Latest News: News
Veronique Price

- Osteoarthritis
- Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI)
Elise Naufal
BArts (Criminology) (Hon), PhD (enrolled)
Elise Naufal will be commencing her PhD with the University Melbourne’s Department of Surgery in 2021. She has previously completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Criminology and will be transferring into the PhD from a Masters of Epidemiology. Over the last year, she has worked with the OPUS team as a research assistant for several projects.
Elise’s PhD project will draw on data from a recently established international periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) registry, which aims to provide insight into how treatment outcomes can be improved for patients who experience this devastating complication. Her project aims to identify patient and treatment related factors that predict successful management of these infections.
Scholarships
R.G. Wilson Scholarship (Honours)
Consumer & Community Involvement at OPUS
Veronique Price
NEWS
The Consumer and Community Involvement Program (CCIP) offers consumers the opportunity to participate in research programs. It’s about partnering with researchers to improve health care.
In turn, researchers receive an invaluable fresh perspective on the appropriateness, relevance and applicability of their research program. By engaging consumers throughout the research project cycle, we ensure our research outcomes meet community expectations.
OPUS welcomes interested members of the public with little-to-no scientific background, of any age or gender, to participate in osteoarthritis-related research projects.
CCIP: A year in review
Consumer involvement has always been a highly desirable complementary program to research groups. A small working group within OPUS was established to create this program a working reality and by March 2020, OPUS had assigned a Consumer and Community Liaison Officer to drive our concepts to implementation. Our framework has now been published as a protocol in Research Involvement and Engagement, which outlines how to embed consumer and community involvement within an established research centre. It details an actionable framework that moved beyond the current NHMRC general recommendations, so that other research centres can adapt the approach and learnings of the OPUS CCIP to their own research practices. The protocol also garnered significant interest online and across social media platforms, being picked up by Twitter users from Australia, France, Canada, Serbia and Pakistan.
Advertisement through word of mouth, social media, St Vincent’s Hospital outpatient clinics and the MSK newsletter has enabled us to welcome a total of nine consumers to the program, with more expected to join in 2021.
What to expect for 2021
Our CCI Pilot Program is set to commence in early 2021, starting with orientation and training for our newest members. These will bring consumers up to scratch with our work here at OPUS, share the opportunities available for them and provide a platform for networking between consumers and researchers alike.
Following orientation and training, consumers in the program will be matched with researchers dependent on their level of involvement within the four Tiers.
We have several other exciting consumer engagement events on the horizon for 2021, including a webinar with the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education as a part of the ‘Spotlight on Engagement’ series. We also have plans to host a ‘Consumers and Researchers: In Conversation’ event and an entire segment of the 2021 OPUS Forum will be dedicated to showcasing the CCIP.
After a year of meticulous planning and dedicated work, the CCIP is officially coming to the fore.
We are incredibly excited for the year ahead and we hope you are too!
Get in touch with our Consumer and Community Liaison Officer Dr Tilini Gunatillake if you have any questions about the program or fill out an expression of interest if you or someone you know would like to join the program.
Click the button below and scroll down to the ‘Expression of Interest’ form.
Consumer Spotlight: Marion Glanville-Hearst
Veronique Price
NEWS
We sat down to chat to Marion, our first consumer advocate here at OPUS.
Marion has not only provided invaluable insight in our recent publication on consumer involvement and partnered with PhD student Daniel Gould, but has also played a major role in shaping the OPUS consumer and community involvement program itself.
As you may have read in our article, consumer involvement is incredibly important in research. We are all working to improve health care for patients and community members affected by osteoarthritis, so why don’t we engage with them regularly and within a structured framework?
The first in a new series, here is the story of Marion Glanville-Hearst:

Marion is a retired occupational therapist, having spent much of her career working in psychiatry. Life circumstances took her the US where she studied a Bachelor of Psychology and Masters of Medical Anthropology, however as she was unable to find work in this area upon her return to Australia, she continued to work as an occupational therapist at St Vincent’s and many other hospitals in Melbourne. Marion also taught childbirth relaxation classes to expecting parents.
