehabilitation Teaching & Research Unit

Rachelle is delighted to announce a newly funded Health Research Council project: Flourishing Health Systems: Embedding Disabled People’s Expertise in Health Design.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/Heart-research-gets-a-boost-with-HRC-funding

Disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori continue to experience significant barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services that support them to live well, participate fully, and flourish across the whole of their lives, as so clearly shown in two very recent reports:

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/news/disability-data-gaps/

https://www.hdc.org.nz/our-work/research-and-data-reports/health-experiences-of-disabled-people-report/

Too often, services are fragmented, difficult to navigate, or designed without enough attention to the expertise of the people and whānau who use them. And this is especially true for those who are not funded by ACC.

This 3-year research project asks what could change if disabled people’s and tāngata whaikaha Māori lived experience and expertise were embedded earlier in health system decision-making — including service design, planning, commissioning and evaluation.

Working alongside disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, whānau, Health New Zealand and research partners, the project will develop and test practical ways to support more equitable, accessible and responsive health and rehabilitation systems for those who are not funded by ACC.

We are excited about this work and grateful to the many people and communities whose wisdom, challenge and partnership have helped shape the kaupapa so far.

Huge congratulations to Rachael McCleary on the publication of a paper that provides an overview of her Master's research: understanding what helps primary school teachers with mTBI return to work, and what systems, workplaces, and supports can unintentionally get in the way.
The publication is free to access via this link: https://connectsci.au/ib/article/27/2/IB25114/272613/Barriers-and-facilitators-experienced-by-primary

Bo O'Sullivan Awarded 2025 Hazel Skilton Scholarship

Bo has been awarded the 2025 Hazel Skilton Scholarship, funded by the New Zealand Occupational Therapists’ Research and Education Trust, in recognition of their commitment to postgraduate study in rehabilitation.

The scholarship fully covers the tuition fees for REHB701, undertaken in Semester 1, and has enabled Bo to continue their studies toward a Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation. Bo plans to complete the qualification by the end of 2026, with aspirations to progress to a Master’s degree in the future.

Bo has expressed sincere appreciation for the support provided through the scholarship, noting that it plays a vital role in supporting their ongoing academic and professional development in the rehabilitation field.

Kia ora

We extend a warm invitation to this upcoming event from the Te Whare Whakamātūtū (The Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit, RTRU) team at the University of Otago.

2026 Hot Topics in Rehabilitation - Online Masterclass
Date: Wednesday 20 May 2026
Time: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Venue: Online via Zoom

Please register to get the Zoom link for the event. https://events.otago.ac.nz/2026-hot-topics-in-rehabilitation/reg/Site/Register

More information

Hear the latest thinking on the following contemporary topics:

Thinking Like a Neurorehabilitation Clinician: Making Sense of Complex Lives and Conditions

- What does it mean to think like a neurorehabilitation clinician? This session will introduce three ways experienced practitioners navigate complexity: understanding the person beyond the condition, integrating biomedical, psychosocial, and lived experience knowledge, and making decisions where no single “right” answer exists. Through practical examples, it will explore how clinicians interpret situations, manage uncertainty, and adapt to what matters most for people and their whānau.
Dr Rachelle Martin

Peer support in a tertiary pain service: What we learnt from an Aotearoa Service Evaluation

- This session outlines a service evaluation and innovation journey in a tertiary pain service that is co-designed with people with lived experience of chronic pain. The innovation led to the development of an online pain management programme – iSelf-help, including lived experience expertise as an integral aspect of the programme.
Dr Hemakumar Devan

More information about the talk topics and speakers can be found at this webpage: 2026 - Hot Topics in Rehabilitation/Online Masterclass.

For those interested, we will also provide a brief summary of rehabilitation study options at the end of the session.

All welcome. This event is ideal for those involved in providing rehabilitation services, support or research.

Ngā mihi nui
Te Whare Whakamātūtū
Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit
University of Otago, Wellington.

What happens when disabled people help design the research — not just participate in it?

The Hua Tahi | Flourishing Together research programme [https://www.flourishingtogether.co.nz/] has been featured in the University of Otago’s He Kitenga Research Highlights magazine.
Read the article here:
https://www.otago.ac.nz/research/he-kitenga
(pages 30–31)

This project partnered with a 40-person co-production team of disabled people from across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Together, we explored how disabled people's knowledge can shape policy decisions — using disability housing as a real-world test case.

One insight that stood out was how often housing policy focuses only on supply, accessibility, or affordability. But when people talked about home, the conversation quickly widened. Home was described as a place of belonging, identity, safety, connection, and autonomy.

Co-production also changed how the research itself felt for participants.
As team member Maureen Crawford reflected:
“I’m used to being the ‘token someone in a wheelchair’ in a lot of consultations. Being part of the research at every stage was great… I felt empowered. I had avenues for information. I felt respected.”

Instead of consultation happening at the end of a project, disabled people helped shape the questions, methods, interpretation, and outputs.

It is wonderful to see this mahi, and the many people who contributed to it, recognised.

And it raises an important question for researchers and policymakers:
What might change if lived experience were routinely embedded in how we design research and policy?

Congratulations to Rachel Brown, who recently had her article published. Rachel completed the REHB780 30-point research paper to earn a Post Graduate Certificate in Health Sciences. Her study aimed to explore the impacts that people with motor neurone disease perceive their power wheelchairs to have on their health and participation in life roles
See the link below

Perceptions of people with motor neurone disease regarding the impact of their power wheelchairs on health and participation People with motor neurone disease can quickly progress to using power wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility. Clarification of how power wheelchairs and their power seat functions impact da...

Celebrating Rachel Brown (Enable NZ) sharing the output of her RTRU Research project (REHB780) at the Oceania Seating Symposium, the international go to event in wheelchair and seating. Ka pai Rachel- valuable mahi that raises the quality and accessibility of wheelchair and seating services.

Five years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community is gaining a clearer understanding of Long COVID—a complex, multifaceted condition affecting millions worldwide. This Medscape article explores how clinicians are shifting toward personalized, multidisciplinary care to address the diverse and persistent symptoms experienced by patients.

As healthcare systems adapt, the article highlights the importance of integrated care models and patient-centered approaches to improve outcomes for those living with Long COVID.

Supporting Evidence-Informed Rehabilitation for Long COVID

At the RTRU, we’re all about equipping healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-informed rehabilitation.

Dr Jenny Huang’s Research Review Speaker Series presentation underscores approaches we emphasise in our teaching — recognising treatable traits, adopting pacing and energy-management strategies, and coordinating multidisciplinary care that restores function and participation.

If you want to know more, it is worth accessing NZ’s Long COVID Rehabilitation guidelines: NZ Long COVID Rehabilitation Guideline – Te Whatu Ora

🌟 The NZ Refugee Health Scholarship is LIVE! 🌟

Are you from a refugee background and studying towards a health-related qualification? This new government-funded scholarship could be for you!

It’s a powerful step toward building a more inclusive and equitable health workforce in Aotearoa. 🩺🌍

• You can also find the webpage about the scholarship https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/our-strategies-and-programmes/supporting-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/new-zealand-refugee-health-scholarship-programme/