Tagged / BU research

FM Food and Health research team awarded the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence

Fusion themes

The Food and Health research team in the Faculty of Management are delighted that their research into encouraging consumption of plant based dishes has been recognised by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions ‘Seal of Excellence’.

Their research VeggiEAT and Veg+ has led the way to providing an evidence based body of activity of which VegMAX was part. Plant based eating leads to a large net economic gain for society, as well as improved health outcomes for the population.

We are thrilled and proud with this recognition.

 

 

Mental Capacity Act Conference 2019

 

On the 19th February 2019, Dr Ben Hicks from the Psychology Department and the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC), was fortunate to be invited to present two one hour workshops at the Mental Capacity Act Conference in Dorchester. This is the largest conference for social workers and was attended by around 500 delegates. The conference focussed on assessing capacity in individuals and through a range of presentations by judges and lawyers, sort to outline the many challenges that can be faced whilst undertaking this work. Of particular interest, was a Keynote speech by Alex Ruck Keene, a lawyer based in London that specialises in mental capacity and mental health law. He discussed the many ground-breaking cases he has been involved in regarding the Mental Capacity Act and the multiple publications he has authored that have influenced this area of practice. His passion for, and knowledge of the subject was clearly evident, and it is safe to say that the audience could have listened to him for well beyond his allotted hour and a half timeslot.

Whilst the majority of the conference was concerned with assessing capacity in individuals, Ben took a slightly different angle with his workshops and sought to demonstrate how the ADRC enable people with dementia to have the capacity to contribute to research. This includes: positioning them as experts and eliciting their views at all stages of project development; creating safe spaces where they feel comfortable expressing themselves; and adopting flexible research methods that have a ‘moral sensitivity’ to their capabilities and interests. Ben also outlined the multiple ways whereby society constructs barriers that socially exclude people with dementia and prevent their participation in research and wider society, as well as the work that the ADRC are undertaking to address this. One such method is through a Virtual Reality training program that provides participants with an immersive experience of what it may be like to live with the condition. This innovative approach was well received and a number of the workshop delegates have already approached Ben to enquire about delivering the training within their workplace. This highlights the great work that the ADRC are undertaking to empower people with dementia and provide innovative training to healthcare professionals that emphasises the rights and capacity this population has for contributing throughout society. As one delegate wrote during the evaluation feedback:

“More from Dr Ben Hicks and Bournemouth Uni. He gave an interesting presentation on ageing and dementia research and talked about the responsibilities both himself and his colleagues have undertaken in regards to this. I would be interested to hear more from them.”

 

 

 

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

NHS, Research Ethics, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 102 Thursday 28th March at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.

Clinical Research Transparency – Responsibilities

NHS, Research Ethics

‘Researchers, sponsors and funders have responsibilities – that may be legal requirements or ethical and moral expectations within an accepted governance framework of best practice and standards – to participants in research, patients and the wider public and research communities.’

The HRA have recently released a page of useful links and guidance that encompasses areas such as ‘top tips for transparency’, making your research results public, and also registering your study.
Related to this, hopefully you will have seen a recent blog post regarding the HRA’s commitment to ensuring research transparency. This has been a hot topic lately, and the subject of a recent House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report.

Take a look at the HRA guidance here.

BU has access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system so get in touch if you would like access. This is a great opportunity to register your study and study results in the public domain. It is free to use.
Despite the name, the system may be used for other clinical research projects.

Informed consent training – sessions available

PG research, Research Ethics, Training

When conducting research with human participants, it is essential that participants are fully informed as to the details of the study and what is expected of them by participating.

Participants’ informed consent is imperative, and should be in place prior to any data collection activities.

Sarah Bell (Research Governance Advisor) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor) will be running sessions on informed consent procedure, scheduled for Tuesday 26th March. These sessions are open to staff and postgraduate researchers conducting research/hoping to conduct research with human participants.

We will be running two sessions on this day –

Talbot Campus (P425, Poole House) – 09:30am – 11:00am
Lansdowne Campus (B242, Bournemouth House) – 2:00pm – 3:30pm

If you are interested in attending one of the above sessions, please email Research Ethics.

