Tagged / BU research

EDGE International Conference 2019 – CONNECTED

international, Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research Ethics

BU takes responsibility for a large number of NHS-based research projects, spanning a number of clinical areas. To better support BU’s position as Sponsor for these studies, last August the university adopted the EDGE system. This allows us to better collaborate with our NHS colleagues and to ensure our research data is held in a secure and central location. Currently the system is being piloted within the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for a year.

Last week the EDGE International Conference took place at The Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham, hosted by Fergus Walsh, the BBC’s Medical Correspondent, and organised by the Clinical Informatics Research Unit at the University of Southampton.

Over the two days we heard from speakers from across various organisations during breakouts, workshops and meet & greet sessions. Topics ranged from how to get the best out of the system’s features, using EDGE to connect with colleagues, and use of the system to improve the recording of study data and procedures. Given our implementation of EDGE, and the rarity of use by Universities, BU’s Clinical Governance Advisor, Suzy Wignall was invited to present on how BU has integrated the system.

Across the two days we likewise had keynote sessions, including talks from colleagues in New Zealand and Belgium where the system has been implemented. We also heard from parents of children who have been given access to life-saving research projects, improving their quality of life and health conditions, substantially.

The full agenda can be found here, with EDGE’s twitter feed here, showing photos from the event, and numerous tweets by colleagues.

For any guidance regarding implementing your research in a healthcare setting, take a look at the Clinical Governance blog or get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team with any queries.

Introduction to Good Clinical Practice – 15th May 2019

NHS, Research Ethics, Training

Are you interested in running your own research project within the NHS? Good Clinical Practice, or ‘GCP’, is a requirement for those wishing to work on clinical research projects in a healthcare setting.

GCP is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted. By undertaking GCP, you’re able to demonstrate the rights, safety and wellbeing of your research participants are protected, and that the data collected are reliable.

The next GCP full day session is scheduled for Wednesday 15th May, at Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus (Bournemouth House) – 8:45am – 4:30pm.

The day will comprise of the following sessions:

  • Introduction to research and the GCP standards;
  • Preparing to deliver your study;
  • Identifying and recruiting participants – eligibility and informed consent;
  • Data collection and ongoing study delivery;
  • Safety reporting;
  • Study closure.

If you’re interested in booking a place, please contact Research Ethics.

Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.

New funding from Wellcome to boost global research capacity in humanities and social sciences

Funding opportunities

Wellcome have recently announced their plans to launch two new one-off calls to fund international exchange networks, and infrastructure costs for humanities and social science researchers around the world.

As a result, the Investigator Awards and Collaborative Awards in Humanities and Social Sciences will be paused to new applicants for one year from mid-2020.

The two new one-off schemes will be launched in July 2019, with a deadline for expressions of interest due in Spring 2020. The two new calls are as follows:

International Exchange Awards – These will be made to groups of researchers based in at least two different countries. They are designed to encourage radical and innovative research agendas through the exchange of knowledge, people and resources.

Research Development Awards – These awards are likely to be made to groups of researchers in a single organisation or region. The purpose is for emerging and established clusters of HSS research excellence to have access to a reliable source of infrastructure funding so they can concentrate on building research agendas and developing careers.

If you are interested in these schemes and would like to be notified once these calls are launched, please contact Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator.

Congratulations to Anita Immanuel on PhD paper

NHS, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

FHSS PhD student Anita Immanuel just had the first paper from her PhD “Quality of life in survivors of adult haematological malignancy” accepted by the international journal European Journal of Cancer Care.   This international journal is published by Wiley and has an Impact Factor 2.409.

Survivors of haematological malignancies endure long-term effects of both the treatment and the disease. This paper examines factors that influence their quality of lives through reporting on the results of a survey. The survey used previously validated quality of life questionnaires for use in cancer management. Participants were adults over the age of 18 years who had completed treatment for a haematological malignancy and were between 1-5 years post treatment.

Anita is currently working as Lead Clinical Research Nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.  Her PhD research (see picture above) was conducted at  the Haematology Department of Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which has one of the most extensive research portfolios in the Trust.   Her PhD is supervised by Dr. Jane Hunt (Dept of Nursing & Clinical Science), Dr. Helen McCarthy, Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).

 

Health Research Authority public involvement guidance – third blog post

NHS, Research Ethics

Involving patients and/or the public in your clinical research is a great way to ensure that your study is designed and set-up in a way that will be attractive to participants. By carrying out PPI (patient and public involvement) you can also ensure that your research will be of benefit, not only to individuals but also the wider population and healthcare in general.

In 2018 the Health Research Authority (HRA) released guidance to help applicants better identify where they have involved the public in their research applications, and the difference that it made to their studies.

In addition, in January of this year two HRA blog posts were advertised, following the journey of a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, who conducted PPI for her research project. The first and second posts can be found on the HRA website alongside other news items.

The HRA have just released the third blog post in which they talk to one of the lay Research Ethics Committee (REC) members who sat on the panel that reviewed the fellow’s study. The post explores the Committee member’s views on how public involvement benefited the research application. You can find it here.

Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS, social care or healthcare institutions – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.

NHS R&D Forum response to Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice consultation

NHS, Research Ethics

The NHS R&D Forum Research Management Working Group have released their thoughts on how they feel that the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice can be refined and improved, to reflect current needs.

‘The Research Management Working Group is a group of members of the NHS R&D Forum with a wealth of experience
and expertise in both managing and delivering research activity within NHS organisations.’

You can read the group’s response here. The consultation is now closed, however the current Code of Practice can be found here.

If you are planning to conduct research with human participants that lack the capacity to consent or who may eventually lack capacity to consent, then the research application must go to an ethics committee that is flagged to review Social Care research.

BU ethics panels are not authorised to undertake this review or issue approval, and so an application via the IRAS system must be made. Further information can be gained via the HRA website and by emailing Research Ethics.

REMINDER – 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, this 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.

Funding opportunity – Climate Environment and Health

Funding opportunities

NERC/MRC/ESRC in collaboration with the Belmont Forum, have issued a call to fund transdisciplinary, end-user focused approaches to investigate and address the linkages between climate, environment and health. Projects should seek to bridge knowledge gaps, understand health risks, improve predictability, and deliver usable data, information, and innovative solutions to planners and decision makers. The following themes are prioritised for this call; food systems and nutrition; heat and health and; climate-sensitive infectious diseases.

Projects must be eligible to receive funding from at least three partner organisations participating in this call established in three different countries, and should include researchers from the natural sciences, health/medical sciences, social and economical sciences or humanities, as well as societal partners.

The deadline for expressions of interest is 6th May 19, with full proposals due by 23rd July 19. More information is available on the website.

If you are interested in applying, please contact Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator or your Funding Development Officer, in the first instance.

 

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