Improving Access to Sleep Apnoea Care for People with Spinal Cord Injury During Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week

 

As The Hopkins Centre raises awareness during Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week, we are highlighting research that is addressing important and often overlooked health challenges experienced by people living with spinal cord injury (SCI). One such project is the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)-funded FASST-SCI project, which is working to improve access to sleep apnoea screening and treatment for people with SCI.

 

Facilitating Access to Sleep Apnoea Screening and Treatment in Spinal Cord Injury (FASST-SCI) brings together researchers and clinicians from The University of Melbourne, Victorian Spinal Cord Service, Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service, Metro South Health and The Hopkins Centre, Griffith University.

 

The project is evaluating a new model of care designed to improve the identification and management of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) among people living with SCI. Sleep is an important part of health and wellbeing, yet sleep-related breathing disorders can be under-recognised and undertreated, creating an important gap in care for people with SCI.   

 

The FASST-SCI model involves routine screening for OSA risk among people attending outpatient clinics at two state-wide SCI services in Queensland and Victoria. People identified as being at risk can then be supported to access specialist assessment, ambulatory sleep investigations and appropriate treatment.

 

Participant recruitment commenced in May 2026, marking an important milestone for the project. The new model of care is now being implemented and piloted over a 12-month period, with the research team examining the approach's feasibility and its potential health and economic benefits.

 

The Hopkins Centre is proud to have several researchers contributing to this important national collaboration. Dr Emily Bray is a Chief Investigator on the project, while Professor Tim Geraghty, Director of The Hopkins Centre, and Professor Elizabeth Kendall AM, are contributing as Associate Investigators. Together, their expertise in SCI, rehabilitation, disability and health service research is helping to support the development and evaluation of this innovative approach to care.

 

At the Princess Alexandra Hospital, specialist neuro-respiratory physiotherapist Ms Leah Vegh is leading the day-to-day operation of the FASST-SCI clinic, supporting delivery of the Queensland component of the model.

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week provides an important opportunity to increase understanding of the diverse health, rehabilitation and participation challenges experienced by people living with SCI. It also reminds us that improving outcomes after SCI requires research that addresses the full range of factors affecting people's health and quality of life. By making sleep apnoea screening, assessment and treatment more accessible, FASST-SCI has the potential to address an important gap in care.

 

As The Hopkins Centre continues to raise awareness during Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week, projects such as FASST-SCI demonstrate the importance of research partnerships that bring together researchers, clinicians and health services to develop practical solutions to real-world challenges. The findings from this project will generate valuable evidence about how specialist sleep apnoea care can be more effectively integrated into SCI services and made accessible to more people across Queensland and Australia.

 

The Hopkins Centre looks forward to sharing further updates as this research progresses and to continuing its commitment to research that improves the lives, health and wellbeing of people living with SCI.