People_

Dr Johnny Bourke

BA, MHealsSc (Rehabilitation), PhD

Email

johnny.bourke@sydney.edu.au

Websites

Researchgate

Twitter

Biographical details

Dr Johnny Bourke is a Research Fellow at the John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research at The University of Sydney. He has a PhD from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, a Masters of Health Science (rehab) from the University of Otago in New Zealand and a BA (psych) from Massey University in New Zealand. He was awarded the Canterbury Medical Research Fund Emerging Researcher Fellowship for 2022 examining positive relationships between disabled people and support workers.

Research interests

Johnny has extensive experience researching a range of rehabilitation and disability issues. His lived experience of high-level spinal cord injury, combined with his academic experience, has allowed him to build a particularly unique understanding of the clinical and theoretical contexts in which rehabilitation and disability services are developed and delivered. Johnny's key research interests include community participation following injury, the lived experience of rehabilitation and disability theory and policy. Much of his work has focused on using co-design methods to promote the greater engagement of people with the lived experience of injury and disability in the research process.

Current projects

Telling Our Stories: Disabled Medical Students’ Perspectives of Medical School. Otago Medical School (OMS) Medical Education Research Fund. Grainger, R., Bourke, J., Martin. R., Wyeth, E., Derrett, S.2022/2023.
Conceptualising factors contributing to positive relationships between Disabled Support Workers and Disabled People in Canterbury. Canterbury Medical Research Foundation. 2022/2023.
Spinal Cord Injury Health Maintenance Tool - digitisation and development of an additional module in mental health. iCare/Research Grant. 2022/2023.

Awards and honours

University of Sydney Reseach Excellence and Inclusion Prize 2025 - Laffan Prize

Canterbury Medical Research Fund Emerging Researcher Fellowship 2022/2023

Best student presentation at the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine/New Zealand Rehabilitation Association Conference Wellington October 2015

First place thesis-in-three competition, College of Education, University of Canterbury 2014

