Staff profile

Dr Robyn O'Halloran

Lecturer, Post Doctoral Fellow in the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Allied Health
Department of Human Communication Sciences

HS1, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

PhD Speech Pathology (University of Queensland)

Membership of professional associations

Speech Pathology Australia

Area of study

Speech Pathology

Brief profile

Robyn is a member of the adult language team within the Department of Human Communication Sciences. In 2012 she will be teaching as part of the adult langauge team, coordinating the unit HCS4AIA (Assessment and Intervention A) and teaching and coordinating the unit HCS5CEL (Critical Evaluation of the Literature).

Robyn is also a Post Doctoral Fellow in the Centre for Clincial Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation. She is working with other investigators in the CCRE in Aphasia Rehabilitation on the development of the acute phase of the Australian Aphasia Rehabilitation Pathway. Her particular interests are in the assessment and management of patients' ability to communicate their healthcare needs in hospital and the application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to create more communicatively accessible healthcare environments.She is also a member of the Living with Disability Research Programme at La Trobe University.

She co-supervises Honours and PhD students.

Robyn is Chair of the Victorian branch of the Australian Aphasia Association, an advocacy group for people with aphasia, their family and friends. She is convening the AAA Conference in October 2012.

Supervised Student Projects

 

Teaching units

HCS4AIA Assessment and Intervention A

HCS5CEL Critical Evaluation of the Literature

Recent publications

Books

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L., Toffolo, D., Code, C. and Hickson, L. (2004). The Inpatient functional communication interview (IFCI). Oxon: Speechmark.

Papers

O'Halloran, R., Worrall, L., & Hickson, L. (2012). Stroke patients communicating their healthcare needs in hospital: A study within the ICF framework. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 47(2), 130-143.

O’Halloran, R., Grohn, B. and Worrall, L. (2012). Environmental factors that influence communication for patients with a communication disability in acute hospital stroke units: A qualitative metasynthesis. Archives of Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine. January, 2012 Supplement issue "Rehabilitation of Neurological Language Disorders" (Vol. 93, No. 1, Suppl 1).

O'Halloran R, Worrall L, Hickson L. (2011). Environmental factors that influence communication between patients and their healthcare providers in acute hospital stroke units: An observational study. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 46 (1), 30-47.

O’Halloran, R. & Rose, T. (2010). What’s the evidence? Communicatively accessible healthcare environments. Australian Communication Quarterly, 12 (3), 123-126.

O’Halloran, R. (2010). Communication accessibility in healthcare settings. Australian Communication Quarterly, 12 (3), 106-107.

O’Halloran, R. (2010). Life lessons from speech pathology. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 17 (1), 10-12.

O’Halloran, R., Hersh, D., Laplante- Lévesque, A., and Worrall, L. (2010).Person-centredness, ethics and stories of risk. Seminars in Speech and Language, 31(2), 81-89.

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L. and Hickson, L. (2009). A psychometric investigation of speech, language and cognitive communicative rating scales for adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders in the acute hospital setting. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11 (3), 206-219.

O’Halloran, R., Hickson, L. and Worrall, L. (2009). The number of patients with communication related impairments in the acute hospital stroke unit. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11 (6), 438-449.

O’Halloran, R., Hickson, L and Worrall, L. (2008). Environmental Factors that influence communication between people with communication disability and their healthcare providers in hospital: A review of the literature within the ICF framework. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43, 601-632.

O’Halloran, R. and Larkins, B. (2008). The ICF Activities and Participation related to speech-language pathology. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 10, (1-2), 18-26.

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L. and Hickson, L. (2007). Development of a measure of communication activity for the acute hospital setting: Part I. Rationale and preliminary findings. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 15, 1, 39-50.

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L. Code, C. and Hickson, L. (2007). Development of a measure of communication activity for the acute hospital setting: Part II. Item analysis, selection and reliability. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 15, 1, 51-66.

McCooey-O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L. and Hickson, L. (2004). Evaluating the role of speech-language pathology with patients with communication disability in the acute hospital setting using the ICF. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 12, 49-58.

Worrall, L., McCooey, R., Davidson, B., Larkins, B. and Hickson, L. (2002). The validity of functional assessments of communication and the Activity/Participation components of the ICIDH-2: do they reflect what really happens in real-life? Journal of Communication Disorders, 35, 107-137.

Conferences

 

Foster, A., Worrall, L., Rose, M., & O’Halloran, R.  (October, 2012) Speech pathologists’ conceptualisation of acute post-stroke aphasia management. Poster accepted for the International Aphasia Rehabilitation Conference: Melbourne.

