News
University Operating Board: Research in Conflict Zones
The University Operating Board has put forward their Recommendation for research that may take place in conflict zones further details can be found here
Cerebral Palsy Research in Belfast and Melbourne: Exchanging and Collaborating
Karen McConnell, Nursing and Midwifery PhD student, was awarded the Marcia Mackie Studentship in April this year allowing her to travel to Australia in the autumn. The studentship will facilitate discussion and exploration of research opportunities with distinguished researchers from The University of Melbourne, Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in relation to the epidemiology, assessment and treatment of cerebral palsy (CP) in children and young people.
During her visit, Karen will meet with therapists and researchers who have utilised constraint induced movement therapy, a novel treatment for children with CP that she is investigating as part of her PhD. She will also meet with researchers who have been involved in developing and validating measurement tools for children with CP which will include a visit to the Rehabilitation Sciences Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. Karen will also link up with the Melbourne CP register. She anticipates that the visit will greatly enhance the writing up of her PhD and provide her with an international perspective on rehabilitation of CP. It will also provide an opportunity to identify areas of mutual interest that may be amenable for collaborative research between Belfast and Melbourne.
Cochrane Fellowship Applications
If you are interested in applying for a Cochrane Fellowship please submit a CV, title and abstract of the review to The Cochrane Development Group, Nursing & Midwifery Research Unit no later than the 11th of April. The purpose of this process is to ensure you secure support from the School of Nursing and Midwifery to undertake the fellowship, to identify a supervisor for your review and provide support to expedite the application process. Informal enquiries to Mrs Jenny McGaughey (ext 6553) or Dr Fiona Alderdice (ext 6569). For more information please click here
Ventilation protocols may speed recovery for critically ill patients
A systematic review undertaken by researchers from Queens has shown that the time spent receiving mechanical ventilation can be reduced by about a quarter when standardised weaning protocols are used in comparison with usual practice.
The review was led by Dr Bronagh Blackwood from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, together with Drs Peter O’Halloran and Fiona Alderdice also from Nursing; Dr Chris Cardwell from the School of Medicine; Dr Gavin Lavery from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast Trust; and Dr Karen Burns from University of Toronto, Canada. They looked at 11 clinical trials involving 1971 patients. The trials compared the use of protocols to wean intensive care patients from the ventilator against usual practice and were conducted in America, Europe and Australia. Published in the British Medical Journal (details of which can be found here), the review showed that in comparison with usual practice, weaning protocols reduced the average total time spent on the ventilator by 25%. The duration of weaning was reduced by 78% and length of stay in the intensive care unit reduced by 10%.
Dr Blackwood explained that many critically ill patients require mechanical ventilation to help with their breathing. However, ventilation brings additional risks such as mechanical injury to the throat or vocal cords, injury to or infection of the lungs and complications of prolonged patient immobility. It's important, therefore, to reduce and stop ventilator support (known as weaning) as soon as a patient is able to breathe independently. Weaning from mechanical ventilation is an enduring challenge for patients in the intensive care unit. For a number of years using clinical protocols to guide practice has been suggested as one way to reduce the length of time patients spend on a ventilator. For the first time, this review brings together the best current evidence on the use of protocols. It asks the question: Can the use of protocols by both doctors and nurses reduce time spent on the ventilator and length of stay in intensive care without an increase in adverse events? Broadly speaking, the answer this review gives is 'yes'.
However, the research team found that reductions were not consistent across all studies. There was considerable variation in the types of protocols used, the criteria for considering when to start weaning, the methods of weaning, the medical conditions of the patients and usual practice in weaning. This means that caution needs to be applied when generalising findings to other intensive care units. Nevertheless, although the review provides some answers, it raises a number of intriguing questions that require further exploration: What is the optimal weaning protocol? Which patient groups will benefit most from the use of protocols? How does organisational context affect successful implementation?
The study was funded through a Cochrane Fellowship award for Dr Blackwood by the Research and Development Office, Northern Ireland and the Health Research Board, Ireland.
Dr Joanne Reid Awarded Florence Nightingale Foundation Travel Scholarship
Lecturer in Cancer Nursing Dr Joanne Reid has been awarded a Florence Nightingale Foundation 2010 Travel Scholarship. This award will allow Dr Reid to travel to the Princess Margaret Hospital and University of Toronto to work with nurse researcher Dr Doris Howell. The aim of this work is to develop a pilot study of an educational, supportive nursing intervention on patient and family distress and ability to cope with changes in eating due to cancer.