In 1994, Marion found out she had osteoarthritis developing in her hip and though the standard treatment was a total hip replacement, her GP advised her to put off surgery as long as possible as the prostheses ‘don’t last forever’ and replacing the glued-in parts would cause considerable damage for someone her age. With her background in healthcare and the savviness of her concerned son, Marion and her son began to read widely on total hip replacement surgery and osteoarthritis. She was shocked to discover the then-standard practice of metal-on-metal joint replacements were found to be correlated with metallosis: the build-up of metal debris in soft-tissues of the body. She continued to read the literature available and was also referred to a rheumatologist for assessment and to discuss non-surgical treatment alternatives. She continued to look after herself and had regular appointments with a myotherapist to help her mobility. In 2013, after 19 years of staving off the suggestions from exasperated friends and colleagues to ‘just get the surgery’, Marion elected to undergo a total hip replacement at a time she felt was right for her. From being so stiff that she could barely walk around her home, she regained the mobility and freedom she had 20 years prior. Her surgery was a success.
In the lead up to her surgery, Marion was alerted to a study being run by St Vincent’s Hospital Department of Orthopaedics through the osteoarthritis outpatient clinic she attended. The study, run by Prof Peter Choong and Dr Liz Nelson, was investigating if completing a MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) program prior to joint replacement surgery resulted in improved outcomes after surgery. After the study’s completion, Marion reached out to Liz, curious about the study’s results and the project’s research process. OPUS chief investigator A/Prof Michelle Dowsey then contacted Marion and proposed a novel idea for the research centre: a consumer and community involvement program. Marion joined the Steering Committee for the Consumer Engagement Working Group in late 2019 and has been involved ever since. She has played a pivotal role in shaping the program and building it from the ground-up.
Marion is formally a Research Buddy in Tier 3 of the CCIP framework. She has played a key role in the OPUS working group who have been working behind the scenes in 2020 to develop the CCIP framework and works closely with Dr Tilini Gunatillake, OPUS’ Consumer and Community Liaison Officer to continually improve the program’s processes. She also provides feedback on Daniel Gould’s PhD project: the development of a machine learning-enabled risk prediction tool for total knee replacement recipients and the investigation of the views of patients and surgeons on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
For Marion, “being a member of OPUS and being able to include the perspective of a consumer in research programs has been very satisfying, as has been working with clinicians and researchers who want to improve outcomes for people like me.”
For more information about the OPUS Consumer and Community Involvement Program, please click here.
Veronique Price
NEWS
OPUS Spotlight: Elise Naufal

Creating a culturally secure environment at OPUS
Veronique Price
NEWS
creating a culturally secure environment at opus
Piece by Veronique Price and Penny O’Brien
Cultural security in the context of musculoskeletal health care
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience substantial barriers to accessing health care in Australia. This contributes to ongoing health disparities and poor health outcomes experienced by Indigenous Australians. Lower access and utilization of care by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is underscored by a history of negative health care experiences, ineffective communication and resultant mistrust and suspicion of the health care system and practitioners. Many mainstream health services lack culturally secure spaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to access the care they need.
Cultural security is a commitment to providing services and spaces that do not compromise the cultural rights, values, beliefs, knowledge systems and expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and is integral to the way we do business in health care and research.
OPUS is committed to creating a space of cultural security to allow us to meaningfully collaborate and engage with Indigenous health services, patients, community members, researchers, clinicians and students. Proudly displaying this artwork created by Taungurung Elder, Mick Harding, we hope we are not just able to create a welcoming environment for all those that work with us but it is a clear demonstration of our unwavering commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive, equitable research centre.

