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Summary
Informing clinical practice and reducing health inequalities, research carried out by the Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies, is leading to changes in clinical practice.
Impact
Current projects on therapeutic footwear and ankle foot orthoses have facilitated the standardisation of terminology used by clinicians and researchers which enables substantial improvement in communication and the ability to draw conclusions for the benefit of patients.
Led by Professor Nachi Chockalingam, the Centre’s work also focuses on global policy areas relating to assistive technology. Limited information is available on implementing mainstream use of digital health intervention in rehabilitation care and assistive technology (AT) service delivery.
However, research carried out on the UK Orthotic service provision, and the previous systematic review on the effectiveness of Orthotic and Prosthetic intervention have informed the WHO Standards for Prosthetics and Orthotics publications.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid transition to remote consultations Many service providers shifted to an online mode of service delivery for the first time and faced challenges in setup and problems during implementation.
The Centre’s current work in collaboration with Public Health England and the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists aims to develop standardised approaches and reduce health inequalities.
The Research, Innovation and Impact Services team can provide information about all aspects of research at Staffordshire University.