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

 

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Date


57 results

Impact of Sitting Time on Seat-Interface Pressure and on Pressure Mapping With Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Journal Article
Crawford, S. A., Stinson, M. D., Walsh, D. M., & Porter-Armstrong, A. P. (2005)
Impact of Sitting Time on Seat-Interface Pressure and on Pressure Mapping With Multiple Sclerosis Patients. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 86(6), 1221-1225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2004.08.010
Objective To examine changes in seat-interface pressure with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Design Case series. Setting Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Resource Centre and c...

User perspectives: Living and Working within a ‘Smart Home’ Environment

Conference Proceeding
Martin, S., Nugent, C., & Porter-Armstrong, A. (2005)
User perspectives: Living and Working within a ‘Smart Home’ Environment. In From smart homes to smart care : ICOST 2005, 3rd International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics (35-44

An investigation of the impact of the Force Sensing Array pressure mapping system on the clinical judgement of occupational therapists

Journal Article
Crawford, S. A., Strain, B., Gregg, B., Walsh, D. M., & Porter-Armstrong, A. P. (2005)
An investigation of the impact of the Force Sensing Array pressure mapping system on the clinical judgement of occupational therapists. Clinical Rehabilitation, 19(2), 224-231. https://doi.org/10.1191/0269215505cr826oa
Objectives: To examine the impact of pressure mapping technology on the clinical decisions of occupational therapists and to examine the role of the Braden Scale in assisting ...

Caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis: experiences of support

Journal Article
McKeown, L. P., Porter-Armstrong, A. P., & Baxter, G. D. (2004)
Caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis: experiences of support. Multiple Sclerosis, 10(2), 219-230. https://doi.org/10.1191/1352458504ms1008oa
The aim of this pheno menological study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of a group of caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixteen caregivers fro...

Pressure mapping systems: reliability of pressure map interpretation

Journal Article
Stinson, M. D., Porter-Armstrong, A. P., & Eakin, P. A. (2003)
Pressure mapping systems: reliability of pressure map interpretation. Clinical Rehabilitation, 17(5), 504-511. https://doi.org/10.1191/0269215503cr643oa
Background: Pressure mapping systems offer a new technology to assist with pressure care assessment. Data output from such systems can be presented in three forms: numerical d...

The needs and experiences of caregivers of individuals with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review

Journal Article
McKeown, L. P., Porter-Armstrong, A. P., & Baxter, G. D. (2003)
The needs and experiences of caregivers of individuals with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review. Clinical Rehabilitation, 17(3), 234-248. https://doi.org/10.1191/0269215503cr618oa
Primary objective: To appraise recent studies regarding the needs and experiences of caregivers of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Design: The following computerize...

Seat-interface pressure: A pilot study of the relationship to gender, body mass index, and seating position

Journal Article
Stinson, M. D., Porter-Armstrong, A., & Eakin, P. (2003)
Seat-interface pressure: A pilot study of the relationship to gender, body mass index, and seating position. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 84(3), 405-409. https://doi.org/10.1053/apmr.2003.50011

Measuring interface pressure: a laboratory based investigation into the effects of repositioning and sitting time

Journal Article
Stinson, M., Porter-Armstrong, A., & Eakin, P. (2002)
Measuring interface pressure: a laboratory based investigation into the effects of repositioning and sitting time. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56(2), 185-190. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.56.2.185
Measurement of interface (or contact) pressure is important in assessing tissue viability in relation to pressure sore prevention and may be achieved through pressure mapping ...

Providing Care to the Disabled Elderly in the Community: A Study of Elderly Caregivers

Thesis
Porter-Armstrong, A. (1999)
Providing Care to the Disabled Elderly in the Community: A Study of Elderly Caregivers. (Thesis). University of Ulster. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2821312

Priorities for Occupational Therapy Research in the United Kingdon: A strategic overview

Report
Bannigan, K., Boniface, G., Doherty, P., Nicol, M., Porter-Armstrong, A., & Scudds, R. (2006)
Priorities for Occupational Therapy Research in the United Kingdon: A strategic overview. London: Royal College of Occupational Therapists

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.
  • 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.
  • Jill Drysdale.The effectiveness of community living skills training in improving functional ability of children with moderate learning disabilities. 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.
  • Shelley Crawford.The application of the FSA pressure mapping system in clinical settings. PhD.
  • Laura McKeown.Caregivers of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS): Intervention and needs during the caregiving experience. 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.