About

Advancing rehab was founded by Dr Rachel C Stockley, a chartered physiotherapist and rehabilitation researcher, as part of her UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship.

She is passionate about improving outcomes for patients receiving rehabilitation, particularly those with neurological conditions (e.g. after stroke) and saw the potential to harness DHT to vary the demands and increase the intensity of rehabilitation several years ago.

A self-confessed technology sceptic, she recognises that digital isn’t always the right choice but that when it is, getting DHT into practice is rarely easy. She developed advancing rehab to provide a repository of useful ‘stuff’ to share her team’s work and to help people navigate the challenges of embedding DHT into practice.

She hopes that this website is the start of a digital rehab community where others share experiences and learning and can collaborate on digital rehab projects.

Dr Kathryn Jarvis is a registered occupational therapist and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). She has a number of research interests which focus on improving experience and outcomes for stroke survivors.

Kathryn is delighted to be working with Dr Rachel Stockley on her exciting and innovative Delivering the Digital Ambition (DARE) project. In harmony with her involvement in the DARE project, Kathryn is currently leading an evaluation of the Virtual Engagement Rehabilitation Assistant (VERA), a digital health technology which aims to increase access to rehabilitation activities.

Kathryn’s other current research interests include functional recovery of the arm and hand, and the re-structuring of life patterns and subsequent impact on well-being following stroke.