Co-Head, Kids Rehab Research WA
BSc (Hons), PhD, KTPC
Ashleigh is the Co-Lead of the Kids Rehab WA Research Team, and has been a senior member of the team since 2017. Ashleigh holds a collaborative academic position between the Child and Adolescent Health Service and The University of Western Australia, and her work is focused on improving the health, wellbeing, and development of children by (1) conducting high quality research and (2) translating that knowledge into clinical practice. Ashleigh is passionate about empowering consumers, clinicians, students, and community members to be active contributors in the research process.
Ashleigh has over 33 publications and has received research funding from a variety of sources, including MRFF, NHMRC, Telethon Trust, Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, WA Department of Health, Healthway, and Lotterywest.
She is one of the few people in Australia to have completed the University of Toronto's prestigious Knowledge Translation Professional Certificate, and she is the co-host of the ResearchWorks Podcast, which discusses emerging, modern, evidence-based child health research, hosts interviews with world renowned clinicians and researchers, and provides a breakdown on how individuals can implement the latest evidence into clinical practice.
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Publications
Jun 2023
Adaptations to scale-up an early childhood education and care physical activity intervention for real-world availability — Play Active
Adaptations for scale-up are ubiquitous but are rarely described in detail. Adaptations may be a key reason for the "scale-up penalty" which is when there is a reduction in intervention effect size following scale-up. The Play Active intervention consists of a physical activity policy for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, with accompanying implementation support strategies.
Published research Child Physical Activity, Health and Development Kids Rehab Research WA Child and adolescent health Physical activitySeptember 2023Early childhood educator outcomes from online professional development for physical literacy: A randomised controlled trial
Early childhood is recognised as a critical window of opportunity for physical literacy development, however early childhood educators typically lack the training required to effectively provide appropriate physical literacy opportunities for children.
Published research Early Childhood Development Kids Rehab Research WA Psychology of Active, Healthy LivingApril 2023Play Active physical activity policy intervention and implementation support in early childhood education and care: results from a pragmatic cluster randomised trial
Policy interventions to increase physical activity in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are effective in increasing physical activity among young children. However, a large proportion of ECEC services do not have nor implement a physical activity policy.
Published research Early Childhood Development Child Physical Activity, Health and Development Food and Nutrition Kids Rehab Research WASeptember 2022The Use of Serious Gaming to Improve Sensorimotor Function and Motivation in People with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review
The aim of this systematic review was to review the evidence for serious gaming interventions in improving sensorimotor function in children and adults with cerebral palsy (CP). Seven databases were searched with terms related to serious gaming and CP.
Cerebral Palsy Published research Technology & Kids Child disability Kids Rehab Research WA -
Education and Qualifications
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Awards/Honours