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News
Welcome to our news section where you can keep up to date with all that is going on in research locally and nationally, along with professional training and qualification updates and study updates.
Local Research News
Local publications:
HWHCT Research Newsletters
April 2024 newsletter coming soon!
February 2024: R&D February 2024 newsletter.pdf [pdf] 1MB
Christmas 2023: Christmas 2023 Research newsletter.pdf [pdf] 1MB
September 2023: September 2023 Research newsletter.pdf [pdf] 1MB
July 2023: July 2023 Research newsletter .pdf [pdf] 1MB
April 2023: April 2023 Research newsletter .pdf [pdf] 942KB
February 2023: FINAL Research February 2023 update.pdf [pdf] 914KB
December 2022: Research December 2022 update.pdf [pdf] 1MB
CRN WM (Clinical Research Network West Midlands) Bulletin
22.3.24: CRN WM Bulletin #98 (campaign-archive.com)
8.3.24: CRN WM Bulletin #97 (campaign-archive.com)
23.2.24: CRN WM Bulletin #96 (campaign-archive.com)
9.2.24: CRN WM Bulletin #95 (campaign-archive.com)
26.1.24: CRN WM Bulletin #94 (campaign-archive.com)
CRN WM (Clinical Research Network West Midlands) Wellbeing Bulletin
Why Laughter is so Important (mailchi.mp) April 2024 Celebrating Neurodiversity (campaign-archive.com) March 2024 Race Equality (campaign-archive.com) February 2024Why Continuous Development is Important (mailchi.mp) January 2024
West Midlands Academic Health Science Network
November 2023; August 2023; July 2023; June 2023; May 2023; April 2023
Local research news:
Colleagues work published (1.2.24)
Huge congratulations to Saff Davies (Community Learning Disability Nurse) and Dr Natasha Lord (Consultant Clinical Psychologist) who are co-authors of articles that have been published in the Jan/Feb edition of the Journal of Dementia Care.
Saff’s article looks at: ‘Preparing to care: Training for carers of people with dementia and a learning disability.’
Natasha’s article explores: ‘Implementing a Digital Life Stories Project on an patient dementia ward: Initial findings and reflections.’
Click here to read the articles in full: JDCJAN24_40pp (1).pdf [pdf] 5MB
Clinical Research Network (CRN) West Midlands Network Awards (30.11.2023)
Congratulations to Alice from our Research & Development (R&D Team) who was ‘Highly Commended’ at the CRN West Midlands Network Awards 2023 in the 'Embedding Research' category.
Alice’s engagement work to help embed research throughout this Trust has included the setting up and running of staff Research Collaborators along and organise a week-long national conference attracting over 660 attendees.
Alice says: 'Huge thanks to the wonderful R&D Team here and other colleagues for their support in the work I've been involved in. I'm passionate about the 'research word' out there and encouraging everyone to get involved in some way.'
It was humbling to hear about all the fantastic research work that is taking place across the region and huge congratulations to the winners and all who were shortlisted.
RADAR study published in the Lancet (November 2023)
Headed up by Dr Barny Major (PI – Principal Investigator), staff from Herefordshire supported this study which looked at ‘benefits and harms of a gradual process of antipsychotic reduction compared with maintenance treatment.’
It found that ‘a gradual reduction over several months in the dose of maintenance antipsychotics in people diagnosed with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders did not lead to benefits in social functioning and was more likely to lead to relapse than continuing on maintenance treatment.’
Find out more here: RADAR - main publication (Lancet 2023).pdf [pdf] 376KB
Memorandum of Understanding agreed with The University of Worcester to forge a new partnership to advance health research in the region (October 2023)
The Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations marks a significant step forward in the pursuit of innovative healthcare solutions and improved wellbeing for the people of the two counties.
The two organisations will work together in the development of health research initiatives. By combining their respective expertise, resources, and networks, the partnership aims to tackle pressing health challenges and make a lasting impact on the wellbeing of communities.
Professor John-Paul Wilson, Pro Vice Chancellor Research at the University, said, “The University has a longstanding and productive relationship with the Trust but this MoU provides an opportunity to develop further our research collaboration in shared areas of focus. The research that will flow from this collaboration will very much have real world impacts, improving the quality of life for those living with long term physical and mental health conditions.”
