Jenny Freeman

Dr Jenny Freeman - ()

Job title: Associate Professor (Reader) in Physiotherapy, School of Health Professions (Faculty of Health, Education and Society)
Postal address: FF21, Allied Health Centre, Derriford Rd,
Plymouth, Devon, PL6 9BH
Telephone: +441752588835
Facsimile: +44 (0)1752 233890
Email: J.Freeman-1@plymouth.ac.uk

Role

My roles include:-

1. Teaching and curriculum develoment.

I am activley involved in curriculum development and teaching for the BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy Honours Degree and the Masters Programme in Neurological Rehabilitation.
I supervise both Masters and PhD students.

2. Lead for the Rehabilitation Research Group

This involves co-ordinating monthly research site meetings and rehabilitation research group meetings, increasing staff awareness of research opportunities, promoting research activity within the Faculty and acting as a resource for staff on site.

I am a member of the School's undergraduate ethics committee.

3 Research
My research is within the field of neurological rehabilitation, with a particular interest in evaluating the effectiveness of whole care packages and targeted interventions in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS); and in exploring process aspects of rehabilitation care (such as goal setting).

I am currently:
- lead investigator for a longitudinal study of mobility in people with MS in which we are mapping changes in mobility over time through the use of a range of objective mobility measures.
- co investigator of a study evaluating the effects of stretching in people with MS
- co investigator of a study which is developing a lycra orthoses to acelerate return to sport after lumbo-pelvic injury
- co-investigator of a study exploring the value of the South West Community Peer Support Officer Service for Newly Injured People with Spinal Cord Injury

Qualifications & background

2001 Certificate in Teaching and Learning, University of Plymouth

1997 Doctorate of Philosophy Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London

1983 Bachelor of Applied Science (in Physiotherapy), with distinction, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia

Professional membership

Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists 1988 - present

Council of Health Professions 1987 - present

Association of Physiotherapists Interested in Neurology 1988 - present

Member of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation 1993 - 2008

Member of the Expert Witness Specialist Interest Group 1998 – present

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 2000 - present

Roles on external bodies

1999 Member of Task Group supporting the External Reference Group of the NSF for Older People with Stroke. NHS Executive.

2000 – 2001 External Assessor for Masters in Science, University College London, School of Human Health and Performance.

1999- 2001 Member of Steering Group of the Outcomes Measures Database,Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

2001 Member of the Policy Development Group of the MS Society.

2001-2002 Lead for developing and updating the Standards of Healthcare for people with MS, MS Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

2003 – to date Physiotherapy Advisor to the MS Society of Great Britain

2003–2004 Chair of the Clinical Standards Group of the Neurorehabilitation Review Group for the Peninsula Neuroscience Network

2004 Member of National Working Group for the development of a physiotherapy guidance document for the NICE MS Guidelines

2004- 2006 Chair of the MS Care Pathways Group for South West Devon and East Cornwall

2006 - to date Member of the Research Grants Review Committee for the MS Society

2007 - to date Member for the Resarch Group for Therapists in MS (MS Trust)

2010 Honorary Member of the Swedish MS Society (in recognition of research undertaken in the area of MS rehabilitation)
2010 Member of the International Advisory Board at the Centre for Physiotherapy Research, University of Otago.

Teaching interests

1. Teaching at degree and Masters level.

- Physiotherapy, with a special interest in adult neurology

- Evidence based practice / research methodology

- Outcome measurement

2. Supervision of Masters and PhD students, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Research interests

Clinical trials in rehabilitation, with a special interest in:

- The evaluation of whole packages of care and targeted interventions in people with long term neurological conditions

- The evaluation of processes of rehabilitation care such as goal setting

- The evaluation of outcome measures

UoP Research group membership

Centre for Health and Social Care Innovation (CHeSCI)
Rehabilitation

Research degrees awarded to supervised students
PhD awarded to Dr Jane Grose for thesis entitlied: "Living with MS: the confidant relationship explored". Awarded December 2007.

Grants & contracts

GRANTS AWARDED

Grant 7
Title: Evaluating the South West Community Peer Support Officer Service for Newly Injured People with Spinal Cord Injury (2009 – 1010)
Grant Holders: Freeman JA and Haas.
Funding Body: The Vice Chancellors Community Research Awards, University of Plymouth.
Amount awarded: £8,200
Date Awarded: July 2009

Grant 6
Title: Establishing clinical guidance for stretching in people with MS. (2009 - 2011)
Grant holders: Marsden J,

Freeman JA, Hobart JC, Jones R, Zajicek J.
Funding Body: Evolving MS Services Grant, MS Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Amount awarded: £100,805
Date awarded: Dec 2008

Grant 5
Title: Current Service Delivery for people with Familial Spastic paraparesis in the South West. (2008 - 2009).
Grant holders:Marsden

