Tell us the title of your PhD and what it’s about
My PhD is about informal care in stroke. Included in my studies are two systematic reviews that assess the ways to value and calculate informal care in stroke, explore the work impact on caregivers, calculate the productivity-adjusted life years of informal carers, and finally, estimate the informal care cost of stroke using data from a trial.
How does it/will it impact the community/health system/future research?
Globally, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Informal caregivers are often required to assist patients with their post-stroke care needs. From a public health perspective, informal carers are an essential part of health systems, especially in chronic health conditions. According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, in 2018, an estimated 2.65 million people (11% of Australians) provided informal care in Australia. Although 1 in 10 Australians are informal carers, a majority do not receive government support payments. To bring attention to the impact of caregiving, it is critical to better identify and evaluate the economic value associated with providing informal care.
What have been your key learnings so far in completing your PhD?
Some of my key learnings have been around synthesising data from multiple studies through reviews, some aspects of biostatistics such as meta-analysis and meta-regression, developing life-tables in excel, and using macros. I am learning every day!
What excites you about the future, post PhD?
As my research evolves, I am excited to apply the learnings in research post PhD and collaborate with other researchers.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in their PhD?
Build a network with other PhD colleagues.
How do you unwind at the end of a day?
I unwind by spending time with my family and friends.