This artwork has been completed by Taungurung Elder and artist Mick Harding, and tells the story of our musculoskeletal health research from an Aboriginal perspective.
The artwork
Artist Mick Harding tells of a scar tree with diamonds inside the scar that represent our Liwik or Ancestors. Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around Australia are represented by the designs alongside both sides of the scar and along the limbs of the tree.
The five large gum leaves on the bottom limbs represent the five management journey streams of OPUS. Two sections of wavy lines at the top and bottom of the scar, represent the journey of OPUS and how its research has a ripple effect that effects positive change within our communities.
SOMA (the Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association) was generous enough to raise the funds to print and frame the artwork, and display it on campus, courtesy of The University of Melbourne’s Graduate Student Association. The artwork will be giclee printed on archival cotton rag and framed as requested by the artist. The artwork will be displayed in the Department of Surgery (Clinical Sciences Building Level 2 meeting room) so that it can be visible in all OPUS and Department of Surgery meetings and events.


The artist
Mick Harding is a Taungwurrung Elder and belongs to the Yowong-Illam-Baluk clan (Mansfield Region) of the Taungwurrung people. He lives with his family in the rolling foothills of Gippsland’s Strzelecki ranges, and is an active member of the Taungwurrung, local and Victorian Indigenous communities. Mick draws his inspiration from the compelling legends of his people, and weaves the images of those legends into each of his artworks.
Keen to hear more about our research into the delivery of culturally secure osteoarthritis care for indigenous australians?
Veronique Price
NEWS
OPUS Spotlight: Brooke Conley
Brooke Conley has completed her Bachelor in Exercise Science and is in her final year of Master of Physiotherapy Practice at Latrobe University in Bendigo.
She is a proud Ngiyampaa woman from Cobar, New South Wales. Her family heritage has evoked her passion for Indigenous research, which has led to her to apply for a PhD.
She aims to contribute to the OPUS ECCO program, with her research set to begin in 2021. She will investigate if physiotherapy information and education resources are culturally appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus.
Beyond her PhD, Brooke intends to continue exploring ways to improve Aboriginal health outcomes, in an academic role. Alongside this, she hopes to practice as a Physiotherapist and educate fellow colleagues how to improve the care provided to Aboriginal people.

Tackling Osteoarthritis in Indigenous Communities
Veronique Price
NEWS
Tackling the Burden of Osteoarthritis in Indigenous Communities
- A CALL TO ACTION -
Editorial written by OPUS PhD student Penny O’Brien
Why is osteoarthritis an important health issue?
Osteoarthritis causes pain, swelling and difficulty moving the joints. In coming years, osteoarthritis is likely to become more common as our population is becoming older and more overweight [1,2]. As people get older and heavier, the risk of developing osteoarthritis increases because the cartilage that covers healthy joints is more likely to break down. As one of the most common causes of pain and disability around the world, billions of dollars are spent each year on minimizing the health, social and economic impact of osteoarthritis [2,3]. However, until now we have rarely considered how osteoarthritis impacts Indigenous people and their communities.

What are the factors that contribute to the impact of osteoarthritis in Indigenous communities?
Indigenous communities in Australia (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), New Zealand (Māori), Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and the United States of America (Alaskan Native and American Indian) experience high rates of obesity and smoking, along with low levels of physical activity. Because of this, there are high levels of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease in these communities [4-6]. By the age of 35, more than half of all Indigenous people experience at least one chronic disease [6]. Lifestyle factors that are linked to these chronic conditions also place Indigenous people at a high risk of developing osteoarthritis. In Australia, Indigenous people are one-and-a-half times more likely to have osteoarthritis, when compared to the rest of the population [7]. Canadian First Nations are twice as likely to experience osteoarthritis compared to non-First nations [8]. In the United States, American Indians experience higher rates of this condition than any other group in the country [9]. Despite this, Indigenous people around the world seek care for joint pain at lower levels than non-Indigenous people. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people visit general practitioners and undergo total joint replacement at half the rate expected based on the number of people living with osteoarthritis [5, 10]. Without appropriate health care, osteoarthritis can make participation in work, sport, family and cultural engagements more difficult and this can have significant impact on emotional wellbeing. Having healthy joints means that people can move more freely along a pathway to improved health and wellbeing.
