Doctor Katie Hammill

Adjunct Fellow,
Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy,
Occupational Therapy

Biography
Contact
Publications
Projects
Teaching
Media

Biography

Dr Kathrine (Katie) Hammill is a registered occupational therapist who graduated from Western Sydney University in 2005 with First Class Honours. After graduation Katie held a variety of clinical and managerial positions within South Western Sydney Local Health District. Her clinical specialties lie in palliative care, oncology, lymphoedema, chronic illness and rehabilitation. However, she has experience working across various areas of the health care system including acute inpatient care, outpatients, and community-based care. Katie also has experience setting up occupational therapy services in Palliative Care, Cancer Care and in Medical Assessment Units. Katie commenced at Western in 2014 as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy in the School of Science and Health.

When working as an occupational therapist, Katie identified that there was a lack of evidence to guide occupational therapy practice in palliative care and oncology. This led her to complete her PhD which was a mixed-methods study exploring the scope of practice of palliative care occupational therapy in Australia, and the professional reasoning used by occupational therapists working with people living with life-limiting illnesses. This is the largest national study to have been completed in palliative care occupational therapy and the research findings provide information on the demographic and work profiles of occupational therapists working in Australia with people with a terminal illness, occupational therapists’ perceptions on what clients want to engage in at the end of life, the occupational therapy process for people living with a terminal illness, and the educational and supervisory requirements of occupational therapists working in this area.

Since the completion of her PhD in 2015, Katie’s research agenda has been predominately driven by her clinical experiences in palliative care, oncology, lymphoedema, chronic illness and rehabilitation. Katie aims to positively impact the health, well-being, and quality of life of people living with life-limiting and chronic illnesses through her research. More recently, Katie is leading innovative research into the experiences of carers and adoptive parents who look after children with life-limiting illnesses in care, and trauma informed occupational therapy practice in conjunction with Dr Stacy Blythe from the School of Midwifery and Nursing.

Additionally, Katie's research has been regonised by Western Sydney University, where she has been awarded a Vice-Chancellors Professional Development Award (2016), a Early Career Researcher Grant (2018), and a Women's Fellowship Grant (2019).

Katie has expertise in qualitative research design and analysis. She has experience conducting grounded theory, thematic analysis, phenomenology, and video ethnography as well as survey design and implementation.

At Western, Katie co-ordinates and teaches across a number of occupational therapy units, with a focus on occupation and ageing, palliative care, and occupation and the environment. Katie enjoys mentoring research students, and presenting and publishing her research findings both nationally and internationally.

This information has been contributed by Doctor Hammill.

Qualifications

PhD University of Western Sydney
BApps(Hons)OT University of Western Sydney

Professional Memberships

Australian Allied Health in Palliative Care (2014 - 2023)
Occupational Therapy Australia (2015 - 2024)

Awards

Australian Post Graduate Award 2011-01-01

Interests

Foster and Adoption
Lymphoedema
Occupational therapy
Oncology
Palliative care
Rehabilitation
Student education
Trauma Informed Care

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

Dean's Unit, School of Health Sciences
Occupational Therapy

Committees

Australian Allied Health in Palliative Care Steering Committee
National Advisory Group Member for the Palliative Care Education Collaboration
Occupational Therapy Australia

Contact

Email:	K.Hammill@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone:	(02) 4620 3340
Mobile:
Location:	24.2.14 Campbelltown

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Teaching

Previous Teaching Areas

400165 Occupation and the Environment, 2014
400165 Occupation and the Environment, 2015
400165 Occupation and the Environment, 2016
400165 Occupation and the Environment, 2017
400176 Occupation and Ageing, 2017
400176 Occupation and Ageing, 2018
400865 Evidence-Based Practice, 2014
400907 Occupational Therapy Practice 1, 2014
400907 Occupational Therapy Practice 1, 2015
400907 Occupational Therapy Practice 1, 2016
400908 People, Environment and Occupations, 2015
400908 People, Environment and Occupations, 2016
400917 Occupational Therapy Specialties, 2015
400917 Occupational Therapy Specialties, 2016
400917 Occupational Therapy Specialties, 2017
400917 Occupational Therapy Specialties, 2018
401124 Occupational Therapy Specialties, 2018

Publications

Books

Hammill, K. (2018), 'Helping You Live Until You Die: A Guide for People with Life-limiting Illness, Their Family and Friends', : Occupational Therapy Australia .

Chapters in Books

Hammill, K. and Bye, R. (2018), 'Palliative and end of life care', Clinical and Professional Reasoning in Occupational Therapy, Wolters Kluwer Health 9781496335890.
Rosenberg, J. and Hammill, K. (2018), 'Health promotion and rehabilitation in palliative care', Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life, Springer 9780826127129.
Rosenberg, J. and Hammill, K. (2015), 'Health promotion and rehabilitation in palliative care', Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life, Springer 9780826196354.