Publications

By Type

Expand all

Journals

Unger, J., Wolfe, D., Bourke, J., Middleton, J. (2025). Editorial: Co-design of rehabilitation programming. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5. [More Information]
Middleton, J., Arora, M., Sinnott Jerram, A., Bourke, J., McCormick, M., O'Leary, D. (2024). Co-design of the Spinal Cord Injury Health Maintenance Tool to Support Self-Management: A Mixed-Methods Approach. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 30(1), 59-73. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Bragge, P., River, J., Sinnott Jerram, A., Arora, M., Middleton, J. (2024). Shining a light on the road towards conducting principle-based co-production research in rehabilitation. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5. [More Information]
Layton, N., Martin, R., Bourke, J., Kayes, N. (2024). Structures of Oppression or Inclusion: What Systemic Factors Impact Inclusion in Disability and Rehabilitation Research? Social Sciences, 13(5), 229. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Johns, J., Martin, R. (2024). Unpacking how trust, communication and flow interact to sustain quality relationships between disabled people, family and support workers: a realist qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Sinnott Jerram, A., Arora, M., Craig, A., Middleton, J. (2024). Using the consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to integrate innovation recipients’ perspectives into the implementation of a digital version of the spinal cord injury health maintenance tool: a qualitative analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 390. [More Information]
Kifley, A., Geraghty, T., Arora, M., Bourke, J., Craig, A., Cameron, I., Nunn, A., Marshall, R., Middleton, J. (2023). Complex lived experiences and hidden disability after spinal cord injury: a latent profile analysis of the Australian arm of the International Spinal Cord Injury (Aus-InSCI) Community Survey. Disability and Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Owen, H., Derrett, S., Wyeth, E. (2023). Disrupted mana and systemic abdication: Māori qualitative experiences accessing healthcare in the 12 years post-injury. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Young, T., Grace, C., Caldwell, J., Martin, R. (2023). Dissolving Ableism: Could Disabled People Flourish During the First Aotearoa New Zealand COVID-19 Lockdown? Space and Culture, 26(3), 323-338. [More Information]
Martin, R., Johns, J., Hackney, J., Bourke, J., Young, T., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2023). Early Opportunities to Explore Occupational Identity Change: Qualitative Study of Return To Work Experiences After Stroke. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 55, jrm00363. [More Information]
Schoffl, J., Arora, M., Pozzato, I., McBain, C., Rodrigues, D., Vafa, E., Middleton, J., Davis, G., Gustin, S., Bourke, J., Kifley, A., Cameron, I., Craig, A., et al (2023). Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Adults with a Spinal Cord Injury: A Laboratory Framework and Case Series. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(24), 7664. [More Information]
Timothy, E., Bourke, J., Dunn, J., Martin, R., Nunnerley, J. (2023). United and flexible: a collaborative approach to early vocational rehabilitation on a spinal unit. A realist study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 9(1), 33. [More Information]
Dunn, J., Martin, R., Hackney, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Bourke, J., Young, T., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2022). Developing A Conceptual Framework for Early Intervention Vocational Rehabilitation for People Following Spinal Cord Injury. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J. (2022). The Lived Experience of Interdependence: Support Worker Relationships and Implications for Wider Rehabilitation. Brain Impairment, 23(1), 118-124. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nichols-Dunsmuir, A., Begg, A., Dong, H., Schluter, P. (2022). Understanding the longer-term health, wellbeing, and sense of community for disabled people following the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes: A repeated cross-sectional study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 67. [More Information]
Martin, R., Nunnerley, J., Young, T., Hall, A., Snell, D., Hackney, J., Bourke, J., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2022). Vocational wayfinding following spinal cord injury: In what contexts, how and why does early intervention vocational rehabilitation work? Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 56(3), 243-254. [More Information]
Nunnerley, J., Martin, R., Aldridge, M., Bourke, J., Simpson, I. (2021). Access to community support workers during hospital admission for people with spinal cord injury: a pilot study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 7(1). [More Information]
Dunn, J., Hackney, J., Martin, R., Tietjens, D., Young, T., Bourke, J., Snell, D., Nunnerley, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2021). Development of a Programme Theory for Early Intervention Vocational Rehabilitation: A Realist Literature Review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 31(4), 730-743. [More Information]
Snell, D., Hackney, J., Maggo, J., Martin, R., Nunnerley, J., Bourke, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2021). Early vocational rehabilitation after spinal cord injury: A survey of service users. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 55(3), 251-270. [More Information]
Dunn, J., Martin, R., Hackney, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Bourke, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2021). Early vocational rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury: A research protocol using realist synthesis and interviews to understand how and why it works. BMJ Open, 11(5). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nichols-Dunsmuir, A., Begg, A., Dong, H., Schluter, P. (2021). Measuring disability: An agreement study between two disability measures. Disability and Health Journal, 14(2). [More Information]
Wyeth, E., Derrett, S., Nelson, V., Bourke, J., Crengle, S., Davie, G., Harcombe, H. (2021). Pois-10 māori: Outcomes and experiences in the decade following injury. Methods and Protocols, 4(2). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nunnerley, J., Sullivan, M., Derrett, S. (2019). Relationships and the transition from spinal units to community for people with a first spinal cord injury: A New Zealand qualitative study. Disability and Health Journal, 12(2), 257-262. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Sinnott Jerram, A. (2019). The Burwood Academy: incorporating the principles of the independent living paradigm into rehabilitation research. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 12(3), 240-248. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Catherwood, V., Nunnerley, J., Martin, R., Levack, W., Thompson, B., Acland, R. (2019). Using cannabis for pain management after spinal cord injury: a qualitative study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 5(1). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D., Schluter, P. (2017). Community inclusion of wheelchair users during the long-term recovery phase following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 23, 169-177. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Schluter, P., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D. (2016). Respondent driven sampling of wheelchair users: A lack of traction? F1000Research, 5. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D., DeJong, G. (2015). Attending to biographical disruption: The experience of rehabilitation following tetraplegia due to spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(4), 296-303. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Snell, D., Sinnott, K., Cassidy, B. (2012). A user-led consultation model: Making inclusion of service users in research a reality. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 5(2), 61-69. [More Information]
Sinnott, K., Cassidy, B., Nunnerley, J., Bourke, J., Kunowski, T. (2010). Commentary on community participation following spinal cord injury in New Zealand. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 15(4), 63-71. [More Information]

show 27 more

By Year

Expand all

2025

Unger, J., Wolfe, D., Bourke, J., Middleton, J. (2025). Editorial: Co-design of rehabilitation programming. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5. [More Information]

2024

Middleton, J., Arora, M., Sinnott Jerram, A., Bourke, J., McCormick, M., O'Leary, D. (2024). Co-design of the Spinal Cord Injury Health Maintenance Tool to Support Self-Management: A Mixed-Methods Approach. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 30(1), 59-73. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Bragge, P., River, J., Sinnott Jerram, A., Arora, M., Middleton, J. (2024). Shining a light on the road towards conducting principle-based co-production research in rehabilitation. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5. [More Information]
Layton, N., Martin, R., Bourke, J., Kayes, N. (2024). Structures of Oppression or Inclusion: What Systemic Factors Impact Inclusion in Disability and Rehabilitation Research? Social Sciences, 13(5), 229. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Johns, J., Martin, R. (2024). Unpacking how trust, communication and flow interact to sustain quality relationships between disabled people, family and support workers: a realist qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Sinnott Jerram, A., Arora, M., Craig, A., Middleton, J. (2024). Using the consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to integrate innovation recipients’ perspectives into the implementation of a digital version of the spinal cord injury health maintenance tool: a qualitative analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 390. [More Information]