Changes in eating affect the majority of patients with cancer. Managing such changes is a formidable task for patients, their families and health care professionals. The work that will be undertaken in Canada by Drs Reid and Howell will use data derived from qualitative research in both Canadian and N. Irish patient and family populations and empirical evidence to design an educational, supportive nursing intervention. This will include a written educational resource to prepare patients and their families in coping with changes in eating. Additionally, the researchers plan to refine the educational intervention based on its feasibility and acceptability from the perspective of patients, families and nurses.
Dr Jenny McNeill Awarded Florence Nightingale Foundation Travel Scholarship
Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship Award: Implementing Innovative Antenatal Care
This award from The Florence Nightingale Foundation will facilitate further investigation of a new model of antenatal care and the potential applicability for introduction in NI. Current research has indicated the model (US origin) has impacted positively on maternal and fetal outcomes. The award will also facilitate a research residency in a specialised RCT unit led by Professor Ellen Hodnett at The University of Toronto with the aim of developing research skills around RCT’s and enabling further research collaborations.
Crisis Pregnancy Agency Ireland launches new report by NMRU, November 2009.
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. The full report is available for download on http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/pub/report%2021%20hyde.pdf.
For more information contact Dr Maria Lohan m.lohan@qub.ac.uk
Research Funding news...
A team of researchers, led by Dr Valerie Holmes from the Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit have secured £200,000 in grant funding from Diabetes UK to carry out a project entitled: “An interactive DVD to increase awareness of reproductive health issues and preconception care in women with diabetes: Design, Development, Pilot and Evaluation”. Other researchers involved in this project are Dr Fiona Alderdice, Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit, Dr Roy Harper, Ulster Hospital, Dundonald and Dr David McCance, Royal Group of Hospitals.
For more information please contact Dr Valerie Holmes. v.holmes@qub.ac.uk
Research Publications news...
Collette Donnelly, an NI RDO Doctoral Fellow based at the School of Nursing & Midwifery has had her PhD study protocol published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing:
Donnelly C, Parkes J, McDowell B and Duffy C. (2008) Lifestyle limitations of children and young people with cerebral palsy: A population study protocol (LiLAC Study). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61 (5); 566-578.
This is the first time the Journal has published a study protocol and Collette's paper has attracted a welcome Editorial by Professor Jane Noyes.
Research Teaching news...
E-learning module 2008 - Clinical Trials Find out more...
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Upcoming Research Events...
NMRU Expert Seminar Series
19th November 2009
Speaker: Dr Karalyn Hill
Title: "Fathers’ Views and Understanding of their Roles in Families with a Child with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia: Emerging Themes and Clinical Implications."
Dr Karalyn Hill works a clinical psychologist in a Tier 3 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team. As part of her doctoral training she worked within the RBHSC. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the methodology, she undertook research exploring how fathers of children diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) perceived and understood the roles they had within their family over the course of their child’s illness and treatment. The research paper developed from this study is currently in press with the Journal of Health Psychology.
22nd October 2009
Speaker: Dr Fiona Lynn
Title: "Value of a third trimester ultrasound scan for low-risk, healthy pregnant women: a discrete choice approach"
Fiona has been working as a research assistant in the School of Nursing and Midwifery for the past four years, under the research theme of maternal and child health. She recently completed her PhD in the area of Health Economics. Her research interests include women’s preferences for antenatal and postnatal care and stated preference discrete choice modeling
29th September 2009
Speaker: Dr Moyra Mills
Title: "Using a patient-held quality of life diary as an intervention for patients with inoperable lung cancer"
Moyra qualified from the UUC in 1992 with a BSc in Nursing and RGN. She worked in general wards for 4 years before becoming a clinical trails nurse recruiting patients on to pancreatic and thoracic trials. After working in this role for 5 years she returned to clinical practice where she was the nurse in charge of the GI Physiology Unit in Special Investigations at the RVH. Since completing her PhD she has worked as a post-doc research assistant with Epidemiology and Public Health on Cancer Survivorship.
RSVP, Theresa McNally, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tel (028) 9097 6569 , or alternatively email theresa.mcnally@qub.ac.uk
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