Congratulations Dr Emily Bray on the conferral of her PhD

 

Dr Emily Bray completed her PhD at Western Sydney University with support from the Spinecare Foundation and supervisors (Prof Lucie Ramjan, Prof Ajesh George, Prof Yenna Salamonson, Prof Bronwyn Everett). Throughout her PhD, Emily explored the topic of healthcare transition for young people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and their parents/caregivers in NSW. Her qualitative study revealed that young people with SCI and their parents/caregivers experienced gaps in the transition from paediatric to adult healthcare. Whilst young people and parents/caregivers were satisfied with the healthcare they received within the paediatric healthcare setting, they were less satisfied with the communication and support received during the transition process. Young people and parents/caregivers were clear about what information and support they needed to facilitate a successful transition, and this guided the co-design of a healthcare transition intervention, the SCI Healthcare Transition website.

Using a participatory action research approach to underpin the research provided the opportunity for young people with SCI to drive the design of the intervention. Employing such an approach resulted in the development of an intervention that was acceptable and feasible to both young people with SCI, parents/caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Furthermore, this approach to research empowered young people with SCI to use their own voices to create change and give back to the community. Throughout her PhD, Emily published a series of five publications that explored the existing evidence on co-designed healthcare transition interventions; identified the needs of young people with SCI and their parents/caregivers; detailed the co-design and development of the SCI Healthcare Transition website; and reported on the website's feasibility and acceptability.

 

Emily published a massive 5 publications from her PhD and related work: 

Publications

Bray, E. A., Everett, B., George, A., Salamonson, Y., & Ramjan, L. M. (2022). Developing a Health Care Transition Intervention With Young People With Spinal Cord Injuries: Co-design Approach. JMIR Formative Research, 6(7), e38616. doi: 10.2196/38616. 
 
Bray, E. A., Salamonson, Y., Everett, B., George, A., Chapman, I. A., & Ramjan, L. (2022). Transitioning between paediatric and adult healthcare services: a qualitative study of the experiences of young people with spinal cord injuries and parents/caregivers. BMJ Open, 12(11), e065718. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065718.
 
Bray, E. A., Everett, B., George, A., Salamonson, Y., & Ramjan, L. M. (2022). Co-designed healthcare transition interventions for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions: a scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(24), 7610-7631. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2021.1979667. 
 
Bray, E. A., George, A., Everett, B., Salamonson, Y., & Ramjan, L. (2021). Protocol for developing a healthcare transition intervention for young people with spinal cord injuries using a participatory action research approach. BMJ open, 11(7), e053212. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053212.

Bray, E, A., George, A., Everett, B., Salamonson, Y., & Ramjan, L. M. (2023). Feasibility and Acceptability of a Codesigned Health Care Transition Intervention for Young People With Spinal Cord Injuries. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 29(3), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.46292/sci22-00049