Foster, A., Worrall, L., Rose, M., & O’Halloran, R. (August, 2012). Speech pathologists’ perceptions of the factors that influence decision-making in acute post-stroke aphasia management. Paper accepted at the Stroke 2012 Conference: Sydney.

Foster, A., Worrall, L., Rose, M., & O'Halloran, R. (June, 2012) Speech pathologists' perceptions of evidence-based practice for acute aphasia management. Paper accepted at the Communicate: Our Natural State Speech Pathology Australia National Conference: Hobart.

Hemsley, B., Worrall, E., Kis-Rigo, J., O'Halloran, R., & Hills, S. (June, 2012). Cochrane CENTRAL & CAFÉ (Communication Access Framework and Evidence): Locating intervention studies on clinical communication for communicatively vulnerable populations. Paper accepted at the Communicate: Our Natural State Speech Pathology Australia National Conference: Hobart.

O’Halloran, R. and Worrall, L. (May, 2012). The Communication Disability Screener: Detecting patients with communication activity limitation in the hospital setting. Poster presented at the Clinical Aphasiology Conference, Lake Tahoe, California.

 

O’Halloran, R., Lee, Y., Rose, M., Liamputtong, P., Grohn, B., and Worrall, L. (December, 2011). Foundations for a communicatively accessible healthcare environment. Poster presented at the World Report Symposium on Disability, Sydney.

O’Halloran, R. (November, 2011). Creating communicatively accessible environments for people with aphasia. Keynote address at the ‘I am still me’ - Living successfully with aphasia, 4th New Zealand Biennial Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand.

O’Halloran, R. (November, 2011). Creating communicatively accessible environments: Clinical workshop. Keynote workshop at the ‘I am still me’ - Living successfully with aphasia, 4th New Zealand Biennial Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand.

 

Hemsley, B., Worrall, E., Kis-Rigo, J., O’Halloran, R., and Hill, S. (October, 2011). Cochrane CENTRAL & CAFE (Communication Access Framework and Evidence): Locating intervention studies on clinical communication for communicatively vulnerable populations. Poster presented at the 19th Cochrane Colloquium & VI International Conference on Patient Safety, Madrid.

O’Halloran, R, Grohn, B and Worrall, L. (July, 2011). Environmental factors that affect communication for patients with a communication disability in acute hospital stroke units: A qualitative metasynthesis. Paper presented at the Consumers Reforming Health Conference, Melbourne.

Hill, S., Hemsley, B., O'Halloran, R. and Kis-Rigo, J. (July, 2011). The CAFÉ: Communication access framework and evidence for people vulnerable to poor clinical communication. Workshop presented at the 2011 Australasian Cochrane Symposium, Melbourne.

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L., McMurtrie, K., Maddox, J., Maurer, T and Smith, T. (September, 2010). Can aphasia be detected from an interview? Paper presented at the Australian Symposium for Aphasia, Sydney.

O’Halloran, R., Worrall, L. and Hickson, L. (September, 2010). The environmental factors that influence communication in the acute hospital stroke unit. Paper presented at the European Association for Communication in Healthcare (EACH), Verona, Italy.

Worrall, L., O’Halloran, R, Scarinci, N., Larkins, B. & Hickson, L. (August, 2010). The development of ICF inspired assessments for adults with acute stroke, traumatic brain injury and partners of hearing impaired older people. Paper presented at the IALP, Athens, Greece.

 

 

Older publications

Worrall, L., McCooey, R., Davidson, B., Larkins, B. and Hickson, L. (2002). The validity of functional assessments of communication and the Activity/Participation components of the ICIDH-2: do they reflect what really happens in real-life? Journal of Communication Disorders, 35, 107-137.

McCooey, R., Toffolo, D. and Code, C. (2000). A socio-environmental approach to functional communication in hospital in-patients. In L. Worrall & C.M. Frattali (Eds.), Neurogenic communication disorders: A functional approach (pp.295-311). New York: Thieme Medical Publishers.

Harasty, J. and McCooey, R. (1994). The prevalence of communication impairment in adults: A summary and critical evaluation of the literature. Australian Journal of Human Communication Disorders, 21, 81- 95.

Research projects

Communication access framework and evidence for people vulnerable to poor clinical communication. This research project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr Sophie Hill from the Cochrane Centre for Healthcare Communication and Participation, La Trobe University and Dr Bronwyn Hemsley, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland.