Stefanie Mikolaizak
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Stef is a postdoctoral research fellow with an interest in promoting health and quality of life through economically sustainable, equitable and efficient use of health resources. Stef has a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Physiotherapy, a diploma in Health Economics and obtained her PhD (Public Health and Community Medicine) in 2015 with a multidisciplinary project linked existing health services to prevent falls in older adults.
She has expertise trial management and coordination of national and international research projects. Stef also holds a research fellow position at the University of Sydney, and the Robert Bosch Hospital, Germany.
Projects Stefanie Mikolaizak is currently involved with
CURRENT PROJECTS
The Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research & Enterprise (SPHERE)
The project
Improving time to surgery for older people who have broken a hip.
The problem
National and International Guidelines and Standards of Care suggest that people who fall and fracture their hip should have an operation to fix the hip within 48 hours of presentation to hospital. However data from the ANZ Hip Fracture Registry suggests that many hospitals across Australia and New Zealand struggle to meet this target. The main reasons for delay to surgery are 1) getting access to theatre time, 2) getting medical clearance to proceed with the operation and 3) difficulties managing people on blood thinning agents in preparation for an operation.
The Study
Four major hospitals in NSW will aim to markedly improve their time to surgery for people who have broken a hip – Prince of Wales Hospital, St George Hospital, The Sutherland Hospital and Liverpool Hospital.
Clinicians and managers will work in partnership to identify delays that occur and develop solutions that ultimately ensure that older people with a hip fracture get high quality evidence based care.
GOAL – By the end of 2020, 85% of people will have their surgery within 48 hours
READ MORE
The Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research & Enterprise (SPHERE)
Preventing further falls in people who call an ambulance as a result of a fall – a randomised contro
Many older people suffer a fall and it is not uncommon for older fallers to require paramedic care following such events. Routine transportation to hospital is of questionable value and may not be an effective or efficient use of resources. This randomised controlled offered non-transported fallers a new model of care following fall-related paramedic care.READ MORE
Preventing further falls in people who call an ambulance as a result of a fall – a randomised controlled trial
I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED: DOES ANYONE MY AGE HAVE ANY CHANCE OF LIVING FOR CENTURIES?
RESEARCH TEAM
LINDA ROYLANCE
Executive Assistant
: +612 9399 1124
: l.roylance@neura.edu.au
ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG Senior Research Facility Manager
CHRISTINA NORRIS PhD student
BARBARA TOSON Bio-statistician
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR REBECCA MITCHELL Visiting Senior Research Scientist
LYNDELL WEBSTER Research assistant
NARELLE PAYNE Research assistant
JACQUELINE WESSON Research assistant
CECELIA KOCH Research assistant
GENEVIEVE ZELMA Research assistant
ROSLYN SAVAGE Research assistant
SANDRA O’ROURKE Research assistant
BEATRICE JOHN Research assistant
PUBLICATIONS
Comparison of Standard Clinical and Instrumented Physical Performance Tests in Discriminating Functional Status of High-Functioning People Aged 61⁻70 Years Old.
Coni A, Ancum JMV, Bergquist R, Mikolaizak AS, Mellone S, Chiari L, Maier AB, Pijnappels M
Inaccurate judgement of reach is associated with slow reaction time, poor balance, impaired executive function and predicts prospective falls in older people with cognitive impairment.
Taylor ME, Butler AA, Lord SR, Delbaere K, Kurrle SE, Mikolaizak AS, Close JCT
Inaccurate reach judgement predicts future falls and is associated with poorer global cognitive performance and executive function, increased concern about falling, slower reaction time and poorer balance. Our results offer insight into the disparity between actual and perceived physical capabilities in people with CI, and how this impacts their risk of falling.
Concurrent validity and reliability of the Community Balance and Mobility scale in young-older adults.
Weber M, Van Ancum J, Bergquist R, Taraldsen K, Gordt K, Mikolaizak AS, Nerz C, Pijnappels M, Jonkman NH, Maier AB, Helbostad JL, Vereijken B, Becker C, Schwenk M
Concurrent validity of the CBM was good when compared to the FAB and moderate to good when compared to other measures of balance and mobility. Based on this study, the CBM can be recommended to measure balance and mobility performance in the specific population of young-older adults.