The MoU sets the stage for collaborative research projects that draw upon the unique strengths of both organisations. By sharing knowledge, data, and infrastructure, researchers from both sides will be able to access new perspectives and approaches, leading to more comprehensive and impactful research outcomes.
It also aims to nurture the next generation of health researchers, through training and knowledge exchange.
Sarah Dugan, Chief Executive at the Trust said, “I am delighted that our partnership with the University of Worcester has been strengthened further with a collaborative approach to health research. By working closer together we can increase the focus on research, improve health and wellbeing and encourage the future generation of health researchers.”
John Devapriam, Medical Directorate at the Trust said, “Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust has strong relations with the University of Worcester, and this MoU strengthens our commitment to enabling research in particular. I am excited about the opportunities this brings to the system in terms of research activity, workforce development and high-quality care for the citizens of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.”
2023 EBP Conference — 16-20.10.23
National conference hosted by us: 2023 EBP conference - Leaders in their field and inspirational research careers.
We had a fantastic week hosting our 3rd FREE virtual EBP conference which this year went national! HUGE thanks to the fantastic host of speakers who engaged and inspired delegates and to everyone who attended. Over 650 tickets were allocated across the week and delegate feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
- The specialisms covered each day (with certificates of attendance available) were:
- Day 1: Social & Community Psychiatry; Perinatal mental health; Addiction; Psychosis and cognitive neuroscience. Speakers: Dr John Devaprium; Prof Swaran Singh; Dr Jan Larkin; Claire Marshall; Dr Maria Dauvermam
- Day 2: Psychosis; Cognitive screening and rehabilitation; Dementia. Speakers: Prof Max Birchwood; Dr Shirley Evans; Prof Rosh das Nair.
- Day 3: Inspirational research career journeys. Speakers: Prof Catherine Evans; Sarah Ellison; Dr Tania Gergel; Dr Monica Leverton.
- Day 4: Dietetics; Physiotherapy; Community based research; the RIVA study. Speakers: Dr Graeme O’Connor; Dr Claire Minshull; Prof Eleanor Bradley & Dr Peter Unwin.
- Day 5: EBP - what's happening here at HWHCT. Speakers: Simon Meadows; Abgail Brown; Saffron Davies; Paul MacDonald; Prof Peter Langdon.
For further information including links to the conference recordings and how to request your conference certificate see our EBP Conference webpage.
Keep up to date with all things research by following us on: Twitter; Instagram, LinkedIn, our intranet pages, our webpage, or email us.
Research collaborators - 1st birthday coming up November 2023
We launched the Research Collaborator role (similar to a 'champion' like role) in November 2022 whose aim was to enable ANYONE who works at HWHCT to get involved in research. 30 staff stepped up and have supported the delivery of research across the Trust. HUGE thanks for your work to date.
As we approach our 1st birthday we welcome anyone who may be interested in joining our 2nd cohort of Research Collaborators to get in touch and book onto a 'finding out more' session on either Monday 13.11.23 at 12noon or Thursday 23.11.23 at 1pm (both via Teams).
If you want to help us promote research within your teams as well as to patients, maybe learn something new, meet a group of like-minded people, and can give 1 hour a month (max), then we’d love to hear from you. We welcome new people at any time so if you're unable to make the above dates don't worry. Email: alice.madden1@nhs.net for further information.
PI (Principal Investigator) essentials virutal training
Are you a new PI or someone who's interested in finding out more? Then look out for future PI Essentials virtual training dates in early Spring 2024. Thank you to all who attended the sessions in July 2023.
Aims and objectives of the course are:
- Discuss the PI leadership role in effective study identification, set up, recruitment and conduct.
- Explore 3 elements of success in PI role: engagement, oversight and communication
- Identify the skills and behaviours required to be an effective PI
For future bookings please click here: https://learn.nihr.ac.uk/mod/facetoface/view.php?f=872. You will need to set up a NIHR Learn account (if don't already have one) to register. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us.
The Integrated Care System Community-led Research Engagement and Prioritisation Project (Summer 2023)
- In partnership with VCSE organisations across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, our aim is to widen engagement in health and care research across the region to better understand and ultimately reduce health inequalities
- The project is funded by the Clinical Research Network West Midlands for 12 months
- This will be a co-produced activity, reflecting the lived experiences and health agendas of people across both counties
- Together, we aim to co-design a community-led research framework which can be sustained beyond the life of this project.
