Prof Cathie Sherrington
KEY PUBLICATIONS​
FAHMS, FACP, PhD, MPH, BAppSc (Physio)
Professor Sydney School of Public Health
Deputy Director, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health
Professor Cathie Sherrington is a distinguished physiotherapist and researcher specialising in fall prevention and physical activity promotion. She holds a PhD and a Master of Public Health, and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Australian College of Physiotherapists.
Professor Sherrington leads the Physical Activity, Ageing, and Disability Research Stream within the Institute. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating interventions to improve physical activity and prevent falls among older adults and people with disabilities.
Professor Sherrington has published over 380 research papers and has an impressive h-index of 752. She leads the NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence in the Prevention of Fall-related Injuries. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous awards, including a NSW Premier’s Prize for Science & Engineering in 2023.
Exercise to reduce mobility disability and prevent falls after fall- related leg or pelvic fracture: RESTORE randomized controlled trial Journal of General Internal Medicine
Effect of a coaching intervention to enhance physical activity and prevent falls in community-dwelling people aged 60+: a cluster RCT British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Economic evaluations of fall prevention exercise programs:a systematic review British Journal of Sports Medicine
CHAngE
We hope the findings of this project lead to increased physical activity, decreased risk of falling and improved eating habits in older people. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of two 12 month healthy ageing strategies among people who attend established, community-based groups. The first intervention is a physical activity and fall prevention intervention, including telephone-based health coaching and written information on physical activity and falls. The second is a nutrition intervention involving telephone-based health coaching and written information about eating habits. The trial also aims to establish the impact of these interventions on physical activity, eating habits, weight (body mass index), goal attainment, mobility confidence, quality of life, fear of falling, risk-taking behaviour, well-being, and mood. This project is no longer recruiting. Principal Investigator: Professor Cathie Sherrington. Chief Investigators: Professor Anne Tiedemann, Professor Dafna Merom, Professor Stuart Smith, Associate Professor Allison Tong, Professor Kirsten Howard and Professor Chris Rissel. This project has received ethics approval from the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee. This is a NHMRC Project Grant (2015 – 2018). For more information about this project, please contact: Associate Professor Anne Tiedemann e: anne.tiedemann@sydney.edu.au Trial registered on ANZCTR: ACTRN12615001190594
SAGE - Preventing falls with yoga based exercise
We hope the findings of this project lead to the development of a yoga-based exercise program to prevent falls in people aged 65 and over. The aim of this project is to assess the effectiveness of a 40 week yoga program, compared with an advice booklet, on falls. We will also assess the effectiveness of the program on other key indicators of healthy ageing, such as mental health, establish the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, and measure the yoga program’s potential for implementation. Participants allocated to the yoga-based exercise group will attend 40 weeks of twice-weekly, one-hour yoga classes in established yoga studios in Sydney with experienced yoga teachers. Participants will be asked to complete a home-based yoga program for at least two extra 20-minute sessions each week. This project is currently recruiting. For more information about this project, please contact us at sph.sagetrial@sydney.edu.au Principal Investigator: Professor Anne Tiedemann (IMH) Chief Investigators: Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH), Professor Stephen Lord (NeuRA) Associate Investigators: Professor Kirsten Howard (University of Sydney), Professor Adrian Bauman (University of Sydney), Professor Chris Rissel (University of Sydney), Professor Robert Cumming (University of Sydney), Professor Kaarin Anstey (NeuRA), Professor Roberta Shepherd (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Patrick Kelly (University of Sydney), Dr Anne Grunseit (University of Sydney), Romina Sesto This project has received ethics approval. The sponsor of this trial is The University of Sydney. Funding is from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
PROPOSE
