Our Aims

What are the aims of SRR?

The Society for Research in Rehabilitation is a multi-disciplinary group whose members share the principal goal of: carrying out and promoting high quality research to develop effective, relevant and forward-thinking rehabilitation practices that will improve the opportunities available to people with acute and chronic disabling conditions.
SRR provides a forum for high quality rehabilitation research:

• Raising the profile of rehabilitation research
• Encouraging the evaluation of rehabilitation practice through well-designed studies
• Fostering a climate in which people can develop and share research skills
• Enabling active researchers to share the results of their research
• Advancing rehabilitation practice for acute and chronic disabling conditions
• Training enabling junior researchers to present research

How does SRR try to achieve these aims?

The Society holds two scientific meetings a year,in winter and summer.  Each meeting offers symposia addressing  specific rehabilitation topics, sessions for presentation of scientific papers and poster sessions. Recent symposia topics have included Stroke Rehabilitation, Orthoptics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Rehabilitation in Palliative Care, Outcome Measurement, Biomechanics, Behaviour Change and Clinical Trials. The scientific papers are stimulating and cover a diversity of topics and a variety of research methodologies.

The Society’s elected Council keeps up to date with pertinent issues at local, national and international level, keeps members informed and whereappropriate, makes comments and lobbies on the Society’s behalf and represents rehabilitation research.

Verna Wright Prize

To encourage associate members to present at SRR, each year the Society presents £150 each for the best oral presentation and the best poster presentation made by an associate member (first time presenter) each year.

SRR prize for Stroke Rehabilitation research at the UKSF

The Society for Research in Rehabilitation is a founding member of the UK Stroke Forum and supports an annual prize to encourage excellence in rehabilitation research at the UKSF conference and promote awareness of SRR. The winner receives a prize of £100 and one year’s membership of SRR, presented at the UKSF conference.  All abstracts on rehabilitation research (excluding work in progress) are marked by the UKSF referees and the SRR prize is awarded to the highest scoring abstract. Presenters do not have to be an SRR member.

Phillip Nichols Lecture

Philip Nichols was a founder member of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation which was established early 1978. He was a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at Oxford University; he spent time in the Royal Air Force, advised the Chief Medical Officer and an advocate for health services research. Philip was also the Founder Editor of the Journal International Rehab Medicine – Disability and Rehabilitation.

Bipin Bhakta Memorial Lecture

Bipin Bhakta, was an Emeritus Charterhouse Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Leeds and committed Council member of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation for many years. Sadly Bipin died in December 2014 after a long illness aged only 54. To remember Bipin’s significant contribution to rehabilitation research and his personal support and encouragement to the research community this Biennial lecture is given in his honour. The Council of the SRR vote on a distinguished scholar to invite and give this lecture in his memory. To encourage associate members to present at SRR, each year the Society presents £150 each for the best oral presentationthe best poster made by an associate member (first time presenter) each year.