Trevor Russell

• PhD
• Director at The University of Queensland

Background Organizations implement innovations to disrupt the status quo and create value. Within sectors such as healthcare, innovations need to navigate large scale system and organizational factors to succeed. This research explores the implementation of a global innovation– Project ECHO®. Project ECHO® is a validated virtual communities of prac...

A clinical practice guideline on telerehabilitation was developed by an American Physical Therapy Association volunteer guideline development group consisting of international physical therapists and physiotherapists, a physician, and a consumer. The guideline was based on systematic reviews of current scientific literature, clinical information, a...

Background: During the COVID- 19 pandemic, many individuals sought healthcare virtually. Physiotherapy is integral in managing temporomandibular disorders (TMDs); therefore, establishing how key physical tests can be appropriately adapted to telehealth is paramount. Objectives: To establish the validity and reliability of telehealth (specifically...

Objectives Conversational agents (CAs) with emerging artificial intelligence present new opportunities to assist in health interventions but are difficult to evaluate, deterring their applications in the real world. We aimed to synthesize existing evidence and knowledge and outline an evaluation framework for CA interventions. Materials and Method...

Introduction: Despite the significant expansion and rapid uptake of telehealth services as a COVID-19 response, the pandemic restricted opportunities to involve health consumers in telehealth research. Authentic consumer and community involvement in research begins with engagement in priority-setting. We report here on the process and outcomes of...

COVID-19 restrictions prompted change to clinical placements for students, including a move to a remote supervision model where students, clinical educators, and patients were geographically remote from each other but connected via videoconferencing technology. A total of seven students and 11 clinical educators from occupational therapy and speech...

Introduction: Clinicians often report technical issues as a barrier to adopting videoconferencing service models. This descriptive study nested within a randomised controlled trial investigated the frequency, nature and impact of technical issues during video consultations. Methods: Physiotherapists (n = 15) underwent training to deliver knee os...

Background Individuals who have acquired communication disorders often struggle to transfer the skills they learn during therapy sessions to real-life situations. Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to create realistic communication environments that can be used both in clinical settings and for practice at home by individua...

BACKGROUND Individuals who have acquired communication disorders often struggle to transfer the skills they learn during therapy sessions to real-life situations. Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to create realistic communication environments that can be used both in clinical settings and for practice at home by individua...

BACKGROUND Mobile applications (apps) offer a potential mechanism for clinicians to monitor pain levels conveniently and remotely in people with chronic pain within their own environment. However, the quality of currently available applications and the usefulness of included features from a clinical perspective is not known. OBJECTIVE The aim of t...

Background Mobile apps offer a potential mechanism for people with persistent pain to monitor pain levels conveniently within their own environment and for clinicians to remotely monitor their patients’ pain. However, the quality of currently available apps and the usefulness of included features from a clinical perspective are not known. Objectiv...

BACKGROUND The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a common method to assess the exercise capacity of people with many health conditions, including persistent pain. However, it is conventionally performed with in-person supervision in a hospital or clinic, therefore requiring staff resources. It may also be difficult when in-person supervision is unavaila...

Objective To compare the perceptions of patients about why they did, or did not, respond to a physical therapist–supported exercise and physical activity program. Methods This was a qualitative study within a randomized controlled trial. Twenty‐six participants (of 40 invited) with knee osteoarthritis sampled according to response (n = 12 responde...

Objective: This systematic literature review aimed to identify factors that infuence the implementation of electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (ePREMs) in healthcare settings. Introduction: Improvements in health care through increased patient engagement have gained traction in recent year...

Background To explore attitudes to telehealth education and experiences incorporating telehealth education into entry-to-practice physiotherapy programs in Australia, from the perspective of university educators. Methods Qualitative design based on a constructivist paradigm and a phenomenological approach. Sixteen university educators (who had a r...

Background and purpose During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital physiotherapy departments transitioned to telerehabilitation to ensure continuity of care for patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the key elements to successful, rapid uptake of telerehabilitation in medium-sized public hospital physiotherapy departments in response to CO...

Aim As global events impact the way organizations operate and innovate in response to regional, workforce and consumer needs, the concept of intrapreneurism is attracting growing interest from policymakers and executives, particularly within the healthcare sector. The aim of this study was to capture the key learnings from the implementation of a t...

