EpicRehab Clinical Research Consortium (CRC)

Consortium schedule and topics are now available.

Questions and answers pertaining to use of Structured Work Activity Group (SWAG) and Progressive Occupational Demand (POD) tools and development of normative data.

Authors: Len Matheson and Matt Dodson

What is the CRC?

The CRC is a monthly teleconference/webinar attended by clinicians and other professionals from the US and Canada who are engaged in efforts to advance practice in the area of rehabilitation for head injury. Our topics include education on brain injury, especially mild brain injury, as well as critical review of current rehabilitation techniques, assessments, and tools. Members of the CRC are also involved in measure development and are given the opportunity to field test new measures and tools which are in development. A priority focus of the CRC is establishing and encouraging development of effective measures and tools addressing rehabilitation of work performance in those with mild head injury.

Since January 2011, we have covered the following topics: introduction to executive dysfunction and work disability, methods to evaluate vocationally relevant executive dysfunction, executive function and capacity approximation, interdisciplinary rehabilitation of executive dysfunction, and identifying rehabilitation needs in mild head injury.

Why should I join the CRC?

The CRC encourages research and development of innovative work-oriented neurorehabilitation technologies, tools and practices.

Consortia have been used successfully on several occasions by Leonard Matheson, PhD, EpicRehab’s founder to facilitate development of Work Capacity Evaluation and Work Hardening, and the WEST, Cal-FCP, EPIC, and MTAP protocols.

Building on these experiences, the EpicRehab CRC supports research and development of the Structured Work Activity Groups (SWAG) and the Progressive Occupational Demand (POD) systems through these methods:

  • Consortium Member Discount
    CRC members receive a 30% discount on all SWAG and POD tools and materials that are purchased directly through EpicRehab.
  • Free Training
    CRC members receive teleconference and webinar training on the SWAG and POD protocols at no cost.
  • Research and Publication Opportunities
    CRC members may participate in research projects sponsored by EpicRehab. The current project is “Situational Assessment as a Measure of Work-Related Executive Function”. Depending on the degree of participation, there are opportunities for co-authorship; several consortium members have become peer-reviewed authors in collaboration with Dr. Matheson. The CRC is also an avenue for members to develop new research projects focused on work-oriented neurorehabilitation, which will be supported by EpicRehab.

How do I become a CRC member?

Use the SWAGs or PODs in clinical practice and participate in the monthly one-hour CRC teleconferences on the first Wednesday of each month at 6 PM Central time.

In the teleconferences, CRC members share knowledge and develop ideas for new applications and research, and stay current with the latest issues. Each CRC member is asked by Dr. Matheson to contribute to the agenda on a rotating basis, sharing their work, insights, and experience. Active CRC members receive an invitation each month to sign in and participate.

If you are interested in joining the CRC, please contact Dr. Matheson.