The Psychology and Healthcare team

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Lecturer
Psychological Medicine
School of Medicine

Research Interests:

• Health psychology
• Stress and wound healing
• Coping with chronic illness
• Illness perceptions
• Risk perceptions
• Patients' drawings of their illness
• Human-robot interactions
  

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

I am responsible for the psychology and health trials. This research investigates how people think and feel about robots. We are studying how people respond to the healthcare robots, and whether the use of our robots can contribute to health and quality of life outcomes.

Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

I am an Isaac Asimov, a prolific writer of science fiction, fan from long back. The thought of creating a robot that cares for humans and acts to protect them is very appealing.

Recent publications in 2009:

 Broadbent, E., Ellis, C.J., Thomas, J., Gamble G., & Petrie, K.J. (2009). Further development of an illness perception intervention for myocardial infarction patients: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 67, 17-23.

Broadbent, E., Ellis, C.J., Thomas J., Gamble, G., & Petrie, K.J. (2009). Can an illness perception intervention reduce anxiety in spouses of myocardial infarction patients? A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 67, 11-15.

Broadbent, E., Niederhoffer. K., Hague, T., Corter, A., Reynolds, L. (2009) Headache sufferers' drawings reflect distress, disability and illness perceptions. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 66, 465-470.
 

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Professor, General Practice and Primary Health Care
General Practice
School of Population Health

Research Interests:

• Care for older people
• Falls
• Physical activity

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

I am responsible for leading the research in fall prevention.

Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

I am really interested in investigating any possibility, which can lead to the greater independence of older adults.  Health robots could be a new way for older adults to achiever great independence in their lives.

Recent publications in 2009:

Weiner, M., Wells, S., & Kerse, N. (2009). Primary care physicians' perspectives about evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular diseases among older adults in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 1(3), 184-189.

Kerse, N., Hayman, K J., Moyes, S A., Peri, K., Robinson, E., Dowell, A., Kolt, G S., Elley, C R., Hatcher, S., Kiata, L., Wiles, J., Keeling, S., Parsons, J., & Arroll, B. (2009). Does a home-based activity program for older people with depressive symptoms improve outcomes? Depression in Late Life Intervention Trial of Exercise (DeLLITE), a randomized controlled trial. In press Annals of Family Medicine.

Goodyear-Smith, F., York, D., Petousis-Harris, H., Turner, N., Copp, J., Kerse, N., & Grant, C. (2009). Recruitment of practices in primary care research: the long and the short of it. Family Practice, 9, 1-9.

Wiles, J., Allen, R., Kerse, K., Palmer, A., Keeling, S., Kiata, L., & Hayman, K. (2009). Older people and their social spaces: A study of well-being and attachment to place in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Science and Medicine, 68, 664-671.

Hong, J.B., Kerse, N., Scahill, S., Moyes, S., Peri, K., & Hughes, C. (2009). Use of aspirin and statins for cardiovascular risk reduction in New Zealand: the residential care story. In press Journal of Primary Health Care.

Lin, S.Y., Kerse, N., McLean, C., & Moyes, S.A. (2009). Validation of Quality of Life and Functional measures for older people for telephone administration. In press Journal of Primary Health Care.
 

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Research Interests:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly
• Chronic conditions management
• The organisation of care for the very elderly
• Quality of life in the very elderly
• The frailty syndrome
• Development of robotics for elderly people

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

Past Research:

I have authored or co-authored nearly 140 scientific papers, and I am the Associate Editor of the journals 'Age and Ageing' and 'CME Geriatric Medicine'

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PhD Candidate

Research Interests:

• Health robots
• Quality of life in older people
• Stress
• Migraines

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

 I am responsible for evaluating the psychological factors for older people and for other stakeholders, which can impact upon the acceptability of the healthcare robots.

Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

I am passionate about assisting older people optimise and maintain their quality of life. Older people have particular needs, fears and concerns and these must be understood and respected in order to develop acceptable health robots. Evaluating and working with these needs is a fascinating area.  Increasingly the physical and cognitive decline in older people can place immense strain on carers and relatives of older people. Consequently, robotic devices that can support carers and the family members of older people is an extremely important and viable option to care for them.

