Aug 09

Prof. Chris Whitty to deliver CHSS Annual Lecture 11/10/19

CHSS Annual Open Lecture:

‘Interdisciplinary Research and Neglected Areas’
– Professor Chris Whitty
Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser
Department of Health and Social Care 

5.30 for 6pm, Friday 11 October 2019
Colyer Fergusson Building, University of Kent, Canterbury

The lecture is preceded by a drinks reception from 5.30-6 pm. We hope you will be able to join us for this don’t-miss event.  #CHSSopen19

Free and open to all. No need to book.  Enquiries to :H.L.Wooldridge@kent.ac.uk

CLICK for more details in our event flyer >

This event is part of the University of Kent’s Open Thinking programme        #KentOpenThinking

 

Aug 06

CHSS Newsletter Summer 2019

Our Summer 2019 CHSS newsletter is now available to read or download on our website.

Our cover features news of a significant NIHR research funding package to establish a new Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) for Kent, Surrey and Sussex. CHSS Director Stephen Peckham will lead the ARC, which will work to boost applied health and care research and support its implementation into practice to improve services.

Our centre pages report on some of the great work CHSS is doing through the University of Kent’s Global Challenges Research Fund and there is news of recent and forthcoming events, including our 2019 Annual Lecture. Our regular ‘CHSS People’ page profiles Health Economist Dr Eirini Saloniki. Page 7 is given over to recent publications, including some encouraging data on the potential of yoga to treat depression and anxiety.

You can subscribe to future issues by email. Our online archive is also available.

We always welcome feedback, suggestions or comments. Contact h.mcgregor@kent.ac.uk

Jul 12

CHSS Director to head new NIHR regional research collaboration

Professor Stephen Peckham will be the first Director of the £9m Applied Research Consortium for Kent Surrey and Sussex. Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the ARC aims to improve health and social care research. The five-year funding will be boosted by an additional £5m investment from local NHS trusts, local authorities and universities.

He will work with researchers from across the partner health and social care organisations including the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), at Kent and other universities to develop research to help improve services, and train the next generation of health and social care researchers.

Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Kent welcomed the award of NIHR funding for the ARC and said: ‘The success in gaining one of these prestigious national awards is recognition of the close collaboration between this university and NHS organisations, local authorities and universities across this region’ .I am delighted that Professor Peckham will be director of the new consortium and welcome our working partnership with the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as lead organisations within this new venture.’

More information about the ARC here >

 

 

Jun 14

NEW! CHSS/KBS MSc in Healthcare Management @ University of Kent, Medway Campus

Apply now for September 2019!

The new MSc in Healthcare Management has been designed in collaboration with the Kent Business School to meet the needs of business and industry and offer unique insights on contemporary issues in the global economy.

Through varied modules covering the most relevant and current issues relating to healthcare management, it equips graduates for transition into doctoral studies or a career in this field.

The MSc programme commences in September 2019 at Medway. It is open to anyone interested in developing skills or building a career in or around Healthcare Management, and will deliver the necessary tools and skills to address the challenge of the ever-changing climate within the NHS, pharma and third sector organisations, as well as international health systems.

For more information contact the CHSS Programme Director of Studies and Academic Adviser, Dr Catherine Marchand:  email:  C.Marchand@kent.ac.uk   tel: 01227 827912

 

About CHSS
CHSS is a centre of research excellence undertaking high quality studies into a range of health systems and health services issues at local, national and international levels since 1989. It delivers world-class teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level. CHSS collaborates with partners in Kent, the UK and internationally to improve links between research, policy and practice.

 

May 02

CHSS Newsletter Spring 2019

Our Spring 2019 CHSS Newsletter is now available to read or download.

This issue is full of research news including new projects with topics ranging from Yoga for wellbeing, to increasing NHS workforce research capacity to improve clinical practice.

Recent events reported include the successful launch of a new video to promote breastfeeding among the Kent Roma community, co-produced by CHSS Visiting Darzi Fellow Philippa Burdon. Slovakian Roma mothers talk about their personal experiences feeding their children.

‘CHSS People’ on p6 meets Research Fellow and Senior Statistician Tracy Pellatt-Higgins, and p7 features publications that have attracted considerable attention.

You can subscribe to future issues by email. Our online archive is also available.

We always welcome feedback, suggestions or comments. Contact h.mcgregor@kent.ac.uk

Apr 30

Darzi project film launched to promote breastfeeding

A film to promote breastfeeding among Kent’s Slovakian Roma community was formally launched on Thursday 25th April at the Turner Contemporary Gallery, Margate.

CHSS Visiting Darzi Fellow Philippa Burden co-produced the video which documents women’s own views and experiences. The event attracted over 70 people who participated in a workshop about next steps supporting breastfeeding with the Roma community. The celebratory launch – red carpet and all – was followed by a traditional Slovakian lunch.

