Alison Porter-Armstrong
alison porter armstrong

Dr Alison Porter-Armstrong DPhil, BSc (Hons) OT, MRCOT, HCPC Registered

Professor

 0131 455 4570

  A.Porter-Armstrong@napier.ac.uk

   

Biography

Alison is Professor of Healthcare Technology Innovation and Assessment in the School of Health and Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University, and leads the Healthcare Technology Research Group. Alison is an occupational therapist whose research interests include: assistive technologies, seating and postural support, pressure care, and innovations in upper limb rehabilitation and stroke care. She has published widely in these areas authoring 200 peer reviewed publications, commissioned research reports, keynote addresses and conference presentations. As a Cochrane Fellow, she led the Cochrane Review team on the systematic review of education of healthcare professionals for the prevention of pressure ulcers. Her research programme has generated significant research grant income of approximately £7million, involving collaboration with a variety of prestigious organisations, including the University of California Los Angeles, The University of Pittsburgh, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Alison has won many awards for her work including First Placed lead academic for the Best Knowledge Transfer Partnerships in both Northern Ireland and subsequently in the United Kingdom competition; was a finalist in the Praxis Unico Impact Awards (Business Achieved Category) and is a recipient of the H21 Award for Services to the European Seating Symposium.

Alison is a Trustee and Treasurer of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), immediate past Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee for the European Seating Symposium (ESS),and is an invited member of the International Society for Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP). Alison has been a review panel member for many prestigious funding bodies including the Department of Health, the Wellcome Trust, and the Health Innovation Challenge Fund.

School

Research Groups

News

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Member of the Advisory Board, Royal College of Occupational Therapists' Research Foundation
  • Member Judging Panel, The Irish Education Awards
  • Trustee, Member of Executive Board , & Treasurer, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP)

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Chair, Scientific Committee European Seating Symposium

 

Editorial Activity

  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Tissue Viability
  • Editorial Board Member, Quality and Ageing

 

External Examining/Validations

  • PhD examiner

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • H21 Award for Services to the European Seating Symposium
  • Cochrane Fellowship Award
  • Lead Academic, First Placed Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), UK
  • Lead Academic, First Placed Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) NI

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel
  • Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered
  • Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists

 

Reviewing

  • Manuscript review: British Journal of Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy Reviews; Journal of Tissue Viability

 

Filter by

Date


56 results

Does health literacy in respiratory patients impact on their rating of important topics for education in pulmonary rehabilitation?

Presentation / Conference
Roberts, N. J., McAlooney, K., Ring, N., Ray, E., Turnbull, L., Jelen, T., & Porter-Armstrong, A. (2024, May)
Does health literacy in respiratory patients impact on their rating of important topics for education in pulmonary rehabilitation?. Poster presented at 12th IPCRG World Conference, Athens, Greece

Spatial Neglect: An Exploration of Clinical Assessment Behaviour in Stroke Rehabilitation

Journal Article
Fisher, G., Quel de Oliveira, C., Stubbs, P. W., Power, E., Checketts, M., Porter-Armstrong, A., & Kennedy, D. S. (2024)
Spatial Neglect: An Exploration of Clinical Assessment Behaviour in Stroke Rehabilitation. Clinical Rehabilitation, 38(5), 688-699. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155241230270
Objective: There is a large gap between evidence-based recommendations for spatial neglect assessment and clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation. We aimed to describe fact...

What do pulmonary rehabilitation participants want their educational sessions to comprise of? Exploring a participant-centered approach to designing pulmonary rehabilitation education

Journal Article
Roberts, N. J., McAloney-Kocaman, K., Ring, N., Ray, E., Turnbull, L., Jelen, T., & Porter-Armstrong, A. (in press)
What do pulmonary rehabilitation participants want their educational sessions to comprise of? Exploring a participant-centered approach to designing pulmonary rehabilitation education. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,

A scoping review exploring adoption of digital stress management resources for long-term health conditions – just useful for respiratory conditions?

Journal Article
Roberts, N., Gebreheat, G., MacLean, F., Connolly, F., Breen, C., & Porter-Armstrong, A. (2023)
A scoping review exploring adoption of digital stress management resources for long-term health conditions – just useful for respiratory conditions?. Thorax, 78(Suppl 4), Article A265. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2023-btsabstracts.400

The use of home-based digital technology to support post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation: A scoping review

Journal Article
Gebreheat, G., Goman, A., & Porter-Armstrong, A. (2024)
The use of home-based digital technology to support post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation: A scoping review. Clinical Rehabilitation, 38(1), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155231189257
Objective. To identify, map and synthesize the extent and nature of existing studies on the use of home-based digital technology to support post-stroke upper limb rehabilitati...

