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Professor William Levack

Contact Details

Email
william.levack@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor and Dean of the University of Otago, Wellington
Department
Dean's Department (Wellington)
Qualifications
BPhty MHealSc PGDiprehab (Otago) PhD
Research summary
Rehabilitation physiotherapy

Research

William is Dean for the University’s Wellington campus. Originally training as a physiotherapist, Professor Levack completed his Masters in Health Science endorsed in Rehabilitation in 2001 and a PhD on goal planning in rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury in 2008. His work focuses on patient experiences of rehabilitation, goal setting processes, and interventions to increase patient engagement in rehabilitation activities – particularly in the areas of neurological and respiratory rehabilitation.

Publications

Levack, W. M. M., Engkasan, J. P., Heinemann, A. W., & Negrini, S. (2019). A review of CONSORT guidelines about comparison groups with a focused discussion on implications for rehabilitation clinical trials. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 99(3), 191-197. doi: 10.1097/phm.0000000000001368

Levack, W. M., Martin, R. A., Graham, F. P., & Hay-Smith, E. J. (2019). Compared to what? An analysis of the management of control groups in Cochrane reviews in neurorehabilitation. European Journal of Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine, 55(3), 353-363. doi: 10.23736/s1973-9087.19.05795-2

Levack, W. M. M., Rathore, F. A., Pollet, J., & Negrini, S. (2019). One in 11 Cochrane reviews are on rehabilitation interventions, according to pragmatic inclusion criteria developed by Cochrane Rehabilitation. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 100, 1492-1498. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2019.01.021

Levack, W., Tomori, K., Takahashi, K., & Sherrington, A. J. (2018). Development of an English-language version of a Japanese iPad application to facilitate collaborative goal setting in rehabilitation: A Delphi study and field test. BMJ Open, 8(3), e018901. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018908

Levack, W., & Thornton, K. (2017). Opportunities for a meaningful life for working-aged adults with neurological conditions living in residential aged care facilities: A review of qualitative research. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(10), 608-619. doi: 10.1177/0308022617722736

Levack, W. M. M., Engkasan, J. P., Heinemann, A. W., & Negrini, S. (2019). A review of CONSORT guidelines about comparison groups with a focused discussion on implications for rehabilitation clinical trials. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 99(3), 191-197. doi: 10.1097/phm.0000000000001368

Journal - Research Other

Levack, W. M., Martin, R. A., Graham, F. P., & Hay-Smith, E. J. (2019). Compared to what? An analysis of the management of control groups in Cochrane reviews in neurorehabilitation. European Journal of Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine, 55(3), 353-363. doi: 10.23736/s1973-9087.19.05795-2

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Rathore, F. A., Pollet, J., & Negrini, S. (2019). One in 11 Cochrane reviews are on rehabilitation interventions, according to pragmatic inclusion criteria developed by Cochrane Rehabilitation. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 100, 1492-1498. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2019.01.021

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W., Tomori, K., Takahashi, K., & Sherrington, A. J. (2018). Development of an English-language version of a Japanese iPad application to facilitate collaborative goal setting in rehabilitation: A Delphi study and field test. BMJ Open, 8(3), e018901. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018908

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W., & Thornton, K. (2017). Opportunities for a meaningful life for working-aged adults with neurological conditions living in residential aged care facilities: A review of qualitative research. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(10), 608-619. doi: 10.1177/0308022617722736

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Jones, B., Grainger, R., Boland, P., Brown, M., & Ingham, T. R. (2016). Whakawhanaungatanga: The importance of culturally meaningful connections to improve uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation by Māori with COPD: A qualitative study. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 11(1), 489-501. doi: 10.2147/copd.s97665

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Weatherall, M., Hay-Smith, E. J. C., Dean, S. G., McPherson, K., & Siegert, R. J. (2016). Goal setting and strategies to enhance goal pursuit in adult rehabilitation: Summary of a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine, 52(3), 400-416. Retrieved from http://www.minervamedica.it/en/

Journal - Research Other

Levack, W. M. M., Weatherall, M., Hay-Smith, E. J. C., Dean, S. G., McPherson, K., & Siegert, R. J. (2015). Goal setting and strategies to enhance goal pursuit for adults with acquired disability participating in rehabilitation (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 7, CD009727. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009727.pub2