J and Freeman JA. Funding Body: The Vice Chancellors Community Research Awards, University of Plymouth.
Amount awarded: £10,000
Date Awarded 2008

Grant 4
Title: “The use of orthotic lycra garments to reduce lumbo-pelvic pain and accelerate functional recovery in sportspeople and in women following childbirth".
Grant holders: Marsden J, Freeman JA, Mathews M.
Funding Body: Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Department of Health.
Amount Awarded: £81, 621 (2008 - 1010)
Date Awarded Dec 2008

Grant 3
Title: A longitudinal profile of mobility in people with Multiple Sclerosis
Grantholders: JA Freeman, Hobart JC, Allison R, Ingram W, Zajicek J. Funding Body: Torbay Medical Research Fund.
Amount awarded: £38 521.48.
Date Awarded: October 2005

Grant 2

Title: Increasing the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process through collaborative goal setting
Grantholders: DE Playford (Institute of Neurology, London), JA Freeman
Grant based at the Institute of Neurology
Grant funding body: The Clinical Research and Development Committee - Special Trustees of Middlesex University College Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London.
Amount awarded : £69901.00
Date awarded: March 2002

Grant 1.

Title: Evaluating the usefulness of the SF-36 as a measure of health related quality of life in people with Multiple Sclerosis
Grantholders: JA Freeman, AJ Thompson. Grant based at the Institute of Neurology, London
Grant funding body: Department of Health.
Amount Awarded: £29, 047.00.
Date Awarded: 1996

Publications

PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES

Freeman JA, Gear M, Pauli A, Cowan P, Finnigan C, Hunter H, Mobberley C, Nock A, Sims R, Thain J. The effect of core stability training on balance and mobility in ambulant individuals with multiple sclerosis: a multi-centre series of replicated single case studies. (Online ahead of publication in Multiple Sclerosis June 16^th 2010)

Wreford-Brown A, Horrell K, Harwood S and Freeman JA.

The prevalence of low back pain in undergraduate students with different educational exposures. Physiotherapy Ireland 2010; 31 (1): 41 – 46.

Chitsaz A, Janghorbani M, Shaygannejad V, Ashtary F, Heshmatipour M, Freeman JA. Sensory Complaints of the Upper Extremities in Multiple Sclerosis: Relative Efficacy of Nortriptyline and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. The Clinical Journal of Pain 2009; 25 (4): 281-285.

Playford ED, Siegert R, Levack W, Freeman J Areas of Consensus and Controversy about Goal-setting in Rehabilitation: A Conference Report. Linical Rehabilitation Clinical Rehabilitation 2009: 23 (334): 334 – 344.

Freeman JA, Porter B, Thompson AJ. Neurorehabilitation in multiple sclerosis. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. 2008:14(2). 63-75.

Holliday RC, Cano S, Freeman JA, Playford ED. Should patients participate in clinical decision making? An optmised balance block design controlled study of goal setting in a rehabilitation unit. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2007.

Lockley L, Freeman JA Unravelling the complexities of hypertonia and spasm – a piece of detective work. Physiotherapy Research International 2005; 10 (1); 48 - 54

Freeman JA, Hobart JC, Playford ED et al. Evaluating neuro-rehabilitation: lessons from routine data collection. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2005; 76(5): 723-728

Freeman J and Allison R. Group exercise classes in people with Multiple Sclerosis: a pilot study. Physiotherapy Research International 2004; 9(2); 104-107.

Riazi A, Hobart JC, Lamping DL. Fitzpatrick R, Freeman J and Thompson A. Sociodemographic variables are limited predictors of health status in MS. Journal of Neurology 2003; 250: 1088-93

Riazi A, Hobart JC, Lamping DL. Fitzpatrick R, Freeman JA et al. Using the SF-36 measure to compare the health impact of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease with normal population health profiles. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2003; 74:710-714.

Maynard V, Bakheit AMO, Oldham J, Freeman J. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of gait measurements with CODA mpx30 motion analysis system. Gait and Posture 2003; 17: 59 – 67.

Freeman JA, Morris ME, Davidson M et al. Outcome Measures to quantify the effects of physical therapy for people with multiple sclerosis. Neurology Report 2002: 26; 139 - 144

Freeman JA, Thompson AJ, Fitzpatrick R et al. Interferon beta - 1b in the treatment of secondary - progressive MS: impact on quality of life. Neurology 2002; 57: 1870 - 1875.

Freeman JA, Hobart JC and Thompson AJ. Does adding MS-specific items to a generic measure (the SF-36) improve measurement? Neurology 2001; 57: 68 - 74.

Hobart JC, Lamping DL, Freeman JA et al. Evidence-based measurement: which disability scale for neurological rehabilitation? Neurology 2001; 57: 639-644.

