Stroke Society of Australasia

In 2003 applications were invited for the inaugural Overseas Study Scholarship and Overseas Travel Fellowship. There were no applications for the Overseas Travel Fellowships, and instead two awards were made for the Overseas Study Scholarships because of the high quality of the applications. The awardees were Maree Hackett and Julie Bernhardt. Their reports are provided below.

This year, the Stroke Society of Australasia kindly awarded me with one of two available 'overseas study scholarships'. On my application I had requested assistance with travel to Leeds and Edinburgh Universities to undertake some focused work on three Cochrane Reviews of treatment and prevention strategies for mood disorders following stroke. The protocols for these reviews are available on the Cochrane website (http://www.update-software.com/cochrane/).

On the 18th of May I left Auckland, heading for Valencia, Spain. Fortunately for me, the slight delay in the assessment of scholarship applications provided the perfect opportunity to attend the European Stroke Conference (ESC) at the beginning of my mini-sabbatical. The ESC was most entertaining, with New Zealand and Australian researchers having a high profile in the presentations. I gave a platform presentation on the preliminary results of the third Auckland Regional Community Stroke Study and the feedback was positive. The full results are planned for release in 2004.

It was then a short journey across a different ditch to spend two and a half weeks with Professor Allan House and colleagues at the Academic Unit of Psychiatry, The University of Leeds and two weeks with Professor Peter Sandercock and colleagues at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Edinburgh.

The opportunity to spend dedicated time on the Reviews was fantastic, and without the SSA's assistance, something that would have alluded me. During my time in Leeds I discussed the emotionalism review at length with my co-author Professor Allan House, and become familiar with the areas of concern specific to abnormal mood following stroke. I completed entry of all available data into the review-specific software for all three reviews (interventions for emotionalism, treatment of depression and prevention of depression following stroke) and gained valuable assistance and advice from the Cochrane Schizophrenia Editorial group who are based at Leeds. This also provided me with the opportunity to see first-hand how other review groups work. I met with staff running the post-stroke observational study and randomised controlled trial at Leeds, and provided guidance to two psychiatric registrars who are planning research in the area of abnormal mood following stroke.

In Edinburgh I spent time with the staff of the Cochrane Stroke Editorial group. This included meeting with their statistician (Steph Lewis) to discuss appropriate analysis and presentation of data for all three reviews. I also had several meetings with Professor Peter Sandercock to discuss the content and text flow of each review and I attended the weekly stroke research seminars. The remainder of my time in Edinburgh was dedicated to writing the text for the reviews. I returned to Leeds for half a week to finalise the Emotionalism review and outline roles and responsibilities for ongoing work after my return to New Zealand.

It is with great pleasure that I inform you that all three reviews have since been submitted to the Cochrane Stroke Group editorial base in Edinburgh. I also submitted a related abstract for presentation at last years SSA conference. And it was most interesting to note that Cochrane Editorial groups seem to be housed in the basement of their respective universities.

I would like to thank the SSA once again for supporting a young researcher. The scholarship provided a wonderful opportunity for me to meet with colleagues from around the world with similar research interests and vastly increased my knowledge of Cochrane methodology and mood disorders following stroke. I should also mention that Valencia, Leeds, Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside are very picturesque and I embraced the opportunity to look around and sample the fine cuisine and available beverages.

• Stroke Society of Australasia Overseas Study Scholarship (Julie Bernhardt)

In 2003 I was awarded a SSA Overseas Study Scholarship. My goals for this scholarship were:

to have face to face meetings with international collaborators, Prof Peter Langhorne (Glasgow) and Prof Bent Indredavik (Trondheim, Norway), both of whom had expressed an interest in the development of a randomised controlled trial of very early rehabilitation (AVERT);
undertake a period of training in the very early mobilisation programme employed in the Trondheim stroke unit (and regarded as a very promising though untested rehabilitation method), and
acquire detailed data, using behavioural mapping techniques, about activity levels of patients managed on a ward that practices very early mobilisation. These data could then be compared to data we acquired in Phase 1 of AVERT from patients managed in 5 Melbourne stroke units (Publication in press).

All three goals were achieved on this study visit. I was handed a uniform on my arrival in Trondheim and spent several weeks engaged in the practice of very early mobilisation. The Trondheim staff were very welcoming and I was able to witness and be a part of what I believe is a unique model of stroke patient care. Together with collaborators we have since formalised the Phase 2 protocol for AVERT (safety and feasibility study) which commenced at Austin Health in February 2004. Planning for the Phase 3 multi-centre trial is underway. Finally, the activity data acquired in Trondheim were contrasted with data from Melbourne and presented at the 2003 SSA meeting. As further data are acquired we will submit the comparison for publication.

The SSA scholarship enabled me to undertake a wonderful study experience in the UK and Norway that has allowed me to progress my post doctoral research more quickly, and with a broader international focus, than would otherwise have been the case. I can’t thank them enough!