Indigenous communities in Australia (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), New Zealand (Māori), Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and the United States of America (Alaskan Native and American Indian) experience high rates of obesity and smoking, along with low levels of physical activity. Because of this, there are high levels of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease in these communities [4-6]. By the age of 35, more than half of all Indigenous people experience at least one chronic disease [6]. Lifestyle factors that are linked to these chronic conditions also place Indigenous people at a high risk of developing osteoarthritis. In Australia, Indigenous people are one-and-a-half times more likely to have osteoarthritis, when compared to the rest of the population [7]. Canadian First Nations are twice as likely to experience osteoarthritis compared to non-First nations [8]. In the United States, American Indians experience higher rates of this condition than any other group in the country [9]. Despite this, Indigenous people around the world seek care for joint pain at lower levels than non-Indigenous people. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people visit general practitioners and undergo total joint replacement at half the rate expected based on the number of people living with osteoarthritis [5, 10]. Without appropriate health care, osteoarthritis can make participation in work, sport, family and cultural engagements more difficult and this can have significant impact on emotional wellbeing. Having healthy joints means that people can move more freely along a pathway to improved health and wellbeing.
Osteoarthritis is an unmet health need for Indigenous people [11]. Until now, health care providers, researchers and policymakers have focused most of their attention on conditions that directly contribute to ‘the gap’ in life expectancy for Indigenous people. Focusing on areas such as diabetes, heart disease and childhood health is certainly important. However, as the leading cause of mobility limitation, osteoarthritis contributes indirectly to life expectancy [12]. Pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis can make it harder to exercise, which makes it difficult to manage other chronic conditions. Because of this, we can view osteoarthritis as a central piece of the chronic disease puzzle, which must be addressed if we are to eliminate inequalities in life expectancy. Treating osteoarthritis as a priority can help Indigenous people live longer lives, free from pain and disability.
What can we do about it?
By improving the joint health of Indigenous people, we have an opportunity to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous communities. We therefore call on health care providers, researchers and policymakers to:
- Recognise that osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and mobility difficulties among Indigenous people and is therefore a central piece in the chronic disease puzzle. Building capacity in the Indigenous health workforce to recognize and manage osteoarthritis must be a priority. This may be achieved by widespread education and training of the health workforce.
- Engage Indigenous people in research efforts to generate a much-needed understanding of the experience of osteoarthritis from an Indigenous perspective. More Indigenous researchers working in musculoskeletal health also means that more researchers will adopt an Indigenous view of health in their work.
- Provide culturally secure osteoarthritis care for Indigenous communities. Cultural security means that health services are committed to providing care that upholds the cultural rights, values knowledge systems and expectations of Indigenous people [13]. Embedding these principles into health care means that more Indigenous people will be able to receive the care that they need for their joint pain, so that they can remain active, healthy members of their communities.
It is now time to take musculoskeletal health off the backburner and recognise the central role that osteoarthritis and joint pain plays in managing chronic disease in Indigenous communities. We need to keep Indigenous peoples on their feet, so they can walk the path to improved health and wellbeing.
- Wittenauer, R.; Smith, L.; Aden, K. Background Paper 6.12 Osteoarthritis. Priority Medicines for Europe and the World: 2013 Update; World Health Organization Essential Medicine and Health Product Information Portal: Geneva, Switzerland, 2013.
- Hunter, D.J.; Schofield, D.; Callander, E. The individual and socioeconomic impact of osteoarthritis. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 2014, 10, 437–441.
- Chen AG, Gupte C, Akhtar K, Smith P, Cobb J. The global economic cost of osteoarthritis: how the UK compares. Arthritis. 2012.