For further information please see this Powerpoint document: 20230620_Community-led Research Engagement Presentation_v1.pptx [pptx] 276KB To keep you up to date progress will be reported here. If you’re interested in learning more please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Research studies increase by 15% in the West Midlands as the NHS reaches 75 (5.7.23)
Research in the West Midlands continues to thrive with the number of clinical trials that took place in the region in 2022/23 increasing by 15% on the previous year. Read more here.
#Red4Research Day - 16.6.23
#Red4Research Day aims to get as many people as possible wearing red to demonstrate their support and appreciation for all those participating, undertaking and supporting research. It is an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the phenomenal work, learning legacy and innovative treatments/systems/techniques that have arisen from R&D. And this is exactly what we got up to on 16.6.23!
The R&D team would like to say a HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who supports the delivery of research within this Trust – in direct delivery; promotion of studies and as participants themselves. Change doesn’t happen without you!
Here in this Trust we currently have studies open in:
- Psychosis
- Anxiety and depression
- Eating disorders
- Dietetics
- Maternal mental health
- Autism
- Personality disorder
- Learning disabilities
…with a number of other studies in set up.
Staff and student Shadowing opportunities with the R&D Team (available from April 2023)
R&D team members, Maria and Amber, have developed a shadowing day to enable more people to gain access to a basic understanding of how NHS health research works and show the paths that can be taken to get more involved.
If you or anyone you know in your team is interested please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing us: WHCNHS.ResearchDevelopment@nhs.net
Momentous milestone reached for the first time by this Trust’s Research and Development (R&D) Team (March 2023)
- For the first time ever the R&D Team here at HWHCT recruited over 500 people to research studies in the year Oct 2021 - Sept 2022!
- Not only is this the highest number of people ever recruited to take part in research in this Trust in a year, but it brings with it hugely important additional funding
- Sam Topping, Research and Development Manager says: ‘This is a HUGE achievement made possible by the public who have participated and fantastic colleagues across the Trust who have: directly helped run and deliver research; taken part in studies, and who have promoted what’s happening. The R&D Team could not have done it without you all so a HUGE thank you.’
- A wide variety of different studies recruited participants to reach this milestone, including COVID questionnaire studies, Dietetic studies, Learning Difficulties studies and Mental Health studies
Research in Wider Care and Communities Site - Now Live! (20.2.23)
The Research in Wider Care and Communities site has been created to provide one space for the research delivery community to access key information, which it needs to engage and recruit in wider care and community settings and services. This has been developed as part of a Supraregional initiative by East of England, East Midlands and West Midlands Clinical Research Networks to provide one space for the research delivery community to access key information which they need to engage and recruit in wider care and community settings and services.
Older Adults Team – research work published
We are really thrilled to be able to share the links to some of the articles that have been published by team members within this Trust’s Older Adults Team. HUGE congratulations to everyone involved!
- Title: Service Evaluation: Exploring service user and caregiver experience of remote assessment and intervention within a dementia service during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Authors: Natasha Czerwinski, Julia Cook, Joanne Martin & Hanneke Monks
FPOP Bulletin (Faculty of the Psychology of Older People: BPS) No.154 April 2021, page 10-17 ISSN: 2396-9660 (Online)
- Title: Suspected dementia, the eye and the ‘mind’s eye’: How primary care eye specialists could support early identification of Alzheimer’s Disease and its variants.
Authors: Claire Rowley and Julia Cook
Publication: The Neuropsychologist (BPS)
Issue 14, Oct 2022, pages 8-17
- Title: The neuropsychological impact of vitamin B12 deficiency and its relevance to assessment of suspected dementia
Authors: Claire Rowley and Julia Cook
Publication: Memory Services National Accreditation Programme (MSNAP)
Issue 23, Dec 2022, pages 4-5
- Title: Suspected dementia, the eye and the ‘mind’s eye’: How primary care eye specialists could support early identification of Alzheimer’s disease and its variants.
Authors:
Publication: The Neuropsychologist, 14, 8-17.
- Title: Do service-users find the outcome of Mild Cognitive Impairment useful? A summary of Blatchford & Cook’s (2020) systematic review
Authors: Rowley, C., Cook, J. & Blatchford, L.