Introduction: With the ever-increasing adoption of telehealth into clinical practice, the need for physiotherapists to be competent with these technologies is paramount. Given the lack of literature detailing effective approaches to prepare physiotherapists for telehealth practice, a telehealth curriculum has been designed, implemented and evaluate...

Background Accurate and efficient data collection is crucial for effective evaluation of quality of care. The objective of this study is to compare two methods of data collection used to score quality indicators for musculoskeletal injury management in Emergency departments: prospective observation, and chart audit. Methods An analysis was underta...

Objective: Evaluate accessibility, effectiveness, acceptability and efficiency of a student- assisted teleaudiology model of care in a regional hospital in Queensland, Australia. Design: Prospective mixed method service evaluation study. Study sample: Demographic, service and satisfaction data were collected from 233 patients (children aged ≥5...

There is an increasing global need for organisations to utilise high-quality telementoring models to support workforce development and mentorship. Project ECHO is a validated telementoring model that has been adopted by over 700 organisations globally across multiple sectors. To date there is no consolidated list of success indicators by which orga...

Objective: To investigate the self-reported confidence of final year Australian physiotherapy students and recent graduates in their capability to deliver care via videoconferencing. Design: A national cross-sectional survey Participants: Australian physiotherapy students enrolled in their final year of an entry-to-practice physiotherapy program an...

Objective: To investigate how a rural simulation activity influenced physiotherapy students' rural empathy, and to explore students' perception of the activity. Setting: A metropolitan university in Queensland, Australia. Participants: Second year undergraduate physiotherapy students. Design: A single cohort pre-test post-test evaluation was...

Background The provision of physiotherapy care via telehealth is becoming increasingly common and, in some circumstances, is a necessity, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand what are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. Objective The...

The continuous development in telecommunication tech-nologies has created opportunities for health professionals to optimise healthcare delivery by adopting digital tools into rehabilitation programs (i.e., telerehabilitation). These tech-nological advances, along with the demographic and social characteristics of each country, have made the implem...

Scope: In March 2020, COVID-19 restrictions prompted services delivered by student-led clinics in the university sector to transition to telehealth. This provided a unique opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by clinical educators when supervising students to deliver telehealth. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews we...

Purpose: Driving phobia is prevalent in injured individuals following motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). The evidence for virtual reality (VR) based psychological treatments for driving phobia is unknown. This systematic review synthesized the available evidence on the effectiveness, feasibility, and user experience of psychological treatments for driv...

BACKGROUND The provision of physiotherapy care via telehealth is becoming increasingly common and, in some circumstances, is a necessity, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand what are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. OBJECTIVE The...

Objective To understand patient perceived acceptability of participating in a telehealth delivered group-based education and exercise-therapy program for knee osteoarthritis. Design This qualitative study involved semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with knee osteoarthritis patients who have completed the Good Living with osteoArthritis from De...

Question What are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality telephone-based care? Design Three-round modified e-Delphi survey. Participants An international Delphi panel comprising experts in the field, including consumers, physiotherapy researchers, physiotherapy clinicians and representatives of physiotherapy...

_Introduction:_ This study explores allied health students’ experience with and perceptions of telerehabilitation prior to and following the rapid transition of university clinical placements to telerehabilitation due to COVID-19. _Methods:_ Semi-structured interviews were conducted with allied health students who had completed a clinical placemen...

Objective: To investigate the quality of care provided by EDs with physiotherapy services compared to those without, using established musculoskeletal process and outcome quality indicators (QIs). Methods: An analysis was undertaken of prospective observational and chart audit data collected from 628 patients who presented with a musculoskeletal...

Question What are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality care via videoconferencing? Design A three-round modified e-Delphi survey. Participants An international Delphi panel comprising a Steering Group and experts in the field, including physiotherapy researchers, physiotherapy clinicians, representatives of...

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid transition to telehealth for the delivery of many Australian physiotherapy services. Little is known about new-graduate training needs in this method of service delivery.Aim. To explore the readiness and specific training needs of new-graduate physiotherapists for telehealth service del...

