CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

THE 4^th HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL NURSING FORUM

 The 4^th Hong Kong International Nursing Forum will be held on 4 -5 June 2010.  The theme of this year’s Forum is “Health Care Reform: Nurses' Role in Promoting and Managing the Health of the Community” in support of the government’s movement on health care reform.

 The Forum will attract both local and overseas nurse leaders to discuss the significant roles and potential contributions of nurses under the reform, including Dr York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, Food and Health Bureau of HKSAR; Professor Alison While of King’s College London; Professor Judith Parker of Victoria University; Professor Jeanette Lacaster of University of Virginia and Professor Bonnie Stevens of University of Toronto. Other clinical and academic nursing leaders have also been invited to present their research and collaborative efforts in the concurrent sessions. It is hoped that the Forum will foster the exchange of innovative ideas and provide a platform for the strengthening of collaboration among local and international health care professionals.

The Organizing Committee is now calling for colleagues to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations. Abstracts should be submitted before 17 January 2010 to http://hknf.hku.hk 

A Special discount rate  is offered to colleagues who register for the event in a group of 5 or more people. 

Date:                                      4 – 5 June 2010 (Friday and Saturday)

Time:                                     9:00 am to 5:30 pm on 4 June;  9:00 am to 12:30 noon on 5 June

 Venue:                                 Cheung Kung Hai Conference Centre, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam,

                                              Hong Kong

 Online Registration &     http://hknf.hku.hk  (Early-bird Registration Deadline: 9 April 2010)

Abstract Submission:      (Abstract Submission Deadline: 17 January 2010 )

 CNE:                                    8.5 for Whole Forum

Queen’s University is to play a major role in the biggest trial ever conducted to investigate how music therapy can help children and young people with severe mental health problems.

 Researchers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s will work on the project with Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust (NIMTT), a charity providing music therapy services to people with disabilities and disorders who have profound communication difficulties.

 NIMTT has been awarded £326,164 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Research programme, to carry out Music in Mind - the largest study ever undertaken into the effects of music therapy on children and young people with severe mental health problems – with Queen’s and the Belfast Trust.

 The therapy will be trialled over a three year period on over 300 children and young people to test whether it improves their communication, self-confidence and self-esteem.

 The Queen’s research team is being led by Professor Sam Porter and includes psychologist Dr Katrina McLaughlin and Dr Valerie Holmes, who has extensive experience in carrying out major trials.

Professor Porter said: “The role of the Queen’s research team is to take an impartial and objective look at whether or to what extent music therapy improves the communication skills of children with severe mental health problems.

 “Research to date has not been able to conclusively answer these questions so this is why the Queen’s trial is of such importance.

 “The Music in Mind trial is by far the largest ever conducted in this area. Its size means that it will be able to generate results in which commissioners and practitioners of health care can have confidence.

 “It is a landmark in the scientific investigation of music therapy. Given that music therapy is practiced around the world, the significance of its results will be global.

 “Through our dynamic partnership with the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust, we have the opportunity to position the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s as the world-leader in this very important area of health care research.”

 NIMTT Executive Director Fiona Davidson explained that the findings of the pioneering study will have the potential to improve the psychiatric services provided for children and young people in Northern Ireland and across the UK.

 “The report by the Chief Medical Officer in Northern Ireland in 2005 showed that 20 per cent of children and young people in Northern Ireland are experiencing severe mental health problems by their 18th birthday.

 “The impact of 30 years of conflict also continues to have an effect on communities in Northern Ireland.

 “We want to show that music therapy can improve young people’s communication and mental health and their ability to work with other psychiatric services such as counselling. Music therapy builds a new language of communication for people who can’t use words or find it difficult to express how they feel. 

 “We hope that the findings, which will be presented to professionals and policymakers in Northern Ireland and further afield through an international conference, will if positive, lead to an increase in the provision of music therapy across the UK. Currently, attracting Government funding for music therapy is very difficult and this sort of evidence is increasingly required given the competing demands on health service funding. 

 John Devine, Principal of Edmund Rice PS, on the Antrim Road in the New Lodge Road area of north Belfast, said he had seen a marked improvement in the communication and confidence of pupils who have taken part in music therapy.

 “I hope this research will prove the benefits that music therapy brings to the lives of young people. This school is in an inner city area - the fifth most deprived area in Northern Ireland.

 “The legacy of the Troubles has been passed down through the generations and continues to affect young people today. Some young people struggle to cope with the everyday interactions involved in school and society.

 “We have children here who can be completely introverted and find it difficult to socialise and mix with their classmates. We also have pupils who can be complete extroverts and can be aggressive towards others.

  “From the minute they go to the therapist we see a change in them. They look forward to going to the therapist and return to class settled and more receptive. They are more relaxed, so their learning improves, and the learning of everyone around them improves.

 “Consequently when parents, used to the problems of difficult behaviour, hear their child is doing better in school they themselves take more of an interest in school life.”

 The funding is part of a grants roll-out of over £20million across the UK from the Big Lottery Fund’s Research programme which supports high quality social and medical research projects across the UK.

The School of Nursing and Midwifery  at Queen's has been ranked as the Number 7 Nursing School in 'The Times' Good University Guide 2010, published on June 4th 2009. The Guide’s judging criteria includes research (as determined by the results of the 2008 RAE), entry standards, teaching quality (as determined by the National Student Survey ) and employment prospects for a graduate of the School. Professor Linda Johnston, Head of School, said “The School’s outstanding perfomance in the ranking is a reflection of the internationally recognized research and excellent teaching  by our academic staff in the School, together with the first class frameworks  in place within the School to support students through their Queens experience and to prepare them for their careers ahead”.

The School of Nursing & Midwifery (QUB) will be serving as co-organisers of the 4th Hong Kong Nursing Forum (Dept of Nursing Studies HKU).

For more details please click here

Crisis Pregnancy Agency Ireland launches new report by School of Nursing and Midwifery Lecturer, Dr Maria Lohan and colleagues in University College Dublin. The report is entitled Parents’ Approaches to Educating their Pre-Adolescent and Adolescent Children about Sexuality. More details can be found on the press release here

The School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast has a unique opportunity to fund a PhD studentship attached to the School’s two ongoing research programmes. The Maternal and Child Health research programme focuses on vulnerable groups in pregnancy, childbirth, infancy and childhood.  The Cancer and Palliative Care programme explores cancer and end of life care in both adults and children. (View application information)

12 Full-time PhD Studentships in Interdisciplinary Childhood Research Available at Queen’s

As part of a major strategic investment by Queen’s into childhood research, the University is currently advertising 12 full-time PhD studentships. 6 of these are being provided through the Improving Children’s Lives research initiative and 6 through the Research Forum for the Child.

The 6 studentships associated with Improving Children’s Lives project are open to home and EU applicants. The studentships relate to specific projects that will be jointly supervised across various Schools within Queen’s. For more information on the initiative as well as on eligibility criteria, potential projects, guidance notes on how to apply and who to contact for informal enquiries please visit www.improvingchildrenslives.org .

The 6 studentships associated with the Research Forum for the Child are open to home, EU and international applicants. These studentships are open to any area of interdisciplinary research on childhood.  For more information on eligibility criteria, guidance notes on how to apply and who to contact for informal enquiries please visit www.qub.ac.uk/child.

All of these studentships are available from October 2009, and cover University fees and a maintenance allowance of £13,290 per annum, for three years.

Continuing Professional and Academic Development Prospectus

The Continuing Professional and Academic Development Prospectus 2009-2010 is available for download here

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