
City academic visits Brazil to discuss brain injury rehabilitation
Workshop brought together early career researchers interested in helping survivors of brain injury
Dr Nicholas Behn, a Speech and Language Therapist from the Division of Language and Communication Science in the School of Health Sciences, was chosen for a recent international event in Brazil to discuss the neuropsychological rehabilitation of people with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).
Held
on the 8-11th March at the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil, the Newton ABI Links workshop
brought together early career researchers interested in helping survivors of
brain injury achieve an improved quality of life and improve neuropsychological
rehabilitation services through the creation of a multicultural research
network of interdisciplinary services.
The
workshop was co-funded by the Newton Fund, which is a
£375 million fund (£75 million a year for five years) that promotes the
economic development and welfare of poor people in partnering countries through
science and innovation partnerships. It aims to strengthen science and
innovation capacity and unlock further funding to support poverty alleviation.
The
fund is overseen by the Department for Businesses Innovation
and Skills (BIS) and delivered through 15 UK delivery partners in collaboration
with 15 partnering countries. Activities of the Newton Fund are in three broad
areas, including increasing capacity for science and innovation in partner
countries; research collaborations on development topics and creating
collaborative solutions to development challenges; and strengthening innovation
systems.
As
the only Speech and Language Therapist chosen to participate from the UK, Dr
Behn highlighted the importance of identifying and treating communication
problems within an interdisciplinary team for people with ABI.
Speaking
about the workshop, Dr Behn said:
“The
workshop was a unique, inspirational and exhilarating experience to be part of.
The process facilitated and encouraged active listening of others, respect for
a wide variety of opinions, understanding of the different healthcare systems
and challenges to research implementation, appreciation of different cultures
with different values, and the importance of collaboration in the development
of a good research strategy. New international research links were forged
between disciplines across the two countries resulting in partnerships that are
more likely to be stronger and long-lasting extending into the future.
“In
addition to achieving this, I developed my understanding and knowledge of the
research undertaken in a range of different areas including imaging,
psychometrics, and technology application. Thanks to Andrew, Ana and the Newton
Fund for allowing me to be part of such a worthwhile experience.”
The workshop was jointly
co-ordinated by Dr Andrew Bateman (Oliver Zangwill Centre for
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation) and Professor Ana Paula Almeida de Pereira
(Universidade Federal do Paraná) and brought
together around 40 early career researchers from both the UK and Brazil. There
was a diverse range of professions including Psychologists, Neuropsychologists,
Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists,
Clinical Scientists, Psychometricians and experts in areas such as
Neuroengineering and imaging.
Dr Behn said: “Across the four days of the workshop,
the group worked collaboratively using a roadmapping approach to identify
research priorities across the UK and Brazil and across the many different
disciplines involved. A dot voting technique was used to identify the most
important research priorities. These priorities were then narrowed down to a
single research idea that was discussed and developed in detail with the expertise
of group members. The aim was to plan a future international interdisciplinary
multicenter study, a key outcome of the workshop.”
Group participants tweeted information about the day using #ABILinks. A summary of tweets for the day can be found here: https://storify.com/NicholasBehn/abilinks-neuropsychological-rehabilitation-worksho