Journal - Research Article

McDonald, J., McKinlay, E., Keeling, S., & Levack, W. (2017). Complex home care: Challenges arising from the blurring of boundaries between family and professional care. Kōtuitui, 12(2), 246-255. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2017.1373681

Journal - Research Article

Ohno, K., Tomori, K., Takebayashi, T., Sawada, T., Nagayama, H., Levack, W. M. M., … Higashi, T. (2017). Development of a tool to facilitate real life activity retraining in hand and arm therapy. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(5), 310-318. doi: 10.1177/0308022617692602

Journal - Research Article

Boland, P., Levack, W., Perry, M., & Graham, F. (2017). Equipment provision after stroke: A scoping review of the use of personal care and mobility aids in rehabilitation. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(2), 73-88. doi: 10.1177/0308022616664910

Journal - Research Article

McDonald, J., McKinlay, E., Keeling, S., & Levack, W. (2017). The 'wayfinding' experience of family carers who learn to manage technical health procedures at home: A grounded theory study. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 31(4), 850-858. doi: 10.1111/scs.12406

Journal - Research Article

Newton-Howes, G., Beverley, G., Ellis, P. M., Gordon, S., & Levack, W. (2018). What do final year medical students understand by the concept of recovery? A descriptive qualitative study. Academic Psychiatry, 42(3), 382-385. doi: 10.1007/s40596-017-0823-0

Journal - Research Article

McDonald, J., McKinlay, E., Keeling, S., & Levack, W. (2016). Becoming an expert carer: The process of family carers learning to manage technical health procedures at home. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(9), 2173-2184. doi: 10.1111/jan.12984

Journal - Research Article

Theadom, A., Rowland, V., Levack, W., Starkey, N., Wilkinson-Meyers, L., McPherson, K., on behalf of the TBI Experiences Group. (2016). Exploring the experience of sleep and fatigue in male and female adults over the 2 years following traumatic brain injury: A qualitative descriptive study. BMJ Open, 6(4), e010453. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010453

Journal - Research Article

Newton-Howes, G., Levack, W. M. M., McBride, S., Gilmore, M., & Tester, R. (2016). Non-physiological mechanisms influencing disulfiram treatment of alcohol use disorder: A grounded theory study. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 165, 126-131. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.05.027

Journal - Research Article

McNaughton, A., Aldington, S., Williams, G., & Levack, W. M. M. (2016). Sing Your Lungs Out: A qualitative study of a community singing group for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). BMJ Open, 6(9), e012521. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012521

Journal - Research Article

Washbourn, R., Levack, W. M. M., Graham, F., & Currey, N. (2016). Te Vaerua Community Rehabilitation Service: A participation action research study of community based rehabilitation in the Cook Islands. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 44(2), 97-104. doi: 10.15619/NZJP/44.2.06

Journal - Research Article

Timothy, E. K., Graham, F. P., & Levack, W. M. M. (2016). Transitions in the embodied experience after stroke: Grounded theory study. Physical Therapy, 96(10), 1565-1575. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20150419

Journal - Research Article

Mistry, H., Levack, W. M., & Johnson, S. (2015). Enabling people, not completing tasks: Patient perspectives on relationships and staff morale in mental health wards in England. BMC Psychiatry, 15, 307. doi: 10.1186/s12888-015-0690-8

Journal - Research Article

McDonald, J., McKinlay, E., Keeling, S., & Levack, W. (2015). How family carers engage with technical health procedures in the home: A grounded theory study. BMJ Open, 5(7), e007761. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007761

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Poot, B., Weatherall, M., & Travers, J. (2015). Interventions for sexual dysfunction in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 9, CD011442. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011442.pub2

Journal - Research Article

Martin, R., Levack, W. M. M., & Sinnott, K. A. (2015). Life goals and social identity in people with severe acquired brain injury: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Disability & Rehabilitation, 37(14), 1234-1241. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2014.961653

Journal - Research Article

Thomas, E. J., Levack, W. M. M., & Taylor, W. J. (2015). Rehabilitation and recovery of self-identity. In K. McPherson, B. E. Gibson & A. Leplège (Eds.), Rethinking rehabilitation: Theory and practice. (pp. 163-190). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Siegert, R. J., & Levack, W. M. M. (Eds.). (2015). Rehabilitation goal setting: Theory, practice and evidence. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 412p.