We hope the findings of this project lead to enhanced promotion of physical activity by health professionals for people aged 50+ and people of all ages with a physical disability. The aim of the project is to determine whether a health professional education and support package (workshop, website, on-line discussion, phone/email support) increases promotion of physical activity and frequency of recommendations about attendance at community-based structured physical activity opportunities among people aged 50+ and/or people of any age with physical disabilities compared with waiting list control. This project is currently recruiting. Chief Investigator: Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH) Associate Investigators: Professor Anne Tiedemann (IMH), Dr Leanne Hassett (IMH), Dr Bethan Richards (IMH), Professor Louise Baur (The Children’s Hospital at Westmead & The University of Sydney), Professor Adrian Bauman (The University of Sydney), Professor Lisa Harvey (The University of Sydney), Associate Professor Philayrath Phongsavan (University of Sydney), Professor Jennifer Alison (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Ben Smith (University of Sydney), Kate Purcell (IMH), Jenni Cole (Disability Sports Australia), Professor Chris Rissel (University of Sydney & the NSW Office of Preventive Health), Associate Professor Jeff Walkley (Belgravia Leisure), Dr Genevieve Dwyer (Western Sydney University), Kerry West (IMH). This project has received ethics approval from Local Health District Ethics Committees and is being funded by Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Rapid Applied Research Translation Grant. For more information about this project, please contact: Kate Purcell e: kate.purcell@sydney.edu.au
PROTECT
The intention of the trial is to prevent recurrences of low back pain through determining if a progressive individualised walking and education program is more effective when compared to usual care, in preventing recurrence of low back pain in people recently recovered from an episode of non-specific low back pain. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups. One group will receive a walking and advice intervention delivered by a physiotherapist (3 face to face/video conferencing and 3 over the phone consultations, at no cost) and the other group will receive usual care which does not involve any intervention as part of the trial. This project is currently recruiting. You may be eligible to participate in this study if you live in Australia and have had an episode of low back pain in the last 6 months Principal Investigator: Professor Mark Hancock Institute for Musculoskeletal Health Investigators: Professor Jane Latimer, Professor Chris Lin, Professor Chris Maher, Associate Professor Anne Tiedemann. For more information on this Macquarie University Trial, please visit the WALKBACK website. This NHMRC funded project has received ethics approval from Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee. Trial registered on ANZCTR: ACTRN12619001134112
Ironbark Trial
This is a UNSW led trial. The aim of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of the Ironbark fall prevention program on reducing the number of falls in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are 45 years and older. This group is compared to control participants who receive a healthy ageing program. The Ironbark program includes interactive discussion about fall risk factors, combined with balance and strength training. It was created after a successful New South Wales pilot and will now run across New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. This study is not yet recruiting participants. Principal Investigator: Professor Rebecca Ivers Institute for Musculoskeletal Health Investigators: Professor Cathie Sherrington and Professor Anne Tiedemann This study is funded through the NHMRC. For more information on this George Institute for Global Health trial, please contact: Dr Julieann Coombes w: https://www.georgeinstitute.org.au/people/julieann-coombes
We hope the findings of this project lead to the implementation of the Choose To Move program into community settings in NSW to increase participation in physical activity by people aged 60+ years. Choose To Move is a community-based program co-designed with older adults and community partners in Canada that increases physical activity and mobility and reduces social isolation. Choose To Move integrates behaviour change principles into two components: activity coaches deliver eight motivational group meetings and conduct one, one-on-one action planning meeting with each participant during the 3-month program. The aim of this project is to adapt the Choose To Move program to the Sydney context. Evaluation will include: 1. Assessment of implementation strategies and indicators to identify factors contributing to implementation effectiveness; 2. Measure if the Choose To Move program benefits health outcomes (e.g., physical activity, mobility, social isolation) in community-dwellers aged 60+ years in Sydney. Principal Investigator: Professor Anne Tiedemann (IMH) Investigators: Professor Heather McKay (University of British Columbia, Canada), Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH), Associate Professor Leanne Hassett (IMH), Prof Luke Wolfenden (University of Newcastle), Emeritus Professor Adrian Bauman (The University of Sydney), , Professor Philayrath Phongsavan (University of Sydney), Professor Ben Smith (University of Sydney), Dr Juliana Oliveira (IMH), Dr James Kite (University of Sydney), Adrian Prakash (SHARE), Associate Professor Dawn Mackey (Simon Fraser University, Canada), Joanie Sims Gould (University of British Columbia, Canada), Dr Bernadette Brady (University of Sydney). The sponsor of this trial is The University of Sydney. Funding is from the National Health and Medical Research Council
