research by and for the allied health profession: playing to our strengths
TRANSCRIPT
Building capacity for researchinto complex interventions
PLAYING TO OUR STRENGTHS
Gail MountainProfessor of Applied Dementia Research
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY1
What are our strengths?
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY2
My listInvolved in interventions designed to enable well being e.g. independence/self management/ participation
Understanding of these complex interventions within systems of service delivery
Partnerships with end users of services and other practitioners
Practical, hands on, collaborative, trained in research
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY3
Some of the current priorities for health/ social care policy and research (aside from cure)• Prevention of long term conditions/ co-morbidities
across the life course e.g. prevention of dementia
• Self management of long term conditions across the life course e.g. obesity in childhood and adulthood
• Delay/ better management of morbidity in the extended lifespan e.g. frailty, end of life
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY4
More priorities• The social movement in health, social care and
communities e.g. mobilisation of community resources (Vanguards), dementia friendly communities
• Digitalisation of health, social care and communities e.g. telehealth, telecare, robotics
• Importance of design and environment e.g. urban living partnerships
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY5
There is a focus upon….• Psychosocial /non medical interventions
• Embedding techniques into interventions to promote and sustain behaviour change
• System change towards self management
• Secondary, tertiary and community services
• Voice of the public/ end user
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY6
Some of the infrastructures to foster and support allied health research• CLAHRCs – translational research, capacity building
• NIHR career trajectory for clinical academics
• CAPHR and other forums and groups
• Specific calls for complex intervention research etc etc
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY7
A research agenda that could have been designed by allied health and with support to get involved
The culture and environment has changed significantly
Allied health researchers are a highly valued resource
But I still hear people say that that they feel unsupported
Why??
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY8
How to get involvedMake yourself known to other researchers, local and national policy, ‘movers and shakers’
Seek employment and/ or roles that enable networking and collaboration
(In my case R&D officer for COT)
Follow trends; find out what is happening, research priorities and who is doing what
Review publications & conference paperskeep abreast of research policyTake opportunities to be on funding committees
Get a research focus but do not allow this to be limiting - maintain an open mind
In my case the focus has been ageing research, but this has spanned technology, healthy ageing, dementia, design…..
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 9
How else to get involvedTake measured risks and/ or manage uncertainty
For example opportunities to get involved in managed programmes, sandpits, secondments, fellowships… In my case my big break was through an EPSRC managed research programme
Learn from rejections/ mistakes For example lessons from my early involvement in research funded through the third sectorRejections always outweigh success – learn to be tough
Maintain an aura of confidence Even when it feels difficult; for example my involvement in HTA commissioning…..
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 10
Back to the research agendaNeed to exploit expertise in complex interventions; • Defining• Manualising • Exploring feasibility in practice
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY11
Use understanding of how interventions fit into the whole system
Mainstreaming assisted living technologies (MALT project; lessons learnt
Clinicians are end-users of remote care technologies….
more at; http://malt.group.shef.ac.uk/staff-adoption/key-messages.
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY12
Use knowledge of how to maintain the end user at the heart of what we do including researh
• https://whichmeamitoday.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/research-meeting-in-sheffield/
4 March 2016 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 13
CopyrightCathy Greenbalt