Edited Book - Research

Grainger, R., Boland, P., & Levack, W. (2014). Confident, credible but lonely–outcomes following postgraduate interprofessional education in rehabilitation. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice & Education, 4(2). Retrieved from http://www.jripe.org/index.php/journal/article/view/163

Journal - Research Article

Hale, L., Jones, F., Mulligan, H., Levack, W., Smith, C., Claydon, L., Milosavljevic, S., Taylor, D., Allan, J., MacKenzie, N., Flannery, J., Edwards, S., Rabone, T., & Alcock, M. (2014). Developing the Bridges self-management programme for New Zealand stroke survivors: A case study. International Journal of Therapy & Rehabilitation, 21(8), 381-388. doi: 10.12968/ijtr.2014.21.8.381

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Poot, B., Weatherall, M., & Travers, J. (2014). Interventions for sexual dysfunction in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12, CD011442. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011442

Journal - Research Other

Thomas, E. J., Levack, W. M. M., & Taylor, W. J. (2014). Self-reflective meaning making in troubled times: Change in self-identity after traumatic brain injury. Qualitative Health Research, 24(8), 1033-1047. doi: 10.1177/1049732314542809

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M. (2014). Sexual wellbeing for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Relevance and roles of physiotherapy. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 42(2), 170-176. [Commentary].

Journal - Research Other

Brown, M., Levack, W., McPherson, K. M., Dean, S. G., Reed, K., Weatherall, M., & Taylor, W. J. (2014). Survival, momentum, and things that make me "me": Patients' perceptions of goal setting after stroke. Disability & Rehabilitation, 36(12), 1020-1026. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2013.825653

Journal - Research Article

Boland, P., Levack, W. M. M., Hudson, S., & Bell, E. M. (2012). Coping with multiple sclerosis as a couple: 'Peaks and troughs': An interpretative phenomenological exploration. Disability & Rehabilitation, 34(16), 1367-1375. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2011.645115

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Siegert, R. J., Dean, S. G., McPherson, K., Hay-Smith, E. J. C., & Weatherall, M. M. (2012). Goal setting and activities to enhance goal pursuit for adults with acquired disabilities participating in rehabilitation (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4, CD009727. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009727

Journal - Research Other

Zaidi, M. A., Griffiths, R., & Levack, W. (2012). Healthcare providers' perspectives on occupational exposure to HIV: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research, 3(9), 179. doi: 10.4172/2155-6113.1000179

Journal - Research Article

Zaidi, M. A., Griffiths, R., Newson-Smith, M., & Levack, W. (2012). Impact of stigma, culture and law on healthcare providers after occupational exposure to HIV and hepatitis C. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 14(4), 379-391. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2011.646304

Journal - Research Article

Tyrrell, E. F., Levack, W. M., Ritchie, L. H., & Keeling, S. M. (2012). Nursing contribution to the rehabilitation of older patients: Patient and family perspectives. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(11), 2466-2476. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.05944.x

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W., & Dean, S. G. (2012). Processes in rehabilitation. In S. G. Dean, R. J. Siegert & W. J. Taylor (Eds.), Interprofessional rehabilitation: A person-centred approach. (pp. 79-107). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Chapter in Book - Research

Levack, W. M. M. (2012). The role of qualitative metasynthesis in evidence-based physical therapy. Physical Therapy Reviews, 17(6), 390-397. doi: 10.1179/1743288X12Y.0000000020

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M. M., Weatherall, M., Reeve, J. C., Mans, C., & Mauro, A. (2012). Uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation in New Zealand by people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2009. New Zealand Medical Journal, 125(1348). Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Levack, W. M., Rathore, F. A., & Negrini, S. (2020). Expert opinions leave space for uncertainty when defining rehabilitation interventions: Analysis of difficult decisions regarding categorization of rehabilitation reviews in the Cochrane library. European Journal of Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine, 56(5), 661-666. doi: 10.23736/s1973-9087.20.06615-0

Journal - Research Article

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