- Australian Institute of Health andWelfare. Australia’s Health 2014; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Canberra, Australia, 2014.
- Brand, C.A.; Harrison, C.; Tropea, J.; Hinman, R.S.; Britt, H.; Bennell, K. Management of osteoarthritis in general practice in Australia. Arthritis Care Res. 2014, 66, 551–558.
- United Nations. State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples; United Nations Publications: New York, NY, USA, .
- Australian Institute of Health andWelfare. Australia’s Health 2018; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare:Canberra, Australia, 2018.
- Barnabe, C.; Hemmelgarn, B.; Jones, C.A.; Peschken, C.A.; Voaklander, D.; Joseph, L.; Bernatsky, S.; Esdaile, J.M.; Marshall, D.A. Imbalance of prevalence and specialty care for osteoarthritis for first nations people in Alberta, Canada. J. Rheumatol. 2015, 42, 323–328.
- Bolen, J.; Schieb, L.; Hootman, J.M.; Helmick, C.G.; Theis, K.; Murphy, L.B.; Langmaid, G. Di_erences in the prevalence and severity of arthritis among racial/ethnic groups in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002, 2003, and 2006. Prev. Chronic Dis. 2010, 7, A64.
- Dixon, T.; Urquhart, D.M.; Berry, P.; Bhatia, K.; Wang, Y.; Graves, S.; Cicuttini, F.M. Variation in rates of hip and knee joint replacement in Australia based on socio-economic status, geographical locality, birthplace and indigenous status. ANZ J. Surg. 2011, 81, 26–31.
- Lin, I.B.; Bunzli, S.; Mak, D.B.; Green, C.; Goucke, R.; Co_n, J.; O’Sullivan, P.B. Unmet needs of Aboriginal Australians with musculoskeletal pain: A mixed-method systematic review. Arthritis Care Res. 2018, 70, 1335–1347.
- Cross, M.; Smith, E.; Hoy, D.; Nolte, S.; Ackerman, I.; Fransen, M.; Bridgett, L.;Williams, S.; Guillemin, F.; Hill, C.L.; et al. The global burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis: Estimates from the global burden of disease 2010 study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2014, 73, 1323–1330.
- Coffin, J. Rising to the challenge in Aboriginal health by creating cultural security. Aborig. Isl. Health Work J. 2007, 31, 22.
Keen to hear more about our research into the delivery of culturally secure osteoarthritis care for indigenous australians?
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Osteoarthritis
- Childhood obesity
- Data registries
Veronique Price
BBmed (Honours)
Veronique is a Research Administrative Assistant with OPUS, working behind the scenes to support the Centre. She completed a Bachelor of Biomedicine with Honours at the University of Melbourne, and spent her research year investigating the lifestyle factors that protect children of parents with obesity from becoming overweight, at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She hopes to soon publish her findings as she is passionate about children’s and public health.
Veronique splits her time with OPUS between supporting the Centre Manager with various administrative tasks, liaising with the Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association (SOMA), running the OPUS social media accounts and assisting with the SOCRATES data registry and projects in Stream 2.
OTHER KEY ROLES
OPUS Data Linkage, Translation & Engagement, and Education & Training Committees: Member
Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association: Member
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Pain-related beliefs
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Lower back pain
- Qualitative Research
Tara Binnie
PhD, MPH, BBmedSci (Hon)
Tara is a senior physiotherapist currently undertaking a PhD at Curtin University with the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence. She is working to assess the utility of wearable sensors in measuring pain-related disability (movement quality) in patients with knee osteoarthritis that also have lower back pain. She will also explore the association between movement and pain-related beliefs and emotions in individuals with knee OA and examine how movement, beliefs and emotions change over time relative to each other, in individuals with knee OA undergoing a physiotherapy intervention. She hopes to develop an intervention that can target all these factors, to enable better long-term pain and disability outcomes in this population.
