Multidisciplinary network connects brain impairment research with clinicians

Dr Joanne Steel - Multidisciplinary network connects brain impairment research with clinicians

University of Newcastle Speech Pathology scholar, Dr Joanne Steel is the co-founder of BRAINSPaN, the Brain Impairment Clinician and Researcher Peer Network.

Established in 2017, it is a multidisciplinary network of clinicians and researchers in the brain impairment (BI) field in Australia. Dr Steel, along with co-founders Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr Dana Wong and Occupational Therapist Dr Emmah Doig set up the group with the aim of sharing knowledge and skills with peers, and to encourage translation of research findings into clinical practice.

“In the 2 years since BRAINSPaN was created it has amassed over 700 members from across Australia,” Dr Steel said.

“It is the first group in Australia to facilitate BI skill sharing through peer mentoring. We hope that participation in this network will improve evidence-based practice and ultimately optimise outcomes for people with brain impairment and their families.”

Because brain injuries can damage so many different human functions such as communication, social functioning and cognition it is a truly multidisciplinary field.

“A traumatic brain injury can affect people in such a range of ways because every injury is different and the response to injuries are different, which means treatment must be very individualised.  Highly skilled specialists come together to work towards shared goals for the same patient. Clinically this does happen well but there was a gap in the community in terms of bringing clinicians and researchers into shared practice,” Dr Steel noted.

Disseminating research from the different disciplines to clinicians can be difficult, but that is where BRAINSPaN can help.

“One of the goals of BRAINSPaN is to facilitate research translation efficiently. It provides opportunities for collaboration across the disciplines and between clinicians and researchers. Clinicians have a lot to gain from being part of the network as they can be guided by experienced practitioners, researchers and peers in the use of new techniques and interventions,” Dr Steel said.

“It has been very useful for disseminating new research and allowing people to hear about it really quickly. If you’re a busy clinician you might not otherwise have access or knowledge of the research coming out.”

Dr Steel, Dr Wong and Dr Doig have evaluated the success of the network through a series of surveys, asking newly joined members what they hoped to get out of the network and following them up 7 and 14 months later to assess their progress.

“Overall the responses were positive and multidisciplinary collaboration had increased. People also reported they had increased their knowledge and skill development around cognitive rehabilitation. Qualitatively people said they had benefited from joining the group and connecting with the multidisciplinary community and sharing resources.”

A Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and Lecturer in Adult Neurogenic Communication Disabilities, Dr Steel’s research interest is assessment and management of cognitive and social communication disorders after traumatic brain injury particularly for people with severe injury who are in the early stages of recovery.

“People with brain injuries have often been through a very shocking event such as a car accident, fall, or sports injury. Assessment for people who’ve had a traumatic brain injury can be very complex because people have different communication styles and can alter their styles depending on the situation, so it can be quite hard for a speech pathologist to quantify what changes have occurred due to the brain injury,” she said.

“We have to work closely with family members of the injured person as well as the person who has been affected to work out what has changed. Every injury is different so there are many combinations of changes that can affect the brain and it’s functioning.”

Anyone working in brain injury rehabilitation can join BRAINSPaN including students, clinicians and researchers. For more information visit https://www.assbi.com.au/BrainSPan.