Freeman JA. Improving mobility and functional independence in persons with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurology 2001; 248 (4): 255 – 259

Hobart JC, Freeman JA, Lamping DL et al. The SF-36 in multiple sclerosis: why basic assumptions must be tested. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2001; 71: 363-370.

Nodder D, Chappell B, Bates, D, Freeman J et al. A Multiple Sclerosis: care needs for 2000 and beyond. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2000: 93 ; 219-224.

Hobart JC, Freeman JA, Thompson AJ. Kurtzke scales revisited: the application of psychometric methods to clinical intuition. Brain 2000; 123: 1027-1040.

Freeman JA and Thompson AJ. Community Services in multiple sclerosis: still a matter of chance. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2000; 69 (6): 728 – 732.

Freeman JA, Hobart JC, Langdon DW et al. Clinical appropriateness: a key factor in outcome measure selection. The 36-item Short Form Health Survey in Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2000; 68: 150-156.

Freeman JA, Langdon DW, Hobart JC et al. Inpatient rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis: do the benefits carryover into the community? Neurology. 1999; 52: 50-56.

van der Putten, Hobart JC, Freeman JA et al. Measuring change in disability following inpatient rehabilitation: comparison of the responsiveness of the Barthel Index and the Functional Independence Measure. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 1999; 66 (4): 480-484.

Freeman JA . Rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis: outcome selection in clinical trials. International Journal of MS Care December 1999 (serial online @ www.mscare.com).

Pfennings L, Cohen L, Miller D, Gerbaud L, Vleugels L, Freeman J et al. Using the Short-form 36 with Multiple Sclerosis patients in five countries: a cross-cultural comparison. Psychological Report 1999: 85 (1): 19-31.

Freeman JA. Assessment systems and outcome measures of therapeutic trials. European Journal of Neurology 1998, 5 (Suppl 2): 39-40.

Stephenson R, Edwards S, Freeman JA. Associated Reactions: their value in clinical practice? Physiotherapy Research International 1998, 3 (1): 69 - 75.

Freeman JA, Thompson AJ. Inpatient rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis. The International MS Journal. 1998, 5 (1) 3 - 12.

Freeman JA, Langdon DW, Hobart JC et al. The impact of inpatient rehabilitation on progressive multiple sclerosis. Annals of Neurology 1997; 42: 236-244.

Freeman JA, Hobart JC, Thompson AJ. Outcomes based research in neurorehabilitation: the need for multi-disciplinary team involvement. Disability and Rehabilitation 1996; 18 (2): 106-110.

Freeman JA, Playford ED, Nicholas RS, Thompson AJ. A neurological rehabilitation unit: audit of activity and outcome. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London 1996; 30 (1): 21 - 26

Freeman JA, Langdon DW, Hobart JC et al. Health-related quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Journal of Neurologic Rehabilitation 1996; 10: 185 - 194

Hobart JC, Freeman JA, Lamping DL. Physician and patient-oriented outcomes in progressive neurological disease: which to measure? Current Opinion in Neurology 1996; 9 (6): 441-444.

Freeman JA, Nairne J. Using a class setting to teach Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises as a means of vestibular rehabilitation. Physiotherapy 1995; 81 (7) 374 - 379

Hobart JC, Freeman JA, Lamping DL. The evaluation of outcome measurement instruments. MS Management 1995;2 (1): 6 - 12.

BOOKS / BOOK CHAPTERS / EDITORIALS / DOCUMENTS

Grose J, Freeman JA, Marsden J. “We’re always at the bottom of the pile”: current service delivery for people with hereditary spastic paraplegia living in the south west of England. Full report and Executive Summary available on http://hspgroup.org

Ray Jones, Maged Kamel Boulos, Cito Maramba, Heather Skirton, Jenny Freeman. Chapter 4 Patient preferences for online person-person support. In: Virtual Social Networks. Edited by Pantelli N, Palgrave Publishing, England, UK, pages 52 – 75, (2009)

Freeman JA. "Treatment in multiple sclerosis: minimising impairment, activity limitations and participation restrictions". In: Pocket Book of Physiotherapy. Edited by Lennon s and Stokes M. Churchill Livingstone, Oxford, UK. (2008), pages 161 - 175.

Zajicek J, Freeman J, Porter B. Care Manual for Multiple Sclerosis. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom (2007).

Freeman JA. “Service delivery and models of care in multiple sclerosis”. In: Neurological Rehabilitation of Multiple Sclerosis. Taylor and Francis, Abingdon, Oxford 2006 Chapter 6, pages 137 - 154.

Freeman JA. Commentary on “Assessment of a fatigue management programme for people with multiple sclerosis” Stapleton T and Mulholland L. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation 2004; 11 (12): 553.

Freeman JA, Thompson AJ. Chapter 21 Rehabilitation In Multiple Sclerosis. In: Multiple Sclerosis: The Blue Book Series. 2nd Edition. Butterworth Heinemann, London, 2003 Chapter 20, pages 317-328.

