Associate Professor Dave Parsons

Campus Lead (Fremantle) - Occupational Therapy

Email: dave.parsons@nd.edu.au

  • Biography

    Dave Parsons is the Campus Lead (Fremantle) in the Occupational Therapy Discipline within the School of Health Sciences. Dave graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in 2006. Dave completed his PhD in 2020 and conducts research in the area of hand and upper limb therapy, child health, digital health, and health professional education. Dave’s teaching work includes and teaching in the areas of occupational therapy theory and practice, hand and upper limb rehabilitation, and professional practice.

  • Teaching areas

    • Occupational therapy theory and practice
    • Hand and upper limb rehabilitation
    • Professional practice

  • Research expertise and supervision

    • Honours
    • MPhil
    • PhD

  • Book chapters

    • Parsons, D. & Brayshaw, J. Physical Agent Modalities. (In Print) In. Wietlisbach, C. M. (Eds) Cooper's Fundamentals of Hand Therapy: Clinical Reasoning and Treatment Guidelines for Common Diagnoses of the Upper Extremity. (4th ed.) Elsevier Health Sciences.
    • Berndt, A., Bissett, M, Buchanan, A, & Parsons, D., (2020). Advocacy, promotion, leadership and entrepreneurship in the occupational therapy profession in Australia. In. Brown, T., Bourke-Taylor, H., Isbel, S., & Cordier, R. (Eds.). Occupational Therapy in Australia: Professional and practice issues. (2nd ed.). Routledge.
    • Buchanan, A, Parsons, D., & Milbourn B. (2020). Ethical and legal responsibilities of occupational therapy practice. In. Brown, T., Bourke-Taylor, H., Isbel, S., & Cordier, R. (Eds.). Occupational Therapy in Australia: Professional and practice issues. (2nd ed.). Routledge.

  • Journal articles and proceedings

    • Harris, E., Parsons, D., Dempster, S., Hammond, S., Calleja, P., Doyle, R., & Smart, S. (Online). Application of Practice Guideline in Supporting Dysphagic Patients Who Choose to Eat and Drink with Acknowledged Risk: Speech-Language Pathology Perspectives. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (JCPSLP).
    • Abouharb, M., Baumgartner, D., Wilkes-Gillan, S., Parsons, D., Parsons, L., Strnadová, I., Palmer, E., Chen, R. & Munro, N. (Online). Exploring the Health, Education and Social Support Needs of Individuals Diagnosed with SATB2 Associated Syndrome and their Families Living in Australia. Rare
    • Lommerzheim, R., Savira, F., Lewis, G., Taylor, G., Hari, K., Pereira, S., Heinemann, T, Barry, L, Grant, R, Parsons, D, Robinson, S. & Harper, K. (2025). Does telehealth delivery of an occupational therapy home visiting service provide a non‐inferior alternative to in‐person delivery of the same service? A matched cohort study. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 72(2), e70013.
    • Ardyansyah, B. D., Cordier, R., Brewer, M., & Parsons, D. (2025). Development and Testing of a Patient Outcome Measure for Interprofessional Tuberculosis Care: A Delphi Study. Emerging Science Journal, 9(1), 131-147.
    • Garbellini, S., Parsons, D., & Imms, C. (2025). Use of the Neurological Hand Deformity Classification in clinical practice for children with cerebral palsy: a case study approach. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-9.
    • Cowling, L, Bigwood, C, Foster, S., Pinto, A., Kong Y. X., & Parsons, D. (In Press). Exploring the Barriers and Enablers to the Standardised and Routine Use of Patient-Reported Outcomes for Patients Presenting with Hand Injuries at an Australian Public Hospital. Journal of Hand Therapy.
    • Parsons, D., Ross, R., Glasgow, C., Robinson, L., McCarron, L. & O’Brien, L. (Online). Research capacity and culture among Hand Therapists in Australia: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Hand Therapy.
    • Brown, T., Robinson, L., Gledhill, K., Yu, M. L., Isbel, S., Greber, C., Parsons, D., & Etherington, J. (2023). Predictors of undergraduate occupational therapy students’ academic performance during the Covid-19 pandemic: A hierarchical regression analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 30(4), 475-487.
    • Harper, K. J., McAuliffe, K., & Parsons, D. (2022). Barriers and facilitating factors influencing implementation of occupational therapy home assessment recommendations: A mixed methods systematic review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(5), 599-624
    • O'Brien, L., Robinson, L., Parsons, D., Glasgow, C., & McCarron, L. (2022). Hand therapy role in return to work for patients with hand and upper limb conditions. Journal of Hand Therapy, 35(2), 226-232.
    • Parsons, D., Gardner, P., Parry, S, & Smart, S (2021). Mindfulness-based approaches for managing stress, anxiety and depression for health students in tertiary education: A scoping review. Mindfulness 13,1-16, doi:10.1007/s12671-021-01740-3

  • Conference papers

    • Parsons, D., Cowling. L. & Bain, C. (2024). Invited Speaker. Perfecting Patient Reported Outcome Measures workshop. Australian Hand Therapy Association, National Conference, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
    • Parsons, D. (2023). Keynote Address: Reaching full potential in our profession as hand therapists. Australian Hand Therapy Association, National Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
    • Parsons, D. (2023). Invited Speaker: Enabling students and new graduates to thrive in hand therapy. Australian Hand Therapy Association, National Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

  • Professional affiliations

    • Accredited Hand Therapist (AHT) as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association
    • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)