Aim: As global events impact the way organisations operate and innovate in response to regional, workforce and consumer needs, the concept of intrapreneurism is attracting growing interest from policymakers and executives, particularly within the healthcare sector. The aim of this study was to capture the key learnings from the implementation of a...

Question: What were the experiences of physiotherapists and patients who consulted via videoconference during the COVID-19 pandemic and how was it implemented? Design: Mixed methods study with cross-sectional national online surveys and qualitative analysis of free-text responses. Participants: A total of 207 physiotherapists in private practi...

Background There is increasing interest in technology to deliver physical rehabilitation and allow clinicians to monitor progress. Examples include wearable activity trackers and active video games (AVGs), where physical activity is required to play the game. However, few studies have explored what may influence the effectiveness of these as techno...

Purpose Acquired communication disorders can result in significant barriers to everyday life activities, and commonly require long-term rehabilitation. This research aimed to investigate usability, acceptance, barriers and enablers to the use of immersive virtual reality (VR) technology for communication rehabilitation from the perspective of speec...

Objectives: This study explored a new telehealth educational and development psychologist (EDP) service 10 provided as part of a multidisciplinary team to rural families. We aimed: 1) to examine the role and process changes made in telehealth consults compared to in-person consults, and 2) to evaluate the satisfaction of key stakeholders with the t...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/18858.].

UNSTRUCTURED Worldwide, more than 75% of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) experience communication disorders. Communication disorders are impairments in the ability to communicate effectively, that is, sending, receiving, processing, and comprehending verbal and nonverbal concepts and symbols. Such disorders may have enduring impacts on empl...

Abstract Introduction: A Queensland project team secured grant funding to pilot Project ECHO®, a telementoring model, to drive vertical and horizontal integration across paediatric, education and primary care services. This study sought to understand what influenced healthcare executives’ decision-making processes to organisationally commit to and...

BACKGROUND The delivery of physiotherapy via telehealth could provide more equitable access to services for patients. Video conference based telehealth has been shown to be an effective and acceptable mode of service delivery for exercise-based interventions for chronic knee pain, however specific training in telehealth is required for physiotherap...

Background The delivery of physiotherapy via telehealth could provide more equitable access to services for patients. Videoconference-based telehealth has been shown to be an effective and acceptable mode of service delivery for exercise-based interventions for chronic knee pain; however, specific training in telehealth is required for physiotherap...

Background Worldwide, more than 75% of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) experience communication disorders. Communication disorders are impairments in the ability to communicate effectively, that is, sending, receiving, processing, and comprehending verbal and nonverbal concepts and symbols. Such disorders may have enduring impacts on employ...

Introduction Geographical barriers and impaired physical mobility among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) hinder their timely access to speech pathology services. We compared the costs of delivering a speech treatment via in-person consultation versus telerehabilitation. Methods We used data from a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial de...

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a global problem that causes significant pain and physical dysfunction, substantially impacting on quality of life and imposing enormous cost to the healthcare system. Exercise is pivotal to OA management, yet uptake by people with knee OA is inadequate. Limited access to appropriately skilled health profess...

BACKGROUND People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are less active have lower quality of life, greater risk of exacerbations and greater mortality than those who are more active. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions may be facilitated the addition of game elements to improve engagement. The use of a co-design ap...

Background People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are less active have lower quality of life, greater risk of exacerbations, and greater mortality than those who are more active. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions may facilitate the addition of game elements to improve engagement. The use of a co-design appro...

Background Exercise testing is routinely used to measure exercise capacity in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Various tests are available, however the psychometric properties of these measures have not been systematically reviewed for this population. Method A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, CINHAL,...

Introduction Musculoskeletal conditions are a leading cause of global morbidity. Access to traditional in-person healthcare can be difficult for some under usual conditions and has become a ubiquitous barrier throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth, defined as the ‘delivery of healthcare at a distance using information and communication techno...

Purpose: To investigate people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD): 1) self-reported communication and swallowing difficulties due to Parkinson's disease (PD), 2) participation and psychosocial impacts of these difficulties and 3) experience with and access to speech-language pathology (SLP) services. Method: A cross-sectional mix-methods survey was co...

