Staff profile

Ms Susan Darzins

PhD Candidate, Lecturer (Leave of Absence in 2011)

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Allied Health
Department of Occupational Therapy

Health Sciences 3, Room 411, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

M.Med.Sc. (Clin Epi) (University of Newcastle), B.App.Sc.O.T (South Australian Institute of Technology)

Membership of professional Associations

Member of Occupational Therapy Australia, Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists

Area of study

Occupational Therapy

Brief Profile

Susan commenced her full-time doctoral studies in June 2010, exploring the measurement properties of the Personal Care Participation Assessment and Resource Tool (PC-PART). She is interested in the concept and measurement of Participation, defined by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). 

Susan has lectured at La Trobe University since 2000. She has been involved in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. She taught and coordinated subjects in the Graduate Entry Masters of Occupational Therapy Practice (MOTPrac) program from 2004 until 2010. Susan has supervised Honours and Masters level research to completion.

Susan's clinical experience includes work assessment and work capacity assessment, injury prevention and occupational rehabilitation. Her Masters research investigated factors influencing heavy industry workers to use back protection behaviour. She spent 5 years working at McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the clinical area of medico-legal assessment of work capacity.  

Teaching Units

 Susan is on leave of absence from teaching in 2011

Recent Publications

 

Peer Reviewed Publications

Kunelius, A., Darzins, S., Cromie, J. (2007). Development of normative data for hand strength and anthropometric dimensions in a population of automotive workers, Work: a Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitatio,. 28(3) 267-278 .

Darzins, P., Fone, S. Darzins, S. (2006). Viewpoint: The international classification of functioning, disability and health can help to structure and evaluate therapy. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal , 53, 127-131.

Mason, R., Darzins, S., Cromie, J (2005). Workers' compensation insurance agents' satisfaction with occupational therapy activities of daily living assessments, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal , 52, 225-231.

Quirk, M., Best, M., Darzins, S. (2004) An evaluation of the Victorian code of practice (manual handling) risk assessment worksheet, Occupational Health and Safety – Australia and New Zealand , 20(4):359-369

 

 

Older Publications

Darzins, S.W., Higginbotham, H.N. Factors that influence heavy industry workers to use back protection behaviour in Newcastle, Australia . Proceedings of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress , April, 1994.

Darzins, S.W., Reardon, R., Stock, S.R. The Neck and Upper Limb Index: A new measure of functional status of injured workers with neck and upper limb soft tissue disorders . Proceedings of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress , April, 1994.

Stock, SR., Streiner, D., Reardon, R., Darzins, S., Dilworth, P., Tugwell, P., Lolsel, P. (1995) The impact of neck and upper limb musculoskeletal disorders on the lives of affected workers: development of a new functional status index. Quality of Life Research, 4 (491).

 

Research projects

 Current PhD studies: Investigation of the measurement properties of the Personal Care Participation Assessment and Resource Tool (PC-PART)