The research consultancy service of Wize Therapy is undertaken by the Director, Paula Dyke who has a background as a clinician, manager of large teams of allied health professionals and researcher following completion of the Masters in Public Health degree in 1999.
Paula is experienced in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and applies these both to specific research projects, review of services across a range of sectors and setting/evaluating of new initiatives. Over the last three years, a number of research projects have been successfully tendered for and completed.
These include:
- The Senses Foundation: a nine month project requiring an extensive literature review and quantitative analysis of existing Commonwealth data to identify people who are deafblind and people who are vision impaired with additional disabilities in Western Australia (WA).
- Curtin University of Western Australia: a three month project to determine the interface between Aged Care Providers in WA and Curtin University, and in particular providers interested in a proposed Health Institute to be established on the Curtin campus. The contents of the report remain confidential and for internal use only.
- Uniting Care West and CLAN WA: a six month project to develop a training module, including a DVD of the workshop, for volunteers working with families who have a child with a disability.
- Disability Services Commission of Western Australia: a seven month project undertaken to develop options for a Western Australian integrated approach to children’s continence support. The evaluation was jointly undertaken with Dr Maree Dyson and essentially aimed to review the current availability of, gaps in and needs for continence support for children with disabilities, their families and carers.
- The Centre for Cerebral Palsy (TCCP) in Western Australia: a three month project to review therapy services at TCCP that would be inclusive of a review of service delivery models to ensure that they are best suited to meet client and family needs, current professional standards and changing government needs.
- Disability Services Commission of Western Australia: a six month project to review the need for allied health support in Commission-funded Alternatives to Employment Programs.
Paula has also completed two reports for the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research in Western Australia.
- Down Syndrome Needs Opinions Wishes Study Report, 2007. This report translates the information collected from over 350 families throughout WA with a child with Down syndrome. This information is important not only for service providers and policy makers but also for families caring for children and adults with Down syndrome. The report is currently being used by genetic counsellors in WA to assist them in their work with families.
- The Australian Rett Syndrome Study Report, 2006. The principal purpose of the report was to provide feedback to families and others involved with Rett syndrome in Australia about information being collected from the routine completion of comprehensive questionnaires by families with a child with Rett syndrome. The report also provided an update on recent research advances and publications.
