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Vreeburg Bursary supports research into stroke rehabilitation
Poppy Downing is a part-time Physiotherapy Lecturer in the School of Allied Health Professions and Pharmacy and has been working in this role since October 2020.
Poppy completed her BSc in Physiotherapy in 2002 and her MSc in Neurological Rehabilitation in 2011, both at Keele University. Alongside her role at Keele, she also continues to work locally as a neurological physiotherapist.
Poppy is currently seconded into a Research Physiotherapy Role for two-and-a-half years, where she will be working on the National Institute for Health and Care Research( NIHR) funded project,‘ Teaching carers to deliver physical therapy for the upper limb post stroke( TaPpS): a feasibility study’. This study is being completed with Keele University and the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. It aims to investigate if a specific physiotherapy treatment technique, that aims to improve sensation and movement of the arm following stroke, is acceptable and feasible to be performed at home by informal carers, such as family members.
Phase 1 of the study was to develop a training package and this is nearing completion. Poppy has been working with the research team, physiotherapists, stroke survivors, and carers from across the West Midlands and Cheshire to co-design how the training of the physiotherapy technique will be implemented in phase 2 of the study.
Alongside working on the TaPpS study, Poppy will be completing her PhD and looking into carer burden and how the physiotherapy treatment techniques for the upper limb are carried out at home by carers in greater detail. This research is complemented by the National Health Service 10-year plan, where selfmanagement strategies are highlighted as an essential component of shaping and empowering patients with longterm conditions to take greater control of their health.
Poppy has been successful in applying for the Vreeburg Bursary, funded by a philanthropic gift to the University which aims to support a physiotherapist to complete research into upper limb recovery following a stroke. This generous gift has provided Poppy with the funds required to undertake her PhD and some associated training. This amazing gift not only supports Poppy but the outcomes from this research have the potential to support rehabilitation of the upper limb for many stroke survivors in the future.