Freeman JA. Assessment, outcome measurement and goal setting in physiotherapy practice. Chapter 2 in Neurological Physiotherapy: a problem solving approach edited by Edwards S. 2nd Edition, 2002. Churchill Livingstone, London, pages 21 – 35.

Freeman JA, Ford H, Mattison P, Thompson AJ, Clarke F, Ridley J, Haffenden S. Developing MS Healthcare Standards: evidence-based recommendations for service providers. Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. March 2002.

Freeman JA. MS Chapter. In: Evidence Based Medicine: a series of case reports. Edited by Partridge C. Whurr Publishing, London, 2002 , pages 212 – 226.

Freeman JA. Inpatient Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis. World Forum for Neurological Update. Spring Issue, 2001, page 2.

Freeman JA and Thompson AJ. Building an evidence base for MS management - support for physiotherapy. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2001; 70(2): 147-148.

Freeman JA and Edwards MS. Whose life is it anyway? Editorial. Physiotherapy Research International. 1999 (ii-iv)

Freeman JA and Thompson AJ. Is inpatient rehabilitation effective in multiple sclerosis ? In MS: Clinical Challenges and Controversies, edited by Thompson AJ, Polman CO and Hohlfeld. London: Martin Dunitz Publishers, 1997.

Freeman JA, Johnson JJ, Rollinson S, Thompson AJ, Hatch J. Standards of healthcare for people with MS. Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. September 1997.

Reports & invited lectures

November 2010 MS Trust Annual Conference. Core Stability Training in people with MS, Kenilworth, UK.

April 2010 Swedish MS Society Annual Meeting. Stockholm, Sweden.

November 2009. MS Trust Annual Conference. Ethics in Research, Kenilworth, UK.

October 2008. Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Annual Congress. Rehabilitation in MS: the evidence. Manchester, UK.

May 2008. Workshop Leader. World Health Organisation Consensus Conference on Multiple Sclerosis: establishing a minimum dataset for the International Classifcation of Disability and Functioning. Valens, Switzerland

September 2005. ECTRIMS and ACTRIMS. Models of care in rehabilitation. Thessalonika , Greece .

May 2005 . Workshop for the Health Care Delivery and Policy Research Program, National MS Society, The National Center for Medical and Rehabilitation Research and The MS Society of

Canada

"Increasing the Quality and Quantity of MS Rehabilitation Research."

November 2004. MS Trust Eight Annual Conference. Juggling Priorities. Harrogate, UK.

October 2004. MS Trust Conference. The Challenges of caring for people with MS. “The importance of exercise in MS”. The Moat House Hotel, Plymouth.

October 2003. Workshop on “Physiotherapy and your Health “, The National MS Convention, International Conference Centre, Birmingham.

October 2003. Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Annual Congress: “Defining Practice: Physiotherapy Management in MS”. Birmingham, UK, 2003.

September 2003. Workshop on “MS Standards”, The International MS Conference, Berlin.

May 2003. MS Frontiers: MS Society Research Conference. The International Conference Centre, Birmingham.

November 2002 .MS Trust Sixth Annual Conference. International Perspectives on Multiple Sclerosis. Clinical Case Scenarios; and, “Evidence Based standards of care for people with MS”, Harrogate, UK.

July 2001. An overview of the management of people with MS. Exeter Healthcare Trust – centre for healthcare education.

July 2001. Standards of care for people with Multiple Sclerosis. MS Network Conference, University of Westminster, London.

October 2000. “Across MS Frontiers” Conference, Amsterdam, Holland. Community Services in MS.

November 2000. Meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine, St Petersburg, Russia.

March 2000 ACPIN National Conference, Leeds, UK. Outcome measures in clients with complex neurological disability.

April 2000. RIMS Conference (Rehabilitation in people with Multiple Sclerosis, Venice.

June 2000. European Neurological Society Conference, Jerusalem, Israel. How to increase mobility and functional in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

February 2004. MS Society Regional Conference. The benefits of exercise for people with MS. The Loop Centre, Exeter.

January 1999. Rehabilitation services: challenges and change, London. Evidence-based practice.

September 1999. RIMS Conference, Basel, Switzerland. What to measure in rehabilitation trials.

April 1998. Physiotherapy Research Society Scientific Meeting, London. The impact of rehabilitation on disability and handicap in progressive MS.

May 1998. World Health Organisation Conference. State of the Art: key issues in MS today. Geneva, Switzerland. Assessment systems and outcome measures in therapeutic trials of MS.

June 1998. Meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine, St Petersburg, Russia.

1997 The MS Nurse Forum Conference, York. Workshop: How can we better meet the needs of the more severely disabled ? January 1998. The Valens Rehabilitation Klinik, Switzerland. Rehabilitation in MS.