Dr. Aryal funded to attend international workshop on migration & health

conferences, international, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Nirmal Aryal in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences has been selected to participate in an international workshop targeting early career researchers (ECRs) on ‘Engendering research and reframing policy debate on migration & health and intersectional rights’ to be held in Kathmandu (Nepal) from 25th to 28th April 2019.

This workshop is jointly organized by several universities in the UK, India as well as the International Organisation for Migration, as well as the Migration Health and Development Research Initiative(MHADRI). There will be 18 ECRs from South Asia and South East Asia and Nirmal is one for the six from the UK.  The organizers will fund flight to and accommodation in Nepal.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

NHS, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 102 Thursday 28th March at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.

Informed consent training – sessions available

PG research, Research Ethics, Training

When conducting research with human participants, it is essential that participants are fully informed as to the details of the study and what is expected of them by participating.

Participants’ informed consent is imperative, and should be in place prior to any data collection activities.

Sarah Bell (Research Governance Advisor) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor) will be running sessions on informed consent procedure, scheduled for Tuesday 26th March. These sessions are open to staff and postgraduate researchers conducting research/hoping to conduct research with human participants.

We will be running two sessions on this day –

Talbot Campus (P425, Poole House) – 09:30am – 11:00am
Lansdowne Campus (B242, Bournemouth House) – 2:00pm – 3:30pm

If you are interested in attending one of the above sessions, please email Research Ethics.

HRA help guides – data and technology

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics

An updated Code of Conduct for the application of data-driven technologies in the NHS was published on Tuesday of this week – the code ‘sets out what the NHS expects from companies who are developing new technologies for the health system, and what they can expect in return.

In order to assist applicants and researchers, the HRA have created new pages that set out the approvals process for data-driven technology research.

The section incorporates two pages of support –

The help pages will be added to the Clinical Governance section of the blog, for ease of access.

Research transparency – HRA response to the Science and Technology Committee

Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research Ethics

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee released a report last year on clinical trials transparency, as it was evident that a nearly half of clinical trials fail to publish their results. In their report, the committee made a number of recommendations to the Health Research Authority in order to rectify the situation.

At the time the HRA issued a response but today have published a further statement which sets out their commitment to research transparency. This is especially pertinent given the article published simultaneously in BMJ Open, which details the numbers of clinical trials that are publicly registered, compared with those that have received favourable opinion (approval) from a UK NHS research ethics committee.

BU has access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system so get in touch if you would like access. This is a great opportunity to register your study and study results in the public domain. It is free to register your study.
Despite the name, the system may be used for other clinical research projects.

Get an insider’s view on how to influence policymakers in Parliament

Knowledge Exchange, Training

If you would like your research to have a real impact on policy decisions at a national level, you may want to book onto Achieving Policy Impact in the UK Parliament – a special workshop run by Sarah Foxen of the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST), the UK parliament’s knowledge exchange unit.

This event takes place on Wednesday March 6 on the Talbot campus and there are only a few remaining places left. You’re advised to book promptly, using this link here, as the room capacity is only 30. We are delighted Sarah is able to come to Bournemouth for this one-off training event – her role as POST’s Knowledge Exchange Manager means she is perfectly placed to offer an insider’s view on how to get your research taken up by policymakers in Parliament. The workshop aims to:

  • demystify the process by which academic research can influence public policy
  • explain how policy impacts can be evidenced
  • examine what it is that policymakers are looking for in terms of academic research.

There will also be an opportunity in the afternoon session for participants to prepare and deliver a pitch to Parliament and gain invaluable advice on what policymakers are looking for and what is the most effective way of achieving policy impact for your research.

You can read a recent article Sarah wrote for the Wonkhe blog here:  (How to have REF-able policy impact). In it, she outlines a joint initiative between Parliament and Research England which aims to ensure a shared understanding of what parliamentary impact is, and how it can be evidenced in REF 2021.

For any further information on the workshop and details of the programme, please contact Amanda Edwards, Impact Officer, RDS on x61308 or by email: aedwards@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

 

 

 

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

NHS, Research Ethics, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 102 Thursday 28th March at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.