Past Research:

I am a PhD candidate on this project. My past research includes:

• A literature review on robotic devices that enable elderly people to stay in their own homes (aging in place)
• I was involved in setting up an experiment where participants' blood pressure was taken by both a human researcher, and a standard BP device attached to a robot called 'Charles'.
• My master's thesis was on migraine and stress.

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Research Interests:

• Physical activity in older people
• Falls in older people
• Physiotherapy services in New Zealand.

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

I am measuring the amount of activity older people do, using an activity-monitoring device.  This same device is also being developed to automatically detect a fall is it occurs, so that help can be summoned immediately.

 Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

Falls are a real issue for older people, so knowing that the healthbots project is helping develop a completely automated alert system for detecting falls incidents is great. 

Recent publications:

• Taylor L. M. Lewis G. and Taylor D  (2012) Short-term effects of electrical stimulation and voluntary activity on corticomotor excitability in healthy individuals and people with stroke. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology In Press
• A role for regulated Physiotherapy Specialisation in 2010 – New Zealand¿s journey into uncharted territory (2011) Mueller J., Taylor L., Dave Baxter., Steve White., Jon Warren., Janet Copeland  WCPT Conference, Amsterdam
• Taylor L, Lewis G, Lucas J & Taylor D. (2010) Cortical excitability following wrist extension exercises augmented with electrical stimulation in chronic stroke participants. NZ Journal of Physiotherapy 38 (2): 75
• Lucas J, Taylor L, Lewis G, & Taylor D. (2009) The effect of electrical stimulation on cortical excitability in people with chronic stroke . Biennial Neurosymposium: Neurology Group of the New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists, Auckland, New Zealand 15-16 May.
• Physiotherapy Specialisation: The Way Forward. (2008) The Advanced Practitioner Working Party New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists and the New Zealand College of Physiotherapy, Wellington. Authors: Janice Mueller, Lynne Taylor, Janet Copeland, Jon Warren, David Baxter, Steve White.
• [A final report: Compilation of stakeholder feedback on proposed Physiotherapy Specialisation]
• Taylor, L.  (2008) An audit of physiotherapy vacancies over 2006: analysis of current workforce needs NZ Journal of Physiotherapy, 36, 1-6, 1
• Physiotherapy specialisation: The way forward, [Consultation Document] (2007) The Advanced Practitioner Working Party New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists and the New Zealand College of Physiotherapy, Wellington. Authors: Janice Mueller, Lynne Taylor, Janet Copeland, Jon Warren, David Baxter, Steve White. [A consultation document for stakeholders on a proposed model of Physiotherapy Specialisation]
• Taylor, L Roigard A, Sung T and Vuletich J  (2006) The New Zealand physiotherapy workforce: an audit of current gaps and implications for future needs. NZ Journal of Physiotherapy,  34 (2): 112
• Taylor, L. and Copeland, J. (2006) Changes in Physiotherapy Research, Education and Professional Development in New Zealand Physical Therapy Reviews 11(2): 101-106

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Research Interests:

Improving quality of life and quality of care for older people residing in community and aged residential care settings. Current research projects I am involved with include: Exploring the impact on the Canterbury Earthquakes on older people and was recently awarded a HRC grant to continue in this area of research.  Exercise as an adjunct to improve mood for depressed older people and exploring new service delivery models and models of care for older people in community and aged care facilities. 

Q1. What is your role within the healthbots project?

My role in the healtbots project is to support the project manager and research assistants in the research recruitment and follow up phases of the project. To oversee the medication reminder programme that is  being trialled in the independent units at the Selwyn Village complex using the iRobiQ.  

 Q2. What excites you about the healthbots project?

Everything about this large complex research project excites me. I am particularly enjoying working with the varied members of the research team which is international and comprises engineers,  psychologists  doctors, nurses,  research assistants, and computer experts to name a few. Exploring how assistive technology i.e. the different robots being used in this project, may enable older people to have increased opportunities to continue to live at home safely and for those residents living in aged care facilities how the use of robots may improve both quality of life and quality of care will be enriching. 

Past Research:

My past research interests include developing and implementing an exercise programme to improve function, quality of life and reduce falls for older people living in residential care and community, Organisational culture in residential care, Elder abuse and neglect, evaluation of new innovated service delivery models. 

Recent publications: