Research and education
Rehabilitation is not widely understood, something which gives the Oxford Centre for Enablement (OCE) two important roles in the area of research and education:
- Undertaking, supporting and facilitating research that directly or indirectly increases the knowledge base for the clinical practice of rehabilitation - see publications and papers.
- Teaching and training people at all levels, including:
- Patients and families
- The general public
- Students
- Health care professionals
- People in other organisations
History and background
We have a very long history of research going back to the 1960s when Dr Philip Nichol first started developing research at the Mary Marlborough Lodge and the 1970s when the Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre started research into neurological conditions. People working in the Centre itself are still actively researching, but increasingly we research in larger team. We have close links with many universities including the Movement Science Group and also research groups in the UK and Europe.
We also have a long history of translating research into practice. For example there are at least five ‘Rivermead’ assessments that are used on a daily basis clinically around the world. Perhaps the best known are the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test and the Rivermead Mobility Index (both available in many languages).
The Specialist Disability Service has run a University-accredited course on posture management for several years, and many less formally accredited courses and teaching occurs regularly. Staff from the OCE regularly speak at national and international conferences.
Education
We welcome approaches from anyone interested in research involving people with neurological disability or other disabilities. Please contact us for more information.
We also welcome anyone who is looking for training or teaching from our staff. See education and training for more information.