BACKGROUND Worldwide, more than 75% of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) experience communication disorders. Communication disorders are impairments in the ability to communicate effectively, that is, sending, receiving, processing, and comprehending verbal and nonverbal concepts and symbols. Such disorders may have enduring impacts on employ...

High standards of care for musculoskeletal injuries presenting to emergency departments (ED) must be maintained despite financial constraints, the model of care in place, or the pressure to reach time-based performance measures. Outcome quality indicators (QIs) provide a tangible way of assessing and improving the outcomes of health-care delivery....

Introduction: Clinical guidelines recommend multidisciplinary non-surgical management for most musculoskeletal spinal conditions. Access to such services continues to be a barrier for many individuals residing outside metropolitan regions. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether clinical outcomes achieved via telerehabilitation are...

Objectives Measuring quality of care for musculoskeletal injuries presenting to the ED is important given their prevalence, variations in care, the associated morbidity and financial impacts and pressure to achieve time-based performance measures. Process quality indicators (QIs) provide a quantitative method to measure the actions taken during hea...

Context: Hip pain is associated with reduced hip muscle strength, range of movement (ROM), and decreased postural stability. Single-leg squat is a reliable and valid method to measure dynamic balance. Objective: To evaluate the influence of physical characteristics and use of a decline board on squat performance in a hip pain population. Design...

Objective: To examine allied health client, provider and community referrer perceptions of telehealth for the delivery of rural paediatric allied health services to facilitate adoption. Design: A qualitative design employed semistructured interviews with the three key stakeholder groups. Setting: Stakeholders were associated with BUSHkids (The...

Introduction: Physical rehabilitation for total hip replacement patients following hospital discharge is beneficial; however, accessing rehabilitation is often challenging. Telerehabilitation helps negate access issues and is efficacious in total knee and hip replacement patients. This study aims to compare the cost-effectiveness of a telerehabili...

Purpose: To explore the perceptions, use and interest to use telepractice by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to deliver services to people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD). Method: A cross-sectional, mixed-methods online survey was conducted. Recruitment of SLPs with an active caseload of PwPD was conducted through non-probability, purposive sam...

This presentation describes one part of a three-year PhD project. This project was a joint research partnership between the University of Queensland's Centre of Research Excellence in Telehealth and BUSHkids, a not-for profit organisation providing free allied health and education services to rural and remote families in Queensland, Australia. The...

Background: Ankle dorsiflexion ROM is commonly measured during the weight-bearing lunge test (WBLT) as horizontal knee distance travelled or tibial inclination. These measures are assumed to represent talocrural dorsiflexion, yet have not been validated against radiographic images. Objectives: To determine the: a) contribution of the talocrural...

Introduction: Rural children are likely to benefit from the telehealth delivery of multidisciplinary allied healthcare. This study aimed to (a) identify the scope of literature describing the telehealth delivery of allied health services to children living in rural areas and (b) understand the extent to which implementation - that is, specific act...

Background: Hip pain is associated with reduced muscle strength, range of movement (ROM), and function. Hip arthroscopy is undertaken to address coexistent intra-articular pathologies with the aim of reducing pain and improving function. Purpose: To evaluate changes in strength and ROM in a cohort with chondrolabral pathology before surgery to 3...

Objectives: Determine if outpatient physiotherapy care via telerehabilitation is as effective as in-person physiotherapy care after total hip replacement. Design: Randomised, single-blind, controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial. Setting: QEII Jubilee Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Participants: Seventy patients receiving a total hip repl...

Introduction Patellofemoral (PF) osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and burdensome subgroup of knee OA, with very little evidence for effective treatments. Prefabricated foot orthoses are an affordable and accessible intervention that have been shown to reduce PF pain in younger adults. Similarities between PF pain and PFOA, as well as our pilot work,...

Students on the autism spectrum have unique learning needs which teachers may find challenging to adequately support. This can be an ongoing concern for teachers in rural and remote communities due to geographical isolation and a lack of professional learning opportunities. To meet the learning needs of students on the spectrum in these regions, te...

Background Identifying the physical impairments associated with worse symptoms and greater functional limitations in people with hip pain could enable targeted rehabilitation programmes designed to improve quality of life. The objective of this study was to compare physical characteristics between subgroups of symptoms and functional limitation sev...

