Chantel Ostler

My role

My role is to support clinicians to get involved in research in a way the suits their role as well as their interests. I am passionate about making research more accessible and love creative approaches to growing research cultures in partnership with patients and local communities.

My responsibilities

• Support clinicians to get involved in research in a way that suits them

• Continually work with and alongside patients and the public to ensure the research we undertake is important and fun to take part in

• Develop clinical academic career pathways that develop NHS research leaders of the future

• Provide research skill training and development that is fit for purpose in community settings

• Build sustainable partnerships with local communities based around how research can be useful and meaningful to them

• Facilitate the development of research groups with academics from local universities to explore and address issues faced by our patient and services

• Support funding applications involving clinical teams to undertake larger scale research projects or development fellowships

• Build a research culture that is integrated with other improvement methods 

My background

As well as the role I undertake with the Academy I also work clinically at the regional prosthetic rehabilitation service, where I work as a specialist physiotherapist providing rehabilitation following lower limb amputation. I have worked in this service for almost 20 years and it is the focus of my research interest with many of my own projects focused on problems faced by patients and clinicians in this setting. 

In addition to this I am part of the Masters in Amputation and Prosthetic Rehabilitation programme at the University of Southampton. I teach on the course and supervise masters and PhD students within the University and beyond. These combined roles have helped me realise my ambition to become a clinical academic and I feel very lucky to be able to combine these two worlds, bringing up to date research knowledge and skills to my clinical practice and ensuring research and education are informed by what is clinically relevant.  

Why I love my job

Because I get the chance to work with patients and clinicians in so many different ways, all focused on continually improving the services we provide.

Current projects

I have just completed my PhD exploring meaningful outcome measurement in prosthetic rehabilitation and have developed a model of outcome domains which represent success from the patients perspective, the ECLIPSE model.

I have been able to build on this work and secure an NIHR Research for Patient Benefit award which will allow myself and a team from the University of Southampton and Nottingham Trent Universities to explore how healthcare data, including outcome measurement, is used in prosthetic rehabilitation, and what would be required for a patient centred nationwide data collection initiative. 

I also collaborate on a variety of other research grants exploring socket comfort, digital socket manufacturing and app development. I supervise several students as part of my role at the University of Southampton and am always keen to get involved in any research building the prosthetic rehabilitation evidence base. 

Publications

Ostler, C., Scott, H., Sedki, I., Kheng, S., Donovan-Hall, M., Dickinson, A. and Metcalf, C., 2022. From outcome measurement to improving health outcomes after lower limb amputation—A narrative review exploring outcome measurement from a clinical practice perspective. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 46(4), pp.e341-e350.

Ostler, C., Donovan-Hall, M., Dickinson, A. and Metcalf, C., 2023. Exploring meaningful outcome domains of recovery following lower limb amputation and prosthetic rehabilitation: the patient’s perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation, 45(23), pp.3937-3950.

Ostler, C., Donovan-Hall, M., Dickinson, A. and Metcalf, C., 2024. Exploring the patient experience and perspectives of taking part in outcome measurement during lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation: A qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation, IN PRESS.

Ostler, C., Ellis-Hill, C. and Donovan-Hall, M., 2014. Expectations of rehabilitation following lower limb amputation: a qualitative study. Disability and rehabilitation, 36(14), pp.1169-1175.

Olsen, J., Turner, S., Chadwell, A., Dickinson, A., Ostler, C., Armitage, L., McGregor, A.H., Dupan, S. and Day, S., 2022. The impact of limited prosthetic socket documentation: a researcher perspective. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 3, p.853414.

Dickinson, A., Donovan-Hall, M., Kheng, S., Wiegand, S., Wills, G., Ostler, C., Srors, S., Tech, A., Granat, M., Kenney, L. and Pathak, P., 2019. Technologies to enhance quality and access to Prosthetics & Orthotics: the importance of a multidisciplinary, user-centred approach.

Al Dossary, N.M., Ostler, C., Donovan-Hall, M. and Metcalf, C.D., 2022. Non-oncological outcomes following limb salvage surgery in patients with knee sarcoma: a scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(16), pp.4531-4545.

Van Willigen, Z., Ostler, C., Thackray, D. and Cusack, R., 2020. Patient and family experience of physical rehabilitation on the intensive care unit: a qualitative exploration. Physiotherapy, 109, pp.102-110.

Dickinson, A., Gates, L., Metcalf, C., Owen, C., Kheng, S., Harte, C., Bunthoeun, S., Simpson, S., Worsley, P., Ostler, C. and Donovan-Hall, M., 2022. Learning about the changing needs for prosthetics service provision from routinely collected digital centre management data: an exemplar study across three clinics in Cambodia. Journal of Global Health, 12.

Andrysek, J., Berthaume, M., Boone, D., Chang, S., Chockalingam, N., Dickinson, A., Gard, S., Harte, C., Healy, A., Kenney, L. and Metcalf, C., 2021. Ethical considerations and approaches for conducting clinical research studies related to prosthetics, orthotics and wheelchair technology in the low-and middle-income countries.

Metcalf, C.D., Ostler, C., Thor, P., Kheng, S., Srors, S., Sann, R., Worsley, P., Gates, L., Donovan-Hall, M., Harte, C. and Dickinson, A., 2023. Engaging multisector stakeholders to identify priorities for global health innovation, change and research: an engagement methodology and application to prosthetics service delivery in Cambodia. Disability and Rehabilitation, pp.1-12.

Ostler, C, Gilbertson, A. Hatfield, A. Cole, A (2012) Investigating the quality of primary clinic assessments at Portsmouth’s Prosthetic Limb Centre, The Network Case Book, 2nd Edition.

Scopes, J. Cole, M.J., Cumming, J., Golland, N., Hayes, S., Ostler, C., Tisdale, L., (2014). Bacpar Toolbox Of Outcome Measures Version 2. Professional Network Report ed. British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Amputee Rehabilitation