Senior researcher to give keynote speech at the College of Occupational Therapists annual conference
Claire Ballinger, an active researcher for the University of Southampton and Deputy Director of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service South Central, has been invited to give the prestigious Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture at the College of Occupational Therapists 36th annual conference.
The lectureship is awarded to a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists who is considered by their peers to have made, and be making, a significant contribution to the development of the profession.
Claire, an active researcher within the profession for over 20 years, has spent the majority of her working life researching into the rehabilitation provided for older people, particularly within falls prevention, and is passionate about giving a voice to older people.
Claire will be a guest of honour at the conference dinner and will have her lecture, entitled ‘The Effectiveness, Impact and Legacy of Occupational Therapy', published in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Commenting on her successful nomination Claire says "It's a tremendous honour to be recognised for the work I have undertaken over the years and the impact it has had for older people.
"Falls prevention is a huge issue for the health service not only in this country but across the world. The prevention of falls avoids unnecessary injury and stress on the patient and additional costs to the NHS.
"I'm aiming to use this opportunity to promote the role of the occupational therapy profession discuss its impact on the community and society as a whole, and also pose some challenging questions to make people think."
Working closely with Health Sciences colleagues, Claire is a co-applicant on several cross-faculty grant submissions, helping to increase the success rate of funding applications across Health Sciences and Medicine.
Claire actively promotes collaboration between the faculties and sees the relationship growing stronger in the future as opportunities for joint grant applications increase.
Claire is currently working on a collaborative health literacy project across Health Sciences, Education and Medicine with Dr Jo Adams and the Vice Chancellor Professor Don Nutbeam.
The College of Occupational Therapists 36th annual conference and exhibition will take place on 12-14th June at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, Scotland.
Claire Ballinger will be giving The Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture, ‘Effectiveness, Impact and Legacy of Occupational Therapy', between 4pm-5.10pm on Wednesday, 13th June.