We hope the findings of this project lead to the implementation of a remotely delivered information and support program that is effective in improving physical activity and other physical and mental health outcomes in women aged 50+ years. The aim of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Active Women over 50 program for increasing physical activity compared with a no intervention wait-list, among 1000 women aged 50+ in urban and rural/regional/remote NSW. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups. Group one will receive access to the Active Women over 50 program including a tailored website, telephone health coaching, SMS/email-based messages and Facebook group, to provide support, motivation and guidance on increasing physical activity. Group two will be placed on a waitlist and receive access to the Active Women over 50 program after the 6 month follow-up. Principal Investigator: Professor Anne Tiedemann (IMH) Investigators: Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH), Associate Professor Leanne Hassett (IMH), Professor Philayrath Phongsavan (University of Sydney), Emeritus Professor Adrian Bauman (University of Sydney), Dr Abigail Haynes (University of Sydney), Dr Marina de Barros Pinheiro (University of Sydney), Dr Dominika Kwasnicka (University of Melbourne), Professor Nehmat Houssami (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum (University of New South Wales), Associate Professor Georgina Luscombe (University of Sydney), Dr Heidi Gilchrist (University of Sydney), Geraldine Wallbank (University of Sydney), Dr Grace McKeon (University of New South Wales), Professor Kirsten Howard (University of Sydney), Dr Raaj Kishore Biswas (SLHD), Susan Linney (consumer advisor), Trish Stabback (consumer advisor CWA NSW), Kamilla Haufort (consumer advisor COTA NSW). The sponsor of this trial is The University of Sydney. Funding is from the Medical Research Future Fund.
We hope the findings of this project lead to the development of a dance program that is effective in preventing falls among people aged 60+ years. RIPE Dance (Really Is Possible for Everyone), provides popular, long-running tailored dance programs, with a fall prevention focus, for over 100 older people in Southeast Queensland. We plan to conduct a pilot RCT of RIPE dance classes for community-dwelling people aged 60+. The objective is to test the feasibility, acceptability, and intervention impact of the RIPE dance classes. The results will inform the design and methods for a planned large trial of tailored dance classes for older people, with falls as the primary outcome. Principal Investigator: Dr Heidi Gilchrist (IMH) Investigators: Professor Anne Tiedemann (IMH), Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH), Dr Abigail Haynes (University of Sydney), Dr Juliana Oliveira (IMH), Professor Dafna Merom (Western Sydney University). The sponsor of this trial is The University of Sydney. Funding is from the Physiotherapy Research Foundation.
We hope the findings of this project lead to enhanced promotion of physical activity by health professionals for people aged 50+ and people of all ages with a physical disability. The aim of the project is to to collaboratively develop and test a strategy to support health professionals to promote PA to their patients – including older adults and children/adolescents/adults with physical disabilities – within their daily clinical practice. The project is currently recruiting participants for phase one of the study-collaborative implementation strategy development. In this phase we will conduct interviews, focus groups, workshops and surveys with health professionals, exercise providers and consumers to identify barriers to PA promotion and collaboratively develop the evidence-based implementation strategies and intervention elements. Phase 2 of the study is a Type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation cluster randomised trial (2023 onwards). In Phase 2 we will test the effectiveness of the implementation strategies and intervention elements in a Type 2 hybrid cluster randomised trial recruiting 800 participants across 30 sites. Chief Investigator Professor Cathie Sherrington (IMH) Our team comprises academics, public health experts and health economists from the University of Sydney, UNSW, Western Sydney University and Australian Catholic University, as well as multi-disciplinary clinicians from five Local Health Districts (Sydney, Western Sydney, South-Western Sydney, South-Eastern Sydney and Sydney Children Hospitals Network). Partner organisations include Disability Sport Australia, Australian Physiotherapy Association, Clinical Excellence Commission, iCare and Belgravia Leisure. This project has received ethics approval from Local Health District Ethics Committees and is being funded by an NHMRC Partnership Grant. For more information about this project, please contact: Kate Purcell e: kate.purcell@sydney.edu.au
