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This website provides updates and information about ongoing research projects investigating safety and digital health for people with communication disabilities. These projects are co-ordinated by Chief Investigator, Professor Bronwyn Hemsley (Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist, Fellow of Speech Pathology Australia; Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication).

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SafetyCATCH

“Keeping People with Communication Disability Safe in Hospital”

The SafetyCATCH project aimed to produce a theoretically tested Clinical Audit Tool for Communication in Hospital (CATCH). This tool will help to reduce the physical, psycho-social and financial costs associated with harmful and preventable patient safety incidents in hospitals, related to communication disabilities.

This project was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) from 1st August 2013-16.

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My Health Record

This research investigates how young adults with communication disabilities can be supported to use the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) during transition from child to adult health services.
The project aims to deliver an evidence-based framework of supports and guidance for patients with severe communication impairments, their carers and health providers, to reduce or remove barriers to PCEHR use. With this framework, the benefits of the PCEHR can be fully realised.

This project is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Updates on Twitter @MyHealthTransit

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#TweetReach

“Adults with Communication Disability Using Twitter to Access their Human Rights”

This research examines how Twitter can be used as a communication technology to assist people with communication disability to have a say, and exchange information. The project was part of the Discovery Early Career Research Award of Bronwyn Hemsley (2014-2017) and includes Bronwyn’s primary supervision of a PhD study by Melissa Brunner on the use of Twitter by people with Traumatic Brain Injury (part time, 2014-2020).

The research is funded by the Australian Research Council.

Summaries of NEW RESEARCH are available on the Blog.
Views and Experiences of People with TBI in Using Social Media

Updates on Twitter @bronwynhemsley and #TweetReach