- Title: Young Onset Dementia in the Early Intervention Dementia Service: a service review of referral and outcome data
Authors: Emma Bick (Assistant Psychologist) & Dr Joanne Martin (Clinical Psychologist)
Early Intervention in Dementia Service, Worcestershire
A budding partnership: SW Healthcare outreach vaccination van and health research promotion - Oct/Nov 2022
It’s been a busy autumn with members of the R&D team joining the SW Healthcare vaccination van out and about in the Worcester area (only certain cohorts eligible – please check here).
From early 2021 up until summer 2022, SW Healthcare ran the 3 large Covid vaccinations centres in Worcestershire: The Artrix (Bromsgrove); St. Peter’s Baptist church, Worcester and at the Malvern showground. This autumn they’ve been at different community hubs making access to Covid boosters accessible and convenient for people.
Vaccinations are only available due to health research and EVERYONE involved in the process – study teams, Health Research Authority (HRA), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), clinicians within NHS Trusts etc and crucially people – like you and me – participating. So us promoting and chatting about research alongside the vaccination van seemed like a good match.
We have been warmly welcomed by the vaccination van teams and it has been great for us to properly pilot outreach research promotion. Engaging with the public in a familiar, local community place for them, not just clinical settings, has been fantastic both for the public and us, and something that we will continue to build on.
Research Innovation and Improvement projects - work starting September 2022
At the end of 2021 the 3 NHS Trusts across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, Wye Valley NHS Trust and us – HWHCT, were successful in a project funding bid from the Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM). It is GREAT that this funding has been secured allowing us time and resource to really focus on driving research forwards across the 2 counties. Things will really get started in September so keep an eye open for updates.
The 4 projects are:
- HaRV: HeAlth Research Vehicle: A feasibility study will be completed on running a vehicle equipped to enable the research teams to promote and undertake health research off site at other medical sites i.e. GP practises, dentists etc, as well as non-medical sites such as libraries and supermarkets. The ethos of this project is very much ‘taking research to the people’ and making ourselves more visible and accessible.
A Research Van was launched in the Manchester area at the end of 2021. The below gives a flavour of what we would like to see here in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:
State-of-the-art Research Van available for research delivery across Greater Manchester (11.7.22)
A new state-of-the-art Research Van is available to support the delivery of research projects at community locations across the region. Read more here.
- SHAREO: A full evaluation of how shared office resources can be more effective. A review of each element of the set-up process AND ongoing governance requirements of organisations across several organisations to identify opportunities for efficiency and improved quality of research, with a focus on digital opportunities for efficiency. A proposal for a new operating model along with making sites more attractive to commercial research.
- MAPCOE: MAPP ing COllAbOrAting EMPOwEring sErviCEs: There is a vast untapped resource of potential engagement that we do not have capacity to identify, and in our current model, are unable to provide support to these services even if we did. We need to be able to map research interested clinicians across all professions and create a plan within each team of how they will engage with research without reliance on the research team. We need innovative ways to empower clinical services to deliver studies relevant to their clinical need. One way to do this will be to adapt the model of our research support so that we are able to increase the breadth of our services along with linking up to interested 3rd parties to ensure the population benefits from research.
- DIGENATE: Data and digital is a key theme of the CRN West Midlands Entry Plan and the NIHR. A Training Needs Analysis of digital skills in the Research Workforce across the West Midlands will be carried out. We will develop training packages that can be pre-recorded and be available online to the entire workforce across the West Midlands. We will identify further opportunities to digitalise operations to make research more efficient, shadowing the research workforce and developing solutions.
Award winning Research Team here at HWHCT! (7.6.22)
It was the ‘NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Clinical Research Network West Midland’s Awards’ last week which celebrates the huge range of clinical research taking place right here in the West Midlands - from COVID-19 vaccine studies to staff wellbeing on Paediatric Intensive Care Units.
This Trusts Research and Development Team is absolutely thrilled to announce that they were joint winners in the ‘Team of the Year’ award category! This award recognises the teams judged to have made the greatest contribution to clinical research in the region in the last 12 months. Members from the Research and Development Team were part of the Worcestershire Covid-19 Trial Response Team along with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, CRN West Midlands Primary Care and Across Teams, University of Birmingham Students, which supported the delivery of the national priority Covid Trials. Read more here: Award winning Research Team attachment June 2022.docx [docx] 986KB
Local participation in national research study published 21.12.21
Huge congratulations to Marti van der Linde (Community Paediatric Dietitian Worcestershire North) who, as part of a team, had their work published online in 'Nutrition in Clinical Practise' just before Christmas. This was a commercial study run by Nestle and looked to 'Monitor gastrointestinal tolerance in children who have switched to an “enteral formula with food-derived ingredients”: A national, multicenter retrospective chart review (RICIMIX study).'
