CP-Achieve – Centre of Research Excellence in Cerebral Palsy

What does CP-Achieve do?

CP-Achieve does research aiming to support people with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 10 to 30 years to achieve good health, access to excellent health services, and participate in relationships, work, leisure, physical activity and the community.

 We are doing projects to understand:

• The physical and mental health problems of young people with cerebral palsy.
• What outcomes are important to young people?

We can use this information to:

• Develop programs to be used by health and disability providers to assist young people
• Help young people to attend health and community services that meet their needs
• Understand the costs of services that work
• Inform policy and practice

CP Achieve has two main programs with each program running several research projects:

1. Improving the physical and mental health of adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy.
2. Building supportive family, community and health service environments that help young people take part in life situations that are important to them.

Four important themes in all our work

1. Promoting participation
2. Developing a specialist workforce
3. Health economics
4. Consumer involvement
   
   

More resources on CP

• Our A-Z about Cerebral Palsy
• Victorian Cerebral Palsy Register (VCPR)
• Neurodisability and Rehabilitation

Our people

Find all our team members via Our Team on our website.

Lead Researcher

Professor Dinah Reddihough, Principal Research Fellow, Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI)

Chief Investigators  

Professor Susan Sawyer, Chief Investigator, Geoff and Helen Handbury Chair of Adolescent Health at The University of Melbourne, Director Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. 

Professor David Coghill, Chief Investigator- Team 1 Lead, Financial Markets Foundation Chair of Developmental Mental Health Departments of Paediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. 

Professor Christine Imms, Chief Investigator- Participation Theme Lead, Apex Australia Foundation Chair in Neurodevelopment and Disability at the University of Melbourne and The Royal Children’s Hospital, and Healthy Trajectories Child and Youth Disability Research Hub Founding Director.  

Professor Rob Carter, Chief Investigator, Health Economics Theme Lead, Foundation Chair in Disability Economics, Melbourne Disability Institute, The University of Melbourne. 

Professor Nora Shields, Chief Investigator, Workforce Theme Lead, Research Director at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University. 

Professor Prue Morgan, Chief Investigator, Team 2 Lead, Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist and Immediate prior Head of Department, Physiotherapy, Monash University 

Associate Professor Margaret Wallen, Chief Investigator, Consumer Involvement Theme Lead, Honours Coordinator for Occupational Therapy, Australian Catholic University 

Dr Ingrid Honan, Chief Investigator, Research Fellow, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute 

Professor Kerr Graham, Chief Investigator, Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne

Our projects

Find out more about our projects on the CP-Achieve website.

Improving Physical and Mental Health

Determining the impact on participation in education, employment & community

This questionnaire is the second in the series and will provide a snapshot of the participation patterns of young people aged 10 to 30 years living in Australia with cerebral palsy. This information will be critical to identify the support that they will need to participate fully at home, in the community (including in health care), education and employment.

Access the survey

Estimating the prevalence of physical and mental health problems

This questionnaire is the third in the series and aims to further understand the physical and mental health status of young people with cerebral palsy aged 10 to 30 years living in Australia. The experiences of and satisfaction with health professionals (physical, mental and sexual health) will be explored. The information will be critical to understanding the needs of young people with cerebral palsy and identifying gaps in the system.

Access the survey

To find out more, watch our video below.

CP-Achieve Physical and Mental Health Survey

 Evaluating the impact of screening on the identification of mental health problems

This project aims to improve the identification of mental health issues in young people with cerebral palsy. It is not known whether generic mental health screening tools are reliable or accurate in identifying anxiety and depression in young people with cerebral palsy. This project will examine the validity and utility of two procedures to assess anxiety and depression in young people with cerebral palsy. This information will improve the identification of mental health issues in young people with cerebral palsy.

Evaluating outcomes of transition services for young people with CP

The focus of this objective has been to identify issues and gaps in the transition from paediatric to adult care for young people with cerebral palsy to inform the development of essential systems and resources, including the delivery of transition services. This work has included the establishment of working groups, publications, health pathways for GPs and collaborations between education and healthcare institutions involving both paediatric and adult services.

Understanding health service use and outcomes

This data linkage study aims to determine the frequency of hospital admissions and emergency department presentation, and the use of MBS / PBS items in a cohort of people with cerebral palsy aged 10-30 years, compared to the general population of young adults of a similar age. 

Building Supportive Environments

Adapting an evidence-based lifestyle program to an Australian context

This project will involve the creation, adaptation, piloting, and evaluation of educational lifestyle modules to assist in maximising participation for young people with cerebral palsy as they navigate some of the challenges of early adulthood. The process will undergo multiple steps of co-design and will closely involve co-researchers with lived experience.

Creating pathways from rehabilitation to recreation

This project is a Delphi study to determine and prioritise strategies to improve participation in community-based physical activity, particularly within the gym setting. The study will prioritise the ideas and opinions of young adults with cerebral palsy in conjunction with other stakeholders including parents, health care professionals and gym staff to develop recommendations for implementation.

Expanding available exercise evidence to those with complex disability

This series of studies will evaluate the effect of exercise on adults with 'complex CP' (non-ambulant). A systematic review will help to gain insight from existing evidence, and a qualitative study will gather vital consumer and carer experiential data. The endpoint will be a mixed-method trial of exercise implementation in the community for young people with CP, who are non-ambulant, to improve well-being and participation.

Understanding the needs and perspectives of people with CP and their families

This multi-stage project will include a scoping review mapping the participation experiences of young adults with cerebral palsy across important life areas, followed by a series of interviews contextualising the findings to the Australian setting.

Thanks to our key partners, funders, and supporters.

Funding and funding dates

We are funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for five years (2020-2025).

Collaborations

We work in collaboration with 

• Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)
• Australian Catholic University
• Deakin University
• La Trobe University
• Monash University
• University of Sydney
• Western Sydney University
• University of Queensland
• The University of Melbourne 
• McMaster University
• Jonkoping University

Contact us

CP-Achieve
Murdoch Children's Research Institute
The Royal Children's Hospital
50 Flemington Road
Parkville VIC 3052
Australia

CP-Achieve information
Email:  show email address