Background Telehealth and telemonitoring is an emerging area of study in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), with the potential of increasing access to care, and minimising infection control risks to patients without compromising their health outcomes. To date, limited evidence is available to support the use of telehealth in paediatric population wi...

Chronic spinal pain conditions can often be successfully managed by a non-surgical, multidisciplinary approach, however many individuals are unable to access such specialised services within their local community. A possible solution may be the delivery of care via telerehabilitation. This study aimed to evaluate clinicians’ perspectives on providi...

Background: Whilst home-based telerehabilitation has been shown non-inferior to traditional centre-based rehabilitation in patients with chronic heart failure, its economic sustainability remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the cost-utility of a home-based telerehabilitation program. Methods: A comparative, trial-based, incremental...

Purpose: To determine the clinical practices of Australian speech-language pathologists in the management of communication disorders in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) and their perspectives on service provision. Method: A cross-sectional, mix-methods online survey was conducted. Nonprobability, purposive sampling was utilised to recruit spe...

Background/Aims Literature supports outpatient physiotherapy rehabilitation following total hip replacement. Current physiotherapy practice for this patient cohort is unknown. This study aimed to establish current physiotherapy practice for outpatient total hip replacement rehabilitation in Australia, and compare current practice with clinical evid...

Background: The relationship between hip pathology and patient reported outcome responses following hip surgery has been previously investigated. No studies have investigated the relationship between pathology and patient reported outcome responses prior to surgery. Objectives: (1) Determine the prevalence of chondral and labral pathology identi...

Objective: To determine the level of agreement between a telehealth and in-person assessment of a representative sample of patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions referred to an advanced-practice physiotherapy screening clinic. Design: Repeated-measures study design. Participants: 42 patients referred to the Neurosurgical & Orthopaedic Phy...

Purpose: Aphasia group therapy can result in improvements in communication, participation and quality of life (QOL). However, evidence for aphasia group interventions with combined aims across the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is limited. TeleGAIN is a holistic aphasia group intervention that can be deliv...

Background: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have begun to incorporate telepractice methods into clinical service delivery and online intervention for aphasia is recognised as an appropriate alternative to face-to-face services. However, little is known about the SLP experience of telepractice with no known study exploring the provision of aphas...

Background: In rural and remote communities children with motor difficulties have less access to rehabilitation services. Telerehabilitation technology is a potential method to overcome barriers restricting access to healthcare in these areas. Assessment is necessary to guide clinical reasoning; however it is unclear which paediatric assessments c...

Background Communication and swallowing disorders are highly prevalent in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Maintenance of functional communication and swallowing over time is challenging for the person with PD and their families and may lead to social isolation and reduced quality of life if not addressed. Speech and language therapists (SLTs)...

Acute hand and wrist injuries are a common presentation to the ED and are associated with large individual and societal costs. Appropriate management of these injuries in the ED is crucial given that optimal hand function is essential for daily activities and quality of life. This rapid review investigated best practice for the assessment and manag...

Study Design Cross-sectional. Background Hip pain is associated with reduced muscle strength and range of movement (ROM). These impairments may contribute to decreased postural stability and balance. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) is a reliable and valid method to measure dynamic postural control. Objectives To evaluate the association be...

Introduction Patient education is an integral component of physical therapy practice. Little is known about the factors that influence new-graduate physical therapists' preparedness to perform patient education. Self-efficacy is an important construct in understanding how graduates will engage in this professional role. The purpose of this study wa...

Background: Exercise and physical activity are key components of treatment for chronic respiratory diseases. However, the level of physical activity and adherence to exercise programs are low in people with these diseases. Active video games (AVGs) may provide a more engaging alternative to traditional forms of exercise. Objective: This review e...

BACKGROUND Exercise and physical activity are key components of treatment for chronic respiratory diseases. However, the level of physical activity and adherence to exercise programs are low in people with these diseases. Active video games (AVGs) may provide a more engaging alternative to traditional forms of exercise. OBJECTIVE This review exami...

Shoulder injuries are a commonly presenting complaint to the ED. In the absence of an obvious deformity, they can be difficult to assess and definitively diagnose because of the multiple structures that cause shoulder pain, the acuity and severity of pain and the lack of range of motion in the ED setting. The quality of ED care provided to patients...