Philippa said “CHSS has been a welcoming, supportive place to be a Darzi Fellow – thank you all – and I’m ending my Darzi year on a very positive note.  Do watch our film!”

For more details of the event and the film, view recent local press coverage:

Isle of Thanet News

Hawkinge Gazette:

 

 

You can view the film along with other CHSS videos here.

Mar 29

NEW article! Digital healthcare – let’s not leave patients behind!

CHSS visiting Darzi Fellow Dr James Hadlow (pictured) and CHSS Clinical Professor Chris Farmer have written a timely article on Digital Healthcare, newly published in the New Statesman Tech.  The fascinating piece raises ethical and moral questions about a ‘digital future’ which is already with us, highlighting the vital importance of meaningful patient engagement in this area. Work is being done to define  ‘good vs bad’ technology, but more needs to be done to decide what good and bad means for patients.

‘As clinicians we have a responsibility to do the best for our patients. Proper engagement of our patients to ensure fully informed consent is imperative.  It is not good enough to innovate without engaging the public or properly considering the moral and ethical dilemmas which might arise as the result of their design and implementation. This duty lies not only with technologists and scientists, but also with clinical staff to exercise their own moral judgement in the appropriate use of these technologies’.

Read the full article here. 

 

 

Mar 15

Researchers find way to predict kidney transplant rejection

Researchers from the MRC Centre for Transplantation and the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ Biomedical Research Centre have found a novel way to predict rejection of a kidney transplant before it happens by monitoring the immune system of transplant patients.

The research, featured in journal EbioMedicine showed that a signature combination of seven immune genes in blood samples can predict rejection earlier than current techniques. Monitoring these markers in transplant patients with regular blood tests could help doctors intervene before any organ damage occurs and improve outcomes for patients.

CHSS Clinical Professor Chris Farmer is Consultant in renal medicine at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) was a co-author of the report. He said: ‘this was a large multi-centre study trying to find ways of improving transplant outcome through better surveillance. These results are very exciting and may pave the way for reducing the need for kidney biopsies in kidney transplant recipients and improving tailored use of anti-rejection treatments’.

A renal transplant offers the best treatment for patients whose kidneys have failed, with around 3,000 carried out annually in the UK. Acute rejection occurs when the body’s immune system begins to attack the donated organ. This is a common complication in the first year after the transplant, affecting around two in 10 patients.Currently, acute rejection can only be confirmed by taking a biopsy of the transplanted organ. While acute rejection can be treated, this can only be done when the organ is already affected and damage has already occurred.

Once the new technique is validated further, it has the potential to offer clinicians the use of a simple blood test to predict rejection. Being able to intervene before the event will help prevent damage to patients and extend the life of the transplanted organ.

Read more on the Medical Research Council website

https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/blood-test-could-give-two-month-warning-of-kidney-transplant-rejection/

Feb 11

CHSS Professor receives MBE at Buckingham Palace

Congratulations to Sally Kendall, who received her MBE on 31 January in recognition of 30 years of research in nursing and health visiting. As Professor of Community Nursing and Public Health she is renowned for practice-based research in the area of parenting and maternal and child health. Her parenting work is internationally recognised and implemented from Kent to Japan.

Sally said: ‘I am delighted and honoured on behalf of the nursing profession to receive the MBE. It is a particular privilege to be honoured for research in nursing. It has been an important part of my work to raise the profile of nursing and develop evidence-based practice.’

She is currently leading a national study of breast-feeding promotion ‘Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly’, in collaboration with Yale School of Public Health. Sally is also Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University in Western Australia, contributing to research on Aboriginal Health in families and communities.

She is also co-editor in chief of Primary Health Care Research and Development, an internationally-recognised journal, and co-chair of the International Collaboration of Community Health Nursing Research, a UK charity supporting international community nursing research dissemination.

Sally Chairs the European Primary Care Forum, which seeks to develop international perspectives on community health initiatives.

Read more about Sally’s research in our latest newsletter.

 

Feb 08

CHSS Newsletter Winter 2018/19

Our latest CHSS Newsletter is now available to read or download.

We are working on some new and exciting research including our cover story around improving migrant health and an NIHR project to find the optimum team climate for General Practice.

Events news includes a recent World Cafe Dementia event, ‘Tea, Technology and Me’ and a FREE half-day information event around NIHR funding. This will be hosted by the Research Design Service South East in London on 8 May.

Health Psychologist and Research Fellow Dr Sarah Hotham features in our regular ‘CHSS People’ slot.  We also report on Sarah’s work on social prescribing to help patients with social problems and its potential to reduce the burden on health and social care services.

You can subscribe to future issues by email. Our online archive is also available.

We always welcome feedback, suggestions or comments. Contact h.mcgregor@kent.ac.uk