Journal Articles

Lewis, E., Hammill, K., Culbert, R., van der Merwe, M., Sahay, A., Turner, R. and Cardona, M. (2023), 'Delivering prognostic news to older people with chronic disease : what format preference and level of involvement in decision making? : a hospital survey', Healthcare, vol 11, no 3 .
Lewis, E., Hammill, K., Ticehurst, M., Turner, R., Greenaway, S., Hillman, K., Carlini, J. and Cardona, M. (2021), 'How do patients with life-limiting illness and caregivers want end-of-life prognostic information delivered : a pilot study', Healthcare, vol 9, no 7 .
Lewis, E., Mahimbo, A., Linhart, C., Williamson, M., Morgan, M., Hammill, K., Hall, J. and Cardona, M. (2020), 'General practitioners' perceptions on the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a risk prediction checklist to support their end-of-life discussions in routine care : a qualitative study', Family Practice, vol 37, no 5 , pp 703 - 710.
Hammill, K., Stewart, C., Kosic, N., Bellamy, L., Irvine, H., Hutley, D. and Arblaster, K. (2019), 'Exploring the impact of brain cancer on people and their participation', British Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol 82, no 3 , pp 162 - 169.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2019), 'Occupational engagement of people living with a life-limiting illness : occupational therapists' perceptions', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 66, no 2 , pp 145 - 153.
Bellamy, L., Irvine, H., Hammill, K. and Arblaster, K. (2018), 'Putting your body, mind and soul at rest : well-being for people living with brain cancer', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 12 - 12.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2018), 'The occupational therapy process for people living with a life-limiting illness : changing directions for future service provision', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 66 - 66.
Berry, C. and Hammill, K. (2018), 'A thematic analysis of family-centred practice in palliative care : insights for occupational therapy practice', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 113 - 113.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2017), 'Workforce profile of Australian occupational therapists working with people who are terminally ill', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no 1 , pp 58 - 67.
Hammill, K. (2017), 'The role of emotional intelligence in palliative care occupational therapy', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 66 - 66.
Hammill, K., Stewart, C. and Liu, K. (2017), 'Assessments of emotional intelligence for palliative care practice : a systematic review', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 112 - 112.
Kosic, N., Stewart, C. and Hammill, K. (2017), 'Living with brain cancer : identifying unmet needs and gaps in occupational therapy practice', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 64, no Suppl. 2 , pp 13 - 13.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2015), 'Occupational engagement at the end-of-life : occupational therapists' perceptions', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 62, no Suppl. 1 , pp 51 - 51.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2015), 'Challenges to occupational therapy practice in palliative care : future implications for education and supervison', Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol 62, no S1 , pp 97 - 97.
Hammill, K., Bye, R. and Cook, C. (2014), 'Occupational therapy for people living with a life limiting illness : a thematic review', British Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol 77, no 11 , pp 582 - 589.
Hammill, K., McCluskey, A. and Lannin, N. (2008), 'Interrater reliability of a new handwriting assessment battery for adults', American Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol 62, no 5 , pp 595 - 599.

Conference Papers

Hammill, K., Dadich, A., Aggarwal, R., Peronchik, J., Vasquez, D. and Bejjani, C. (2018), 'A family-video to die for : bringing the family back to family-centred palliative care with VRE', Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated. Conference, University of Sydney.
Carson, C., Cummins, A., Bye, R. and Hammill, K. (2011), 'Occupational engagement of women with post-breast cancer lymphoedema : using women's perspectives to create an evidence-base', Occupational Therapy Australia. National Conference and Exhibition, Gold Coast, Qld..

Katie's research training began in her undergradute occupational therapy degree where she investigated the interrater reliability of a new adult handwriting assessment battery for use with adults post stroke under the supervision of Dr Annie McCluskey. This study involved the collection of data, completion of handwriting retraining and investigating the interrater reliability of the Handwriting Assessment Battery.

Katie commenced her PhD in 2011 under the supervision of Dr Rosalind Bye and Dr Catherine Cook. Katie's mixed methods study was entitled ‘A national survey of occupational therapists working with people living with terminal illness: Profile, role, context, professional reasoning and challenges’ and was the largest national study to have been completed in palliative care occupational therapy. Research findings provide information on the demographic and work profiles of occupational therapists working in Australia with people with a terminal illness, occupational therapists’ perceptions on what clients want to engage in at the end of life, the occupational therapy process for people living with a terminal illness, and the educational and supervisory requirements of occupational therapists working in this area.

Since her PhD was conferred in 2015, Katie has completed research in the areas of emotional intelligence in palliative care, brain cancer, family-centred practice in palliative care, occupational engagement at the end of life, and home modifications in-conjunction with the honours students she supervises.

In 2018 Katie received a Western Sydney University Early Career Researcher grant and is currently investigating what constitutes good family-centred practice in palliative care. This ethnographic study is due for completion in December 2018. She also received a Western Sydney University School of Science and Health Early Career Researcher grant and is investigating Breast cancer blogs: A new way of understanding the impact of breast cancer on women’s participation.

Additionally, Katie is part of a palliative care research collaboration between researchers based at Bond University, and the Simpson Centre for Health Services Research. Together they are currently researching patient prognositic preferences in chronic and life-limiting illness, and identifying goals of care in patients with chronic and/or life limiting illneses in an acute hospital.

Katie is also currently working with Dr Stacy Blythe from the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Together they are co-supervising honours students who are Investigating the incidence and experiences of foster/kinship/guardianships/permeant carers/adoptive parents’ providing care to children with chronic and/or life-limiting illnesses in Australia as well as Investigating occupational therapists’ knowledge and experiences of providing trauma-informed occupational therapy practice to foster and adoptive children in Australia.

Katie's primary research interests include: occupational therapy in palliative care, oncology, lymphoedema, rehabilitation, aged care, trauma-informed care, and foster and adoption. Katie is happy to supervise anyone who is looking to do research into topics related to her interest areas, and she enjoys completing research projects with therapists at local hospitals who have identified real practice needs.