Rachel Toovey and team receives NHMRC grant for CycLink program
Congratulations to Dr Rachel Toovey, and team, who has been awarded $1,444,460.77 in funding as part of the NHMRC’s Partnership Project Cycle 1 Scheme.
Rachel Toovey is leading a research project, 'Linking young people with disability to participation through cycling: Implementation and evaluation of the co-designed CycLink program' aims to address an evidence-to-practice gap by implementing and evaluating the CycLink Program. This is a co-designed cycling program that links children and young people with disability to health, social connectedness, and participation by improving accessibility to community activities. Other <SHS staff and students involved in this project include Prof Alicia Spittle, Dr Lyndal Hickey, John Carey, Miriam Yates, and Finn O'Keefe.
One in 10 young Australians aged 5-18 years (~400,000) live with disability. On average, they are less physically active and more socially isolated than their typically developing peers. Low physical activity and social isolation in young people with disability are harmful to health and contribute to high disease burden across the lifespan. Over 40% of Australian adults with disability aged 18-65 years, for example, rate their health as fair or poor, compared to <10% without disability.
Cycling is often a preferred activity for young people with disability with evidence of improving health outcomes, yet barriers to community participation exist. Reducing barriers to participation in physical and social activities requires availability of accessible local support and collaboration between services. The CycLink Project team has co-designed the five-year program with families and cross-sector practitioners to target unaddressed barriers to participation. It combines three key elements: a group program that is co-delivered by allied health professionals and local cycling club coaches; opportunities to trial adapted bikes; and an online resource. The program will implement and evaluate the CycLink Program in four regions across metropolitan and regional Victoria in collaboration with partners across health, disability, sport, local government, and education sectors. The outcomes of this partnership include implementation strategies and evidence to inform policy to optimise the future scalability and sustainability of CycLink nationwide.
"When your child doesn't follow the typical road map for learning to ride, then you start seeking help. But then even if you do get help finding a bike and learning to ride, you're on your own again." states Miriam, who has a nine year old son with disability. "The CycLink Program will help close the gaps between learning to ride a bike in a therapy session and becoming a community bike rider for fun and fitness, alongside family and friends, for now and for the future."