To read the article and outcomes in full please click here.
National Research news
Headline national news:
Be Part of Research - now on the NHS App (Feb 2023)
The online service - Be Part of Research - which makes it easy for people to find and take part in health and care research, is now available through the NHS App in England.
The service, run by the NIHR, helps members of the public understand what research is and what it might mean to take part, as well as showing the research currently happening across the UK.
Through the Be Part of Research website, people can search for what trials and studies are taking place for particular health conditions they are interested in, at locations that are easy for them to get to. Read more here.
National news:
22.3.24: Scientists close in on blood test to stop spread of tuberculosis
19.3.24: NIHR ARCs and HINs: Collaborating to support post-pandemic NHS priorities
13.3.24: NIHR launches £50m ‘Challenge’ funding to tackle inequalities in maternity care
12.3.24: NIHR launches new climate health and sustainability commitments
11.3.24: New online courses to help support research careers
11.3.24: Children with a ‘lazy eye’ are at an increased risk of serious disease in adulthood
1.3.24: NIHR welcomes launch of Rare Disease Action Plan 2024
28.2.24: First UK patients receive experimental mRNA therapy for cancer
Professional News, Training and Qualification updates
How can nurses get involved in local research initiatives? (Feb/March 2024)
Case study 1: Hear from 2 nurses — Donna Clements and Jo Moore from Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust - as they share their experience in delivering a NIHR Portfolio study in a busy community leg ulcer clinic. It has been published on the Queens Nursing Institute website and is available to view via this link: How Can Nurses Get Involved in Local Research Initiatives? – The Queen's Nursing Institute (qni.org.uk)
Case study 2: Becoming a research-active Community Learning Disabilities Nurse: Hear from Anca Manea — Community Learning Disabilities Nurse at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust — stitute who was awarded a NICHE Fellowship to develop her work in improving antenatal pathways for women and birthing people with learning disabilities. Read more here.
CRN (Clinical Research Network) Connect newsletters
Monday 5.2.24 Monday 29.1.24 Monday 22.1.24 Monday 15.1.23Monday 8.1.24Monday 18.12.23 Monday 11.12.23
NHS Research and Development Forum newsletters
The R&D Forum Newsletter - January 2024 (mailchi.mp) December 2023: R&D Forum Newsletter - December 2023 (mailchi.mp) November 2023: NHS R&D Forum Professional Development Bulletin; October 2023: NHS R&D Forum Professional Development Bulletin (mailchi.mp)
Be Part of Research Newsletter
Autumn (October)Summer (July) 2023 Spring (April) 2023
Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) Directory Bulletin ( Homepage - Clinical Research Practitioners Directory - NIHR (ahcs.ac.uk))
September 2023 July 2023 May 2023 March 2023 Jan/Feb 2023
Health Research Authority (HRA) Updates
March 2024January 2024; December; November 2023; October 2023; September 2023; August 2023; July 2023; June 2023; May 2023; April 2023; March 2023
UK Community Nursing Research Forum (hosted by the Queen's Nursing Institute)
March newsletterFebruary newsletterJanuary newsletter December newsletter November newsletter October newsletter September newsletter July newsletter June newsletter May newsletter April newsletter March Newsletter
Applied Research Collaborations (ARC’s) newsletter
April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023
Join Dementia Research newsletter
Monthly Cancer Bulletin
This offers a fantastic update on the progress of cancer vaccines.
Highlights from January's edition inc:
What’s the overall UK picture?
- Good- the public in the UK remain engaged by the potential of vaccines to help address the issue of cancer. Newspaper this month have been leading with the story that “No cervical cancer cases in HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland”- link.
- Further interest has been stirred by the 3 year follow up data of the V940 trial in melanoma patients, published in the Lancet. This showed a 49% lower risk of recurrence/death and 62% lower risk of distant tumour cell spread or death- link
If you would like to receive the Cancer vaccine bulletin please sign up here. At the moment this is not available via a website.