Tara also lectures at Curtin Universityand has previously conducted research into knee injuries. Prior to embarking on a career in physiotherapy, Tara was a professional international volleyball player. She captained the Australian Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team before moving to a successful career on the beach including partnering 5 time Olympian and Sydney 2000 Gold Medallist Natalie Cook on the World Beach Tour. She now combines this with her physiotherapy skills to look after the Western Australian Volleyball Teams including their injury prevention and conditioning programs.
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend Scholarship
Curtin Research Scholarship (CRS)
OTHER KEY ROLES:
Star Physiotherapy Clinic: Senior Physiotherapist
Curtin University: Sessional Academic
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Cost-effectiveness
- Length of stay
- Total joint arthroplasty
Siddharth Rele
BBiomedSc, MD (enrolled)
Siddharth (Sid) is a medical student involved in stream 4 of the OPUS CRE. His research currently focuses on the length of stay for patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. Sid’s specific research interest is investigating the effect reducing length of stay on short- and long-term patient outcomes and their related costs.
His broader research interest also includes patient-related factors that impact outcomes of total joint replacement.
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
Australian Orthopaedic Association Joint University Scholarship (2019);
James and Betty McCreery Travelling Scholarship (2019)
OTHER KEY ROLES
Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association (SOMA): Treasurer
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Biostatistics
- Total knee replacement
- General practice
Sharmala Thuraisingam
Mbiostatistics, BMechEng, PhD (enrolled)
Sharmala (Sharm) Thuraisingam is a PhD candidate in the OPUS CRE. She also works as a Biostatistician at the Department of General Practice and research assistant at the Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne. Sharm’s research is focussed on the development of a prediction model for use in general practice to predict non-response to total knee replacement in patients with osteoarthritis. This model will utilise data from the St Vincent’s Hospital SMART registry and general practice patient data from the Department of General Practice and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
OTHER KEY ROLES
Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne: Biostatistician
Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne: Research Assistant
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Knee osteoarthritis
- Aboriginal health
- Qualitative research
Penny O'Brien
BHlthSc (Hon), PhD (enrolled)
Penny O’Brien is a current PhD candidate and qualitative researcher at OPUS. Penny’s PhD explores the impact of osteoarthritis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, a research area which has received little or no attention in Australia to date. As a novel research field, Penny also aims to investigate and evaluate the process of establishing a program of Aboriginal health research in a non-Aboriginal research group. This aspect of the PhD will explore partnership building, capacity building and culturally secure research methods to inform future research professionals initiating Aboriginal health research. Penny is also employed concurrently by the Department of surgery to coordinate qualitative research projects and to develop and facilitate a qualitative research methods training course. Within this position she hopes to contribute to the development of culturally secure arthritis education resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Penny also represents OPUS graduate researchers as an OPUS Executive committee member and is a foundation member of SOMA, the Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association in which she fulfills a community engagement role.
Grants
- O’Brien, P (CIA), Bunzli, S., Dowsey, M., Lin, I. & Choong, P. (2019). St. Vincent’s Health Australia Inclusive Health Fund. The OPUS Community Reference Group for Enhancing Equity, Collaboration and Culturally secure Osteoarthritis Care for Aboriginal Australians. $16,045
- Bunzli, S (CIA)…O’Brien P (AI) (2018). St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne Research
- Endowment Fund. Health-related quality of life in Aboriginal Australians with osteoarthritis. Application 88268. $19,992.
- Gunatillake, T (CIA)…O’Brien P (AI) (2019). St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne Research Endowment Fund. The ‘in-patient’ study: exploring the knowledge and understanding of osteoarthritis in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients admitted at SVHM. Application 90200. $16,938.
OTHER KEY ROLES
Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne – coordinates qualitative components of a range of projects: Qualitative Trials Coordinator
Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association (SOMA): Community Engagement Officer