Category Archives: Events

Posted on by

CaHRU study presented at Abu Dhabi medical education conference

ottawa3_750 Dr Julie Pattinson presented at the Ottawa-International Conference on Medical Education (ICME), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; March 10th – 14th 2018. The conference is held biennially and provides a forum for medical and other health care profession educationalists to network and share ideas on all aspects of the assessment of competence in both clinical and non-clinical domains, throughout the continuum of education. There were near 1500 attendees, and hosted plenary sessions, symposia, oral presentations, workshops and poster sessions. Overall it was an educative programme covering all aspects of Health Professions with special emphasis on assessment.

ottawa2_750Julie Pattinson of CaHRU gave a presentation in parallel session 13, titled Postgraduate Assessment on Understanding Reasons for Variations by Ethnicity in Attainment in the Performance of General Practitioners in Speciality Training completing the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) Applied Knowledge Test; cognitive interview study. The study was conducted in collaboration with Professor Niro Siriwardena, University of Lincoln, Dr Bijoy Sinha, GP Speciality Training Director, Lincolnshire, and Dr Carol Blow, MRCGP clinical lead. Dr Pattinson talked about the differences that exists in ottawa4_750candidate performance in high stakes medical licensing examinations, specifically the MRCGP AKT, between black and minority ethnic doctors (BME) compared to white British doctors. Grounded theory analysis generated discussions into why differences exist in candidates of different ethnicity highlighted that overseas trained doctors do face additional difficulties answering AKT questions.

The study has provided a basis for developing interventions to reduce differential attainment in UK speciality training for general practice. Overall the conference was interactive and five minute questions were addressed after each presentation.

By Julie Pattinson

Posted on by

Laura Simmons presents systematic review on sickness absence interventions

warwick2Laura Simmons, PhD student in CaHRU and the Lincoln Institute for Health, recently attended the Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference on the 10th-12th January in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The conference’s main theme surrounded the notion of “Evolution +/or Revolution”, focussing on the contribution of new research whilst strengthening existing evidence. LauraSimmons2Keynote speakers included colleagues with expertise in leadership (Dr Edwin A. Locke) and employee wellbeing (Professor Karina Nielsen). Speaking about his experience of using the P value in Psychology, Andy Field presented an interesting session on the use of research methods within Psychology. There were a mixture of oral presentations, discussions and symposiums on a wide range of topics focused on applying research to an organisational setting. Laura attended sessions on workplace resilience and adventurous training (Nicola Bass) and Schwartz Rounds as an intervention to support employee wellbeing (Imelda McCarthy).

warwick1Laura also presented the results of the review, which was conducted alongside her colleagues Prof Christopher Bridle, Prof Niro Siriwardena and Dr Arwel Jones. The review focused on synthesising evidence on interventions that aimed to reduce sickness absence among healthcare workers. The poster was received well among delegates and sparked conversation regarding the applicability to healthcare systems within the United Kingdom.

Posted on by

Professor Graham Law gives inaugural lecture on ‘Sleep, sugar and statistics’ to a packed audience

GrahamLawinauguralProfessor Graham Law delivered his inaugural lecture on 30 January 2018 to a full audience of members of academic staff and the general public. The lecture included an outline of Graham’s academic career from posts at York and Leeds Universities to his current professorship at the University of Lincoln where he is a senior member of the Community and Health Research Unit and School of Health and Social Care. During the course of his career, Graham has published almost 100 research papers, many of which have been highly cited, including papers in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and American Journal of Epidemiology.

brayfordnight750The lecture continued with a discussion of what epidemiology is, and its origin’s with Dr John Snow’s discovery that cholera is waterborne, through his removal of the water pump handle at Broad Street in the Soho area of London which halted the epidemic. Graham spoke about his groundbreaking work on functional data analysis which involves complex analysis of large longitudinal data over time. This has included studies on a huge range of topics including the epidemiology of diabetes, sleep, gastrointestinal and a variety of other conditions. He has also supervised 10 doctoral students to completion of their PhD and has run programmes in epidemiological statistics at Leeds University, for medical and master’s students. More recently he has been investigating the relationship between poor sleep and the risk of developing diabetes.

Desk1Another aspect of Graham’s work which was very evident during his entertaining and informative lecture was his interest in increasing the public understanding of science. He has done his through engaging in many public lectures, television, radio and popular books such as his recent publication with Dr Shane Pascoe, ‘Sleep Better: The Science and the Myths’. Graham ended by explaining why he loved Lincoln University – his new colleagues, the lack of bureacracy and the ambition of Lincoln to develop as a world-class university.

Posted on by

Working with Parliament

Dr Coral Sirdifield and Dr Rebecca Marples from CaHRU were invited to meet with Sam Giymah MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice Duty Minister in November 2017. Coral and Rebecca discussed their current work on their Improving Healthcare Commissioning for Probation: Mapping the Landscape project, and how it fits with work that will shortly be undertaken by the department.

Parliament

Together with Professor Charlie Brooker (Royal Holloway, University of London), Coral and Rebecca have also contributed to a consultation on standards and ratings for inspecting probation services.

They also attended training (along with Dr Stephanie Armstrong, CaHRU) on working with parliament hosted by De Montfort University. Here they learnt about contributing to Select Committee enquiries, and ‘POST notes’ produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. This was particularly useful in terms of identifying plans for a future POST note focusing on Sleep – an area that CaHRU has done a lot of research in.

Posted on by

Hannah Henderson receives PhD for studies on exercise referral schemes

Dr Hannah Henderson, lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Science was awarded her PhD at this week’s graduation ceremony at Lincoln Cathedral attended by students, parents and friends, staff, and senior staff from the University of Lincoln. Hannah’s doctoral thesis entitled, “Intended actions, unintended outcomes: towards a processual graduationunderstanding of exercise referral schemes” investigated referrals for supervised physical activity by GPs and other primary care professionals. The these was supervised by Professor Siriwardena of CaHRU, Professor Jaqui Allen-Collinson (Sport and Exercise Science) and Dr Adam Evans (University of Copenhagen).

Exercise referral schemes (ERSs) have developed since the 1990s. Although the evidence for their effectiveness is still equivocal, the complexity of how schemes operate and individuals working with them interact, has been largely overlooked. Hannah was interested in how individual interpretations of ERSs might be co-produced by interactions between those central to the service, and how this might influence both service delivery and impact. The study therefore aimed to address this by exploring participants’ understanding of ERSs, and how these perceptions affected ERS service provision.

The research focused on one case-study ERS in the East of England, using semi-structured group and one-to-one interviews. A process sociological lens was adopted to provide novel insights into participants’ perceptions of ERSs, their role and their ability to influence ERS service provision. Data were also supported by self-elicited reflections from the researcher’s ‘insider’ position to the county’s ERS. The analysis revealed conflicting interpretations of ERS service provision, and perceptions of the scheme’s receipt and impact. The networks of relationships affected participants’ experiences and shaped the delivery of exercise referral. The findings suggested how the actions and interpretations of those central to a service fundamentally altered delivery which influenced the very existence of the scheme.