We hope the findings of this project lead to improved physical activity levels in adults who have difficulty walking. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of two physical activity interventions on adults with self-reported walking difficulty. The participant will be allocated to one of three groups. The first intervention includes: a tailored physical activity plan based on a face-to-face assessment with a physiotherapist; six months of phone-based health coaching; use of technology to keep you active and access to online resources. The second intervention is a less intensive health-coaching program involving a phone consultation with a physiotherapist, monthly text messages to follow up and access to online resources. The third group will receive no intervention for the first six months and then receive the second intervention for the second six months. The project will be conducted over 12 months. You may be eligible to participate in this study if you are 18 years or older, living in the community, and have a mobility limitation – difficulty or inability to walk 800m. Principal Investigator: Professor Cathie Sherrington Chief Investigators: Professor Rana Hinman, Professor Maria Crotty, Professor Tammy Hoffmann, Professor Anne Tiedemann, Professor Lisa Harvey, Professor Nicholas Taylor and Associate Professor Leanne Hassett. For more information about this project, please contact: Associate Professor Leanne Hassett e: leanne.hassett@sydney.edu.au This is a NHMRC Project Grant (2018 – 2021)
We hope the findings of this project will lead to improved physical activity levels in people living with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this project is to develop clinical practice guidelines for physical activity in people across all ages living with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Australia. A plan will also be developed for the effective implementation of these guidelines. The first stage involves evaluating the fit of the 2020 WHO physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for people living with disability to those living with a moderate-to-severe TBI. This includes considering the evidence available regarding physical activity in TBI, preferences for physical activity, perspectives of relevant stakeholders and the feasibility of guideline implementation. Stage two involves auditing brain injury rehabilitation services across Australia to understand how physical activity is delivered and promoted to identify current practice and where practice inconsistencies exist. The third stage involves adapting the WHO guidelines into national clinical practice guidelines for people living with TBI, informed from stages one and two. The final stage involves the development of a plan for implementation of these national practice guidelines based on the identification of barriers and facilitators. Principle Investigator: A/Prof Leanne Hassett Co-Investigators: Prof Gavin Williams (UniMelb); Prof Cathie Sherrington (USyd); A/Prof Sean Tweedy (UQ); Prof Luke Wolfenden (UniNewcastle); Prof Maria Crotty (Flinders); Prof Kirsten Howard (USyd); Dr Abby Haynes (USyd); Emeritus Prof Adrian Bauman (USyd); A/Prof Grahame Simpson (USyd); A/Prof Adam Scheinberg (MCRI); Prof Anne Tiedemann (USyd); Gabrielle Vassallo (consumer representative); Nick Rushworth (BIA) Collaborating Organisations: Brain Injury Australia, Connectivity TBI; icare NSW; Heads Together for ABI Research team: Dr Liam Johnson (UniMelb); Sakina Chagpar (USyd); Belinda Wang (USyd) Funding: MRFF 2020 Traumatic Brain Injury Mission, Stream 2-incubator 2021-2023.
We hope the findings of this project will lead to improved physical activity levels in patients receiving brief physical activity counselling as part of their physiotherapy treatment. BEHAVIOUR is a hybrid type II cluster randomised controlled trial. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted implementation strategy compared to usual care on increasing the proportion of patients receiving brief physical activity counselling as part of hospital-based physiotherapy care, and subsequently improving the physical activity levels among these patients. Physiotherapists in the intervention group will be assigned to receive the multi-faceted implementation strategy immediately to support them to incorporate brief physical activity counselling into their routine care. The main implementation strategies will include education training, creating a learning collaborative, tailored strategies to address community referral barriers, facilitation and audit and feedback. The control group will receive an updated version of the implementation strategy at the end of the trial. The trial will be conducted with physiotherapists across all hospitals in South Western Sydney Local Health District and will include participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Principle Investigator: A/Prof Leanne Hassett Co-Investigators: Professor Catherine Sherrington (USyd), Mr Matthew Jennings (SWSLHD), Dr Marina Pinheiro (USyd), Dr Bernadette Brady (SWSLHD/USyd), Professor Sarah Dennis (Usyd/SWSLHD), Professor Kirsten Howard (USyd), Dr Alison Pearce (USyd), Dr Lauren Christie (St Vincent’s Health Network Australia, ACU/SWSLHD), Ms Balwinder Sidhu (SWSLHD), Professor Colin Greaves (UniBirmingham) Funding: MRFF preventive & public health grant 2020-2023; NHMRC TRIP Fellowship 2019-2020. For more information about this project, please contact: Associate Professor Leanne Hassett e: leanne.hassett@sydney.edu.au