Rasha Okasheh

Biography

Rasha Okasheh graduated from the University of Jordan School of Rehabilitation Sciences/Physiotherapy in 2004 with 1st class honours. She was subsequently funded by the ministry of higher education Jordan to complete her MSc Physiotherapy/ respiratory and PhD in Health and Wellbeing at Sheffield Hallam University UK. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings across the respiratory care pathway and specialised in rehabilitation programmes for patients with complex cardiovascular and respiratory manifestations. Rasha has worked for 11 years at the the University of Jordan as lecturer and dean assistant for curriculum development and quality management leading the development and accreditation of the physiotherapy undergraduate program, working with the World Confederation of Physiotherapy and representing the Cardiorespiratory physiotherapy group in Jordan.

Rasha has clinical and academic experience both in Jordan and England where she strived for promoting equality and inclusivity working with different communities and non governmental organizations supporting refugees, ethnic minorities, people with disability, women and children. She is currently a lecturer in Physiotherapy at Keele University with the hope of fostering the globalisation and cultural responsiveness of physiotherapy education and research.

Research and scholarship

Rasha's PhD thesis was clinical measurement of functional outcomes of Pulmonary rehabilitation. Rasha's research interests are in the development of outcome measures for complex health intervention, the management of long term conditions (cardiovascular and respiratory) and health behaviours, particularly physical activity intervention. In Jordan Rasha's research was in collaboration with clinical institutions, non governmental and community organisations and has responded to the needs of the institutions and communities within which she worked resulting in collaborations both in education and clinical practice.

The complex realities and interventions that rasha worked with sparked her enthusiasm for realist methodologies, service implementation and evaluation. Form 2019-2020 Rasha worked as a research fellow in realist evaluation at the university of the west of England Bristol. The post was supported by NIHR Research Capability Funding 2019/20 and jointly commissioned by the Bristol and North Southwest clinical commissioning Group BNSCCG (Research and Evidence team) and the University of the West of England Bristol Centre for Health and Clinical Research (CHCR).

At Keele Rasha is continuing to work with active research groups to further enhance realist evaluation and science implementation expertise, facilitate overseas collaboration and welcomes enquiries form PhD students.

Teaching

Rasha teaches across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the school of Allied Health Professions. The focus of her teaching is on cardiovascular and respiratory physiotherapy, exercise physiology and exercise prescription and research methodologies.

Collaborations and grants awards

• Understanding sport and exercise professionals’ roles in relation to clinical exercise prescription, within AHP services. (collaborator). commissioned by Health Education England 2020
• Surveying Cardiorespiratory physiotherapy practice in Jordan. (principle investigator). Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan 2017.
• Functional characteristics of people with COPD. (principle investigator). Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan 2017.
• Perceptions and performance of exercise in people with knee osteoarthritis in the Middle East: are they different to countries in the developed world? A qualitative study in Jordan. Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan. ()Co-lead)
• Perception of physiotherapy students toward exercise and the impact of an exercise program on their physical fitness. Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan. (collaborator)
• Teaching clinical reasoning for physiotherapy students using the International Classification of Functioning, disability and health (ICF) as a framework. Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan.(collaborator)
• Exploration of the clinical education program for physiotherapy students at the University of Jordan. Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan. (collaborator)
• Gait-related dual tasking changes in adults with low vision. Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan and Oxford Brooks University (Collaborator)
• Development and validation of simple assessment tool to detect neuropathy-related changes in gait in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Funded by the deanship of scientific research, the university of Jordan. (collaborator)
• 2008-2011: Evaluation of the usefulness of TELER function indicators as a patient reported outcome measure at home. (PhD research funded by the University of Jordan, conducted at Sheffield Hallam University)
• Feb.2010-June 2010: Health Trainer Consultation Project- Wakefield.
• Feb.2009-June 2009: Evaluation of Health Trainer service- North East Lincolnshire