Training
Click here for training.
News Archive
Archive of local publications:
HWHCT Research and Development Newsletters
June 2022: June 2022 .pdf [pdf] 725KB
April 2022: April 2022 update.pdf [pdf] 738KB
February 2022: February 2022 update.pdf [pdf] 324KB
Christmas 2021: Research newsletter Christmas 2021.pdf [pdf] 4MB
Autumn 2021: Research quarterly newsletter Autumn 2021.pdf [pdf]
Summer 2021: Research quarterly newsletter summer 2021.pdf [pdf] 741KB
Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM) Bulletin (2023 editions)
2.6.23: CRN WM Bulletin #78 (campaign-archive.com) 19.5.23: CRN WM Bulletin #77 (campaign-archive.com) 5.5.23: CRN WM Bulletin #76 (campaign-archive.com) 14.4.23: CRN WM Bulletin #75 (campaign-archive.com) 31.3.23: CRN WM Bulletin #74 (campaign-archive.com)17.3.23: CRN WM Bulletin #73 (campaign-archive.com) 3.3.23: CRN WM Bulletin #72 (campaign-archive.com) 17.2.23: CRN WM Bulletin #71 (campaign-archive.com) 3.2.23: CRN WM Bulletin #70 (campaign-archive.com) 6.1.23: CRN WM Bulletin #69 (campaign-archive.com)
CRN WM (Clinical Research Network West Midlands) Wellbeing Bulletin
Grit and Determination - May 2023 Mental Health Awareness Week - Anxiety Wellbeing Bulletin - May 2023 Doing our bit - April 2023 Wellbeing Bulletin - April 2023 Wellbeing Bulletin - March 2023 Staying motivated in the winter months - February 2023 Wellbeing Bulletin - January 2023
Archive of national publications
CRN (Clinical Research Network) Connect newsletters (2023 eds)
Monday 7 August 2023 Monday 31 July 2023 Monday 24 July 2023 Monday 17 July 2023 Monday 10 July 2023 Monday 3 July 2023 Monday 26 June 2023 Monday 19 June 2023 Monday 12 June 2023 Monday 5 June 2023 Monday 22 May 2023 Monday 15 May 2023 Tuesday 9 May 2023 Tuesday 2 May 2023 Monday 24 April 2023 Monday 17 April 2023 Monday 3 April 2023 Monday 27 March 2023 Monday 20 March 2023
NHS Research and Development Forum newsletter
May 2023 April 2023 17 April 2023 - Red for Research - Save the date! 16.6.23 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022
Be Part of Research Newsletter
Winter (Feb) 2023 Autumn (October) 2022 Summer (August) 2022
Health Research Authority (HRA) Updates
April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023
Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) Directory Bulletin ( Homepage - Clinical Research Practitioners Directory - NIHR (ahcs.ac.uk))
March 2023 Jan/Feb 2023 October 2022 August 2022
UK Community Nursing Research Forum (hosted by the Queen's Nursing Institute)
May newsletter April newsletter March Newsletter February Newsletter January Newsletter - QNI Community Nursing Research Forum (mailchi.mp)
Study updates
Hearing Nasty Voices
We were pleased to be one of the first NHS Trust’s to open this study in February 2020 and, although paused during COVID, was open through until December 2021. 3 people were recruited contributing to the 308 participants recruited in total.
HUGE thanks to teams in this Trust involved in this study who have helped broaden understanding of the potential causes of distress in voice hearers focussing on one type of experience – hearing derogatory or threatening voices. Click below to read the full report: https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/49/1/151/6659785
Psychological Impact of COVID-19 - intial results from phase 1 of the study (December 2021)
The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 (phase 1) looked at the psychological impact of the first lockdown, the relaxation of lockdown rules and the compulsory face coverings period. These inital results show the varying impacts of each of the above listed periods on different population sub groups - including gender, age, ethnicity and professional groups. Please click here to read the full article.
HUGE thanks to everyone who took part.
COPE-WM: Initial findings from this study were released 19.11.21
COPE-WM was a far reaching questionnaire study available to anyone who worked in healthcare. It closed at the end of September 2021.
