Kent Health News and Events

Applications are invited for a European Research Council (ERC) 3 year PhD studentship, on the project: Tracking the cognitive basis of social communication across the life-span (see www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/CogSoCoAGE/). The studentship will be undertaken under the supervision of Dr Heather Ferguson and Dr Victoria Brunsdon at the University of Kent’s School of Psychology, starting in September 2016. Also collaborating on the research project is Dr Lizzie Bradford (University of Kent).

Deadline for applications is 1 March 2016; all materials, including references, must be received by that date. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and a decision made by 1 April 2016.

For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please see the full advertisment: www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/pg/erc-studentship-2016.html.

Forensic Psychology is the study of the psychology of crime and criminal behaviour. Over ten weeks join some of the UK’s leading experts in forensic psychology and go beyond what you see on the TV shows to learn about the psychology of victims, offenders, crime investigation and rehabilitation.

This engaging and entertaining series of lectures should suit anyone with an interest in forensic psychology including those thinking of pursuing a similar topic at university or those who simply have an interest in psychology and crime and would like to learn more about the history as well as the latest developments in this fascinating field.

For details see the booking site or download the flyer.

Congratulations to Dr Anna Brown, who has been awarded £108,223 by the Alzheimer’s Society for a project entitled “C-DEMQOL Measurement of Quality of Life in Family Carers of People with Dementia”.

2016 International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research (ICCHNR) Symposium
“Changing populations, changing needs: Directions & models for community orientated primary care”
15 & 16 September 2016, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

Abstract submissions are now open
Registration will open 1 March 2016

CHSS is delighted to be hosting the ICCHNR Symposium. The overall aim of the two day event is to explore new models and ways of working for all nurses and other health and social care practitioners within a community orientated primary care context.
An exciting programme of international speakers who lead on the research and development of innovative models of care will appeal to a multidisciplinary audience.

Confirmed speakers: 
Jos de Blok   (Buurtzorg organisation, Netherlands)
Ruta Valaitis   (McMasters University, Canada)
Maxine Jones   (NUKA model, NHS Tayside, Scotland)
Juan Carlos Contel   (Regional Health Council of Cataluña, Spain)
Vari Drennan   (Kingston and St Georges University London, England)
Alison Leary   (London South Bank University, England)
Catherine Evans   (Kings College London, England)
Susan Hamer   (National Institute of Health Research, England)
Jenny Billings  (University of Kent, England)
David Gilbert   (Patient Director, England)
Jane Ball (Southampton University, England)

Find out more on the ICCHNR website
Kent 2016 flyer (002)

2016 International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research (ICCHNR) Symposium:

“Changing populations, changing needs:
Directions & models for community orientated primary care ”

Thursday 15th & Friday 16th September 2016, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

CHSS are delighted to be hosting the ICCHNR Symposium at the University of Kent next year. The two day event will be themed around new models and ways of working for nurses and health and social care practitioners within community and primary care.

Find out more about this event on the ICCHNR website

Professor of Health Policy Stephen Peckham recently led research investigating a possible link between fluoride in drinking water and underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). 

A feature article in Boxing Day’s Guardian highlighted Stephen’s research, outlining his – and other experts’ – call for a moratorium on fluoridation pending more robust evidence around its safety as well as its effectiveness as the major policy initiative in preventing dental decay in children.

Read the Guardian article >

Dr Andrea Manfrin and Dr Janet Krska went to Rome on Monday 12th October 2015 to present the final results of the RE I-MUR (Randomised Evaluation of Italian Medicines Use Review) study to an audience of around 80 people in the Senate building. The meeting was organised by the Italian Pharmacists’ Federation (FOFI), which funded the study. Andrea presented the results and Janet put them into an international context.

RE I-MUR represents the first clinical trial conducted in the Italian community pharmacy setting, but it also appears to be the largest conducted in community pharmacy using asthma in the world, involving 15 out of 20 Italian regions. Among the speakers were the President and Vice president of the Italian Pharmacists’ Federation (FOFI), which funded the study, plus a member of the Italian equivalent of the MHRA, a president of an important consumer organisation, and representative of the pharmaceutical industries, all of whom acknowledged the importance of the study.

The main results of the study are that pharmacists’ intervention (the I-MUR, which is based on the English Medicines Use Review provided by community pharmacists) increased the number of patients whose asthma was controlled by 25%, improved adherence to medicines by 38% and reduced the number of medicines regularly used by patients by 8.2%. A clear relationship was found between adherence to medication and asthma control. The economic analysis confirmed that I-MUR is a value for money intervention, with strong potential to provide savings and return on investment for the Italian National Health Service.

The slides from the talk and a summary of the work were made available on a number of websites in Italy and the presentation received excellent media attention. To date, more than 30 pages have been published about the RE I-MUR study in Italy, following a blaze of publicity generated by FOFI, reaching at least 1,722,000 potential readers in Italy. It is likely that this study will result in changes to the way in which community pharmacists work in Italy, as well as their training.

Read the report

Melina Malli, Phd student at the Tizard Centre alongside Dr Rachel Forrester-Jones and Professor Glynis Murphy, have published a recent article “Stigma in youth with Tourette’s syndrome: a systematic review and synthesis”.  

Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a childhood onset neurodevelopmental disorder, characterised by tics. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews exist which focus on examining the body of literature on stigma in association with children and adolescents with TS. The aim of the article is to provide a review of the existing research on (1) social stigma in relation to children and adolescents with TS, (2) self-stigma and (3) courtesy stigma in family members of youth with TS. Three electronic databases were searched: PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science. Seventeen empirical studies met the inclusion criteria. In relation to social stigma in rating their own beliefs and behavioural intentions, youth who did not have TS showed an unfavourable attitude towards individuals with TS in comparison to typically developing peers. Meanwhile, in their own narratives about their lives, young people with TS themselves described some form of devaluation from others as a response to their disorder. Self-degrading comments were denoted in a number of studies in which the children pointed out stereotypical views that they had adopted about themselves. Finally, as regards courtesy stigma, parents expressed guilt in relation to their children’s condition and social alienation as a result of the disorder. Surprisingly, however, there is not one study that focuses primarily on stigma in relation to TS and further studies that examine the subject from the perspective of both the ‘stigmatiser’ and the recipient of stigma are warranted.

Canterbury’s Westgate Hall played host to well over 100 local people today, at CHSS’ ‘Let’s Talk’ drop-in event designed to increase public engagement with and interest in health and social care research.

CHSS research and administrative staff were on hand to talk about the Centre and their specific projects, including dementia, weight management, long-term health conditions and health psychology. A wide variety of exhibits, activities and information offered the public a chance to learn more about CHSS research and contribute their ideas and opinions about what health research means to them.

There was no shortage of volunteers to participate in the ‘mindfulness and chocolate’ exercise, offer individual insights on what ‘wellbeing’ means to them and give their views on what our research priorities should be. Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence Leah Thorn’s film ‘watch’ was screened throughout the day. The event was also a great opportunity for people to exchange their ideas over a buffet lunch.

Our lucky shopping voucher winner was registration number 62.

CHSS Public Engagement Officer Amanda Bates, who organised the event said: ‘I am delighted that so many people came out to find out more about health research and learn about what we do here at CHSS. The people we spoke to were really engaged and I hope that this will be the first of many events involving the public. I’d like to thank everyone who attended, and all my colleagues who helped make it such a great success. The staff at the Westgate Hall deserve a special mention for all their fantastic help and support!’

Look out for details of future CHSS events on our news page and on Twitter.

#chssletstalk