AAGRT Awardee Showcase Spotlight: Dr Aruska D’Souza
Dr Aruska D’Souza is a physiotherapist working as the Allied Health Knowledge and Research Translation Lead at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Margaret Nayler Physiotherapy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at La Trobe University.
In 2023, Aruska received a grant from the AAG Research Trust RM Gibson Program to fund the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the modified Iowa Level of Assistance (mILOA) in acute patients aged 65 or older admitted to a general medical ward. A prospective observational study employing recommended psychometric techniques was conducted in general medicine at two Australian tertiary hospitals.
Read more about this innovative and impactful project, its findings and outcomes, as well as other past awardees and their successful projects, in the AAGRT Awardee Showcase.
On completion of the project, Aruska spoke of the positive impacts that networking at AAG's national conferences has had on her research –
"I was paired with Dr Sze-Ee Soh at the “Lunch with the Stars” program at the 2022 AAG conference and was able to use this introduction to include Dr Soh as an author in two of the studies to eventuate from this funding. She has provided an invaluable contribution to these studies. I am incredibly grateful for the money, time and efforts that the AAG invests into their early career researchers."
