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Dr Emma Finch

Senior Research Fellow-Speech Path.

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
e.finch@uq.edu.au
+61 7 3896 3133
+61 7 334 67484

Overview

Dr Emma Finch (nee Whiting) is a Conjoint Senior Research Fellow between The University of Queensland and the Princess Alexandra Hospital Speech Pathology Department. Emma graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Hons Class I) from the University of Queensland in 2003 and was also awarded a University Medal at this time. Emma subsequently completed a PhD at the University of Queensland in 2008 and was awarded a Dean’s commendation for her doctoral thesis. Following the completion of her PhD, Emma entered fulltime clinical work as a speech pathologist, with a focus on neurosciences and rehabilitation. Since August 2010, Emma has been employed in a conjoint research position.

Emma’s research themes have a strong clinical basis and are focused on the assessment and rehabilitation of communication disorders associated with acquired neurological conditions, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury and brain tumours. Emma is also interested in approaches to enhance the participation of individuals with acquired communication difficulties, such as communication partner training.

Research Interests

  • Effects of thrombolysis on rehabilitation
    Stroke is a leading source of disability in Australia. Some strokes are caused by a blockage in a blood vessel within the brain. Evidence suggests that thrombolysis (administering a drug to dissolve the blockage) shortly after a stroke may minimise neurological damage. One drug is recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Little is known about the effects of rt-PA on the recovery of communication, cognitive or physical function. Increasing our knowledge in this area will assist in the development of effective patient rehabilitation programs across speech pathology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and will help maximise quality of life post-stroke.
  • Communication partner training
    The communication difficulties associated with aphasia can create a significant barrier to the involvement of people with stroke in healthcare decisions. Communication partner training is one method to minimise this barrier. Our research team is currently investigating the effects of communication partner training with health professionals and health professional students. The effectiveness of delivering the training over the internet to cater for rural clinicians is also being investigated.
  • Communication activity and traumatic brain injury
    The communication and cognitive difficulties associated with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can have a substantial impact upon participation in social and work activities. To date, there has been minimal research into the communication activities of individuals who have experienced a TBI. This multistage research project will firstly investigate the communication activities of individuals who have experienced a TBI and then secondly interventions to enhance the communication participation of individuals who have experienced a TBI.
  • Computer-based therapy for aphasia
    Previous research into computer-based therapy has tended to focus on individuals with chronic aphasia. As a result, little is known about the impact of computer-based aphasia therapy in sub-acute rehabilitation settings. Our research aims to investigate the effects of providing computer-based therapy for aphasia as an adjunct to standard speech pathology treatment approaches for individuals with aphasia in the inpatient rehabilitation ward and hospital outpatient settings.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Speech Pathology with Class 1 Honours, The University of Queensland

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Available Projects

  • Communication partner training

    The communication difficulties associated with aphasia can create a significant barrier to the involvement of people with stroke in healthcare decisions. This project will investigate the effectiveness of communication partner training with healthcare professional and healthcare professional students.

  • Exploring the unmet needs of minor stroke patients

    Previous pilot work by our project team has found that patients who have experienced a minor stroke can have health, rehabilitation and social needs to are unmet by current services. This project will explore the unmet needs in greater detail and develop a new approach to meeting these unmet needs.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Implementing routine oesophageal screening in videofluoroscopic swallow studies at the Princess Alexandra Hospital

    Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Dysphagia outcomes post clot retrieval and thrombolysis

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • The effects of reperfusion therapy on communication and cognitive-linguistic outcomes following ischaemic stroke

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Imaging correlates for dysphagia and aphasia post reperfusion in acute ischemic stroke

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Clinical progression of swallowing and communication impairment post non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage: A speech pathology perspective.

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Impact of the Action Success Knowledge (ASK) program on the psychological well-being and quality of life of people with mild aphasia

    Master Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Communication partner training

    The communication difficulties associated with aphasia can create a significant barrier to the involvement of people with stroke in healthcare decisions. This project will investigate the effectiveness of communication partner training with healthcare professional and healthcare professional students.

  • Exploring the unmet needs of minor stroke patients

    Previous pilot work by our project team has found that patients who have experienced a minor stroke can have health, rehabilitation and social needs to are unmet by current services. This project will explore the unmet needs in greater detail and develop a new approach to meeting these unmet needs.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Aphasia, Language disorders

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: B-3067-2011

ORCID: 0000-0002-9690-8165

Scopus ID: 55558201300

Google Scholar ID:

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