Rate My Professor Rachelle Martin

Dr Rachelle Martin is a Senior Lecturer in the Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit (RTRU), Department of Medicine, University of Otago Wellington, Faculty of Medicine. With academic qualifications comprising a Diploma in Physiotherapy (DipPhys), Master of Health Sciences (MHSc), and a PhD, she has a robust clinical background exceeding 20 years as a physiotherapist in diverse hospital and community settings. Her practice has predominantly involved individuals with neurological impairments and their whānau, fostering her commitment to enabling disabled people and those with long-term conditions to pursue desired lives. Currently, she teaches papers on general rehabilitation and neurological rehabilitation and provides supervision for masters' and PhD students.

Martin's research program addresses four principal domains: co-designing services and supports responsive to disabled people's needs and aspirations; evaluating interventions to promote equitable access, positive experiences, and optimal outcomes; interrogating the intersections of health care provider attitudes, behaviors, and service recipients' responses; and conducting research to cultivate a more enabling society. She applies sophisticated methodologies including realist reviews and synthesis, qualitative inquiry, single-case experimental designs, process and outcome evaluations, and literature syntheses to elucidate 'what works for whom, in what circumstances, why, and to what degree.' Key publications encompass "Life goals and social identity in people with severe acquired brain injury: an interpretative phenomenological analysis" (Disability and Rehabilitation, 2015), "What’s wrong with me? Seeking a coherent understanding of recovery after mild traumatic brain injury" (Disability and Rehabilitation, 2017), "Wrestling with uncertainty after mild traumatic brain injury: a mixed methods study" (Disability and Rehabilitation, 2020), "Development of a programme theory for early intervention vocational rehabilitation: a realist literature review" (Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 2021), and forthcoming pieces like Perceptions of people with motor neurone disease regarding the impact of their power wheelchairs (Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 2026). Additionally, she is Associate Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, President of the New Zealand Rehabilitation Association, and has been awarded the Emerging Researcher First Grant in 2021.