The study released their initial findings on 19.11.21 which included:
- Unsurprisingly those healthcare employees who had a positive COVID-19 test result were more likely to provide direct care to patients with COVID-19
- There was poor infection control at the beginning of the pandemic but effective infection control measures were implemented after this initial period
- Experience of working during the pandemic:
- Demand as outstripping capacity
- Peer support at work was as important as ever
- Morally challenging decisions in the workplace
- Mixed re-deployment experiences
- Impact on mental health:
- Mental health deterioration experienced during the pandemic
- Uncertainty during the pandemic
- Mental health coping mechanisms disabled
- Working from home as problematic for mental health
- Positive antibody rates:
- Prior to vaccination 46% of participants had had a COVID infection (included study participants who had answered ‘yes’ as being symptomatic who then qualified to receive an antibody test kit)
- From December 2020 rates of antibody positivity rise dramatically following the 1st and 2nd dose of vaccination to 98+%
- A study coming in the new year – COCO – will further look into the issues raised here
They have only released preliminary findings including the above so we will share the full report once it’s released.
We’ve also received a request from the study regarding the follow up survey:
‘Thank you to everyone that took the time to complete the COPE-WM study baseline survey. If you completed the baseline survey and this was more than 4 months ago you should have received an email asking you to complete the follow up survey for the study. The email was sent to the email address you provided when asked for your personal email address when you completed the baseline survey. Thank you to everyone who has already completed their follow up survey.
Please be aware that for some participants the COPE-WM study emails have been filtered to their spam/junk folder – please check there if you think you should have received an email
If, however, you received a request email but have not yet completed the survey we would encourage you to do so to ensure your follow up data contributes to the study outcomes. Survey completion should take no more than 20 minutes of your time.
If you took part in the study more than 4 months ago and either have not received an email request to complete the follow up survey or remember receiving one but are no longer able to access it and would like to complete the survey please contact the study research team by email:
If you took part less than 4 months ago please keep an eye out for the email about the follow up that you should receive in the next few weeks.
The higher the number of participants who complete their follow up survey the better the study will be able to understand the impact of COVID-19 on people working in healthcare settings.’
THANK YOU once again to everyone who took part in this study.
iMCSP (individualised Meeting Centres Support Programme) – initial findings
We were involved in this research study a few years ago so please click below for the results: CIA_A_212852 1527..1553 (dovepress.com). Thank you to those who were involved.
SYMBAD trial results - October 2021
HWHCT took part in this trial so we were really pleased to receive these results at the end of October 2021. The main results have been published in the Lancet: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0140673621012101 but please see below for the summary outcomes:
‘In summary we found that there was no benefit in taking mirtazapine compared with placebo, there was even the possibility of harm with a marginally higher rate of mortality in the mirtazapine group. The clear conclusion from the data is that they do not support the use of mirtazapine as a treatment for agitation in dementia. Positively there was clear recovery in those that participated in both the placebo and the mirtazapine group. This means that the best thing to do clinically may be to actively monitor agitation while carrying out treatment as usual, rather than jumping to use another medication in all but the most serious of cases.
This is a result that has important implications to clinical practice, and we hope that you will join with us in disseminating the findings as widely as possible. There has been a press release: Research news - Common antidepressant should no longer be used to treat people with dementia - University of Exeter by the University of Plymouth and the team would be happy to work with your local institutions and Trusts should you wish to provide further public information. Alzheimer’s Research UK has also published an article: Antidepressant drug doesn’t improve agitation in dementia trial - Alzheimer's Research UK (alzheimersresearchuk.org) ’
HUGE thanks to everyone who was involved in this study at HWHCT.
PrEP Impact Trial – A pragmatic health technology assessment and implementation.
PrEP (HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) is a medicine for HIV negative people and it can reduce the risk of catching HIV when taken as instructed. However this is currently not available through the NHS.
PrEP is made up of two drugs, Tenofovir and Emtricitabine. Both these drugs have been widely used for many years to treat HIV and the drug has been used by several thousands of HIV negative people worldwide to reduce the risk of HIV.
To plan a PrEP programme in England, NHS England and Local Authorities carried out research to find out:
- How many people attending sexual health clinics need PrEP?
- How many of these start PrEP?
- How long do they need PrEP for?
In this Trust the study ran across the 3 Sexual Health Services; Arrowside, John Anthony Centre and Hereford and 64 patients were recruited. All participants in this study had access to PrEP.
This study has now closed but we will share the outcomes when they are published later this year. A huge thank you to everyone who was involved.