Preventing facial pressure injuries among health care staff working in diverse COVID‐19 care environments

Journal Article
Moore, Z., Moore, D., McEvoy, N. L., Avsar, P., O’Connor, T., Budri, A., …Patton, D. (2022)
Preventing facial pressure injuries among health care staff working in diverse COVID‐19 care environments. International Wound Journal, 19(7), 1677-1685. https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.13768
The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a specially designed care bundle on the development of facial pressure injuries among frontline health care workers wearin...

Joining the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic: views of Allied Health Profession students

Journal Article
Porter-Armstrong, A., Daly-Lynn, J., Turtle, B., Abercrombie, W., McLean, A., Martin, S., & Stinson, M. (2022)
Joining the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic: views of Allied Health Profession students. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 36(5), 651-659. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2021.1976122
In the United Kingdom, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic placed great pressures on universities to ensure final year health care students completed their studies earlier than...

A survey of ‘standard’ occupational therapy rehabilitation for the upper limb post-stroke: investigating components delivered by clinicians within the reflects trial - based throughout Ireland (in World Stroke Congress Abstracts, 2020)

Journal Article
Abercrombie, W., Porter-Armstrong, A., Turtle, B., Stockley, R., & Stinson, M. (2020)
A survey of ‘standard’ occupational therapy rehabilitation for the upper limb post-stroke: investigating components delivered by clinicians within the reflects trial - based throughout Ireland (in World Stroke Congress Abstracts, 2020). International Journal of Stroke, 15(1S), 268. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493020963387
Background And Aims: The REfLECTS study is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) examining mirror therapy for the treatment of upper limb (UL) impairment. Located throughout Nor...

Experiences of mirror therapy in the sub-acute phase of stroke (in World Stroke Congress Abstracts, 2020)

Journal Article
Turtle, B., Porter-Armstrong, A., Robinson, L., & Stinson, M. (2020)
Experiences of mirror therapy in the sub-acute phase of stroke (in World Stroke Congress Abstracts, 2020). International Journal of Stroke, 15(1S), 254. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493020963387
Background And Aims: Mirror therapy provides a novel, cost-effective approach to upper limb treatment following stroke. However, the effectiveness of mirror therapy in sub-acu...

The reliability of the graded Wolf Motor Function Test for stroke

Journal Article
Turtle, B., Porter-Armstrong, A., & Stinson, M. (2020)
The reliability of the graded Wolf Motor Function Test for stroke. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 83(9), 585-594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022620902697
Introduction The graded Wolf Motor Function Test assesses upper limb function following stroke. Clinical utility is limited by the requirement to video record for scoring purp...

Current Post Grad projects

Non-Napier PhD or MSc by Research supervisions

  • Beverley Turtle.Mirror box therapy in upper limb rehabilitation with sub-acute stroke patients. PhD.
  • Joanne Marley.Using the Behaviour Change Wheel to develop Interventions to Increase Physical Activity in Adults with Persistent Pain and Improve the Promotion of Physical Activity by Healthcare Professionals. PhD.
  • Lorna Semple.Optimising pressure ulcer prevention: exploring applications and effectiveness of the SKIN bundle. PhD.
  • Katy Pedlow.Constraint Induced Movement Therapy for patients with acquired brain injury. PhD.
  • Rachel Ferguson.The impact of activities of daily living on seating interface pressure. PhD.
  • Jill Drysdale.The effectiveness of community living skills training in improving functional ability of children with moderate learning disabilities. MClinRes.
  • Daniel Harte.A randomised controlled trial to investigate the collaborative use of pressure and silicone in reducing hypertrophic scar formation after burns. MClinRes.
  • Clare Wright.Establishing best practice in paediatric seating and mobility assessment. MClinRes.
  • Catherine Adams.Sensor and imaging technologies in pressure ulceration: exploring use and application. PhD.
  • Mary McGrath. The efficacy of a home based memory rehabilitation programme for patients with mild alzheimers disease who are stable on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. MPhil.
  • Laura McKeown.Caregivers of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS): Intervention and needs during the caregiving experience. PhD.
  • Shelley Crawford.The application of the FSA pressure mapping system in clinical settings. PhD.
  • May Stinson. An investigation into the efficacy of the Force Sensing Array pressure care mapping system as a method of assessing pressure sores. PhD.