show 2 more

2023

Kifley, A., Geraghty, T., Arora, M., Bourke, J., Craig, A., Cameron, I., Nunn, A., Marshall, R., Middleton, J. (2023). Complex lived experiences and hidden disability after spinal cord injury: a latent profile analysis of the Australian arm of the International Spinal Cord Injury (Aus-InSCI) Community Survey. Disability and Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Owen, H., Derrett, S., Wyeth, E. (2023). Disrupted mana and systemic abdication: Māori qualitative experiences accessing healthcare in the 12 years post-injury. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Young, T., Grace, C., Caldwell, J., Martin, R. (2023). Dissolving Ableism: Could Disabled People Flourish During the First Aotearoa New Zealand COVID-19 Lockdown? Space and Culture, 26(3), 323-338. [More Information]
Martin, R., Johns, J., Hackney, J., Bourke, J., Young, T., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2023). Early Opportunities to Explore Occupational Identity Change: Qualitative Study of Return To Work Experiences After Stroke. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 55, jrm00363. [More Information]
Schoffl, J., Arora, M., Pozzato, I., McBain, C., Rodrigues, D., Vafa, E., Middleton, J., Davis, G., Gustin, S., Bourke, J., Kifley, A., Cameron, I., Craig, A., et al (2023). Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Adults with a Spinal Cord Injury: A Laboratory Framework and Case Series. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(24), 7664. [More Information]
Timothy, E., Bourke, J., Dunn, J., Martin, R., Nunnerley, J. (2023). United and flexible: a collaborative approach to early vocational rehabilitation on a spinal unit. A realist study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 9(1), 33. [More Information]

show 3 more

2022

Dunn, J., Martin, R., Hackney, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Bourke, J., Young, T., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2022). Developing A Conceptual Framework for Early Intervention Vocational Rehabilitation for People Following Spinal Cord Injury. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. [More Information]
Bourke, J. (2022). The Lived Experience of Interdependence: Support Worker Relationships and Implications for Wider Rehabilitation. Brain Impairment, 23(1), 118-124. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nichols-Dunsmuir, A., Begg, A., Dong, H., Schluter, P. (2022). Understanding the longer-term health, wellbeing, and sense of community for disabled people following the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes: A repeated cross-sectional study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 67. [More Information]
Martin, R., Nunnerley, J., Young, T., Hall, A., Snell, D., Hackney, J., Bourke, J., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2022). Vocational wayfinding following spinal cord injury: In what contexts, how and why does early intervention vocational rehabilitation work? Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 56(3), 243-254. [More Information]

show 1 more

2021

Nunnerley, J., Martin, R., Aldridge, M., Bourke, J., Simpson, I. (2021). Access to community support workers during hospital admission for people with spinal cord injury: a pilot study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 7(1). [More Information]
Dunn, J., Hackney, J., Martin, R., Tietjens, D., Young, T., Bourke, J., Snell, D., Nunnerley, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2021). Development of a Programme Theory for Early Intervention Vocational Rehabilitation: A Realist Literature Review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 31(4), 730-743. [More Information]
Snell, D., Hackney, J., Maggo, J., Martin, R., Nunnerley, J., Bourke, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S., Dunn, J. (2021). Early vocational rehabilitation after spinal cord injury: A survey of service users. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 55(3), 251-270. [More Information]
Dunn, J., Martin, R., Hackney, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Bourke, J., Hall, A., Derrett, S. (2021). Early vocational rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury: A research protocol using realist synthesis and interviews to understand how and why it works. BMJ Open, 11(5). [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nichols-Dunsmuir, A., Begg, A., Dong, H., Schluter, P. (2021). Measuring disability: An agreement study between two disability measures. Disability and Health Journal, 14(2). [More Information]
Wyeth, E., Derrett, S., Nelson, V., Bourke, J., Crengle, S., Davie, G., Harcombe, H. (2021). Pois-10 māori: Outcomes and experiences in the decade following injury. Methods and Protocols, 4(2). [More Information]

show 3 more

2019

Bourke, J., Nunnerley, J., Sullivan, M., Derrett, S. (2019). Relationships and the transition from spinal units to community for people with a first spinal cord injury: A New Zealand qualitative study. Disability and Health Journal, 12(2), 257-262. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Nunnerley, J., Snell, D., Sinnott Jerram, A. (2019). The Burwood Academy: incorporating the principles of the independent living paradigm into rehabilitation research. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 12(3), 240-248. [More Information]
Bourke, J., Catherwood, V., Nunnerley, J., Martin, R., Levack, W., Thompson, B., Acland, R. (2019). Using cannabis for pain management after spinal cord injury: a qualitative study. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 5(1). [More Information]

2017

Bourke, J., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D., Schluter, P. (2017). Community inclusion of wheelchair users during the long-term recovery phase following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 23, 169-177. [More Information]

2016

Bourke, J., Schluter, P., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D. (2016). Respondent driven sampling of wheelchair users: A lack of traction? F1000Research, 5. [More Information]

2015

Bourke, J., Hay-Smith, E., Snell, D., DeJong, G. (2015). Attending to biographical disruption: The experience of rehabilitation following tetraplegia due to spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(4), 296-303. [More Information]

2012

Bourke, J., Snell, D., Sinnott, K., Cassidy, B. (2012). A user-led consultation model: Making inclusion of service users in research a reality. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 5(2), 61-69. [More Information]

2010

Sinnott, K., Cassidy, B., Nunnerley, J., Bourke, J., Kunowski, T. (2010). Commentary on community participation following spinal cord injury in New Zealand. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 15(4), 63-71. [More Information]

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Dr Johnny Bourke

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