Tagged / knowledge exchange

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.

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.

 

 

 

 

Southern Health Research and Development Conference 2019

conferences, Knowledge Exchange, NHS

‘Population Health: Can Research Improve Outcomes’

Southern Health Research & Development will be holding the above conference on Wednesday 30th January, at the Hilton, Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

The conference is free and will feature a range of guest speakers focusing on research’s impact on population health and how this can not only improve the health of the population but also reduce health inequalities across diverse population groups. The programme for the day can be found here.

This event is open to everyone within research, business, and voluntary sectors as well as to the public – you can find out more and register through the Eventbrite link here.

CHAIN – Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network

Knowledge Exchange, NHS

CHAIN is an online mutual support network for people working in health and social care. It gives people a simple and informal way of contacting each other to exchange ideas and share knowledge.

Members use CHAIN in all sorts of ways, from highly proactive networking to more passive ‘horizon-scanning’.
CHAIN also provides a simple mechanism for ideas which emerge in one context to be shared with fellow-members across boundaries of organisations, professions, and territories which makes the network unique.

Joining is free, and open to anyone working in these areas. You can see recent examples of feedback here, as well as a snapshot report here, of the network’s reach.

Follow CHAIN updates on Twitter; @CHAIN_Network ; Find them on Facebook; Connect with CHAIN on LinkedIn.

Free FutureLearn courses

Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Training

The FutureLearn website has a whole host of different courses you can take advantage of whether for personal interest or educational needs, and for free.

Here are some courses that are specific to (clinical) research. Enjoy! –

*to be done in addition to the mandatory ethics modules.

#DataSavesLives – using patient data for research

Guidance, Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Publishing, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, writing

Patient data underpins and leads to improvements in research and care.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has recently shared a resource surrounding the use of patient data in clinical research. The page contains a number of useful links to guidance such as the NHS pages on why patients’ data matters and also the Understanding Patient Data resource, which outlines a set of key principles that should be followed in using patient data for research purposes.

Acknowledging contribution

It’s important that if a researcher uses patient data, that they acknowledge it by using the following citation –

“This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support”

The above has been developed by use MY data, a movement of patients, carers and relatives, in place to ensure that the patient data used is protected by the appropriate safeguards, and is treated with the respect and confidentiality it deserves.

National data opt-out programme

The page likewise signposts the above programme which allows patients and the public to opt-out of their confidential patient information being used for planning and research purposes.

All health and care organisation will uphold these choices by March 2020.

Supporting Health and Social Care Research – NIHR resource

Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy

Supporting Health and Social Care Research

A range of resources and best practice success stories have been pulled together to make promoting research and its benefits to patient care more accessible to everyone.

The NIHR website now hosts a number of pages and resources, such as how the NIHR can help academic researchers to conduct and deliver research, and success stories from amongst the research community – access the following link to find out more.

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.

Failing to publish data from clinical trials presents risk to human health

NHS, open access, Publishing, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy

A recent inquiry into research integrity was made earlier this year by the Science and Technology Committee, which revealed that nearly half of clinical trials fail to publish their results.

This lack of publishing has been deemed a risk to human health and a contributory factor in research wastage.

The article gives examples of a number of studies that are yet to be published, and how this activity ‘threaten(s) research integrity, and in some cases, endanger(s) human life’. The full article can be found here.

The University has administrative access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system – get in touch with us  if you are conducting clinical research, to ensure that you have access.