UK award for research on the wider impact of stroke
Published by Communications and Development
23 June 2010
In a New Zealand first, an award from the UK Tavistock Trust for Aphasia has been given to UC PhD student Meghann Grawburg for her doctoral research proposal on aphasia.
 |
UC PhD student Meghann Grawburg |
Aphasia is a communication disorder that occurs after a stroke or a head injury. People with aphasia find it hard to speak, read, write and understand language.
“My PhD is focusing on third-party disability, a World Health Organisation (WHO) term, which occurs when someone who does not have a health condition has symptoms or consequences because someone close to them has a health condition,” Meghann said.
“For example, if a man has a stroke and is no longer able to talk, his wife may suffer from depression and anxiety even though she does not have aphasia herself.”
The UK Tavistock Trust for Aphasia was formed by the late Earl of Bedford (formerly The Marquess of Tavistock) after he had a stroke in 1988. He was unable to speak — he could say “yes” and “no” but was not able to access language due to aphasia.
Meghann worked as a clinical speech-language therapist in Canada and New Zealand for six years before enrolling in a PhD last year. She dealt with a lot of patients with aphasia and saw the effects it had on family and carers.
“Family members would ask me questions and tell me about problems that weren’t directly related to speech-language therapy, but were related to their loved one’s aphasia. That’s when I realised that there was very little research on this.”
It’s a timely study as the WHO has called for further research into third-party disability.
“Aphasia impacts all concerned,” said Meghann. “A person may have trouble saying what they mean. They may have trouble finding the right word or what they say may not make any sense to the person they are talking to. Or they may have trouble understanding what is being said to them. People with aphasia are cognitively intact and know what they want to say, so communication difficulties can be very frustrating. Family members may also be frustrated when they can’t understand and they may wrongly guess what the person is trying to say.
“In my PhD research, I will look into who is affected, how they are affected and how much they are affected.”
Meghann is also developing a measuring tool that can be used to measure how family members are affected by aphasia. The tool will fit in to a framework that WHO has developed for understanding health and disease called the International Classification for Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This framework is used internationally by different health professionals to ensure consistency and understanding across countries.
“It’s an honour to receive the award and be recognised. I really appreciate it. I hope my research project will have a direct impact on the health and quality of life of people affected by aphasia,” Meghann said.
For further information please contact:
Jane Lucas
Communications Officer
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 2987 ext 6072
jane.lucas@canterbury.ac.nz