A key area of the School’s SWAN Action plan is the promotion of an academic career to students.  To address this, we are pleased to announce the launch of the 2022/23 Research Studentship Scheme open to final year undergraduate and postgraduate taught (MSc) students to undertake research activities in the School of Nursing and Midwifery.  There are five studentship awards available for £1,200 each, providing a stipend of £200 per week for six weeks working on a full-time basis or £100 per week for 12 weeks working on a part-time basis.

An outline of the projects aligned to each of the five studentships, including the title and description of the activity, as well as contact details of the lead academic supervisors are listed below.

Student Application Process

Interested students are asked to complete the student application form and submit alongside a short one-page CV and a copy of their current unofficial academic transcript for their degree programme.

The deadline for applications is Friday 26 August 2022 at 5pm

Applications must be submitted via email to Dr Fiona Lynn (f.lynn@qub.ac.uk)

Students will be notified of the outcome by 05 September 2022

If you have any queries about the application process or the studentships on offer, please contact Dr Fiona Lynn (f.lynn@qub.ac.uk).

STUDENTSHIP 1

TITLE: Patient and public involvement (PPI) in co-designing an exercise intervention for men with prostate cancer

LEAD SUPERVISOR: Dr Malcolm Brown (m.brown@qub.ac.uk)

SECOND SUPERVISOR: Dr Gillian Prue

DESCRIPTION: We have recently been awarded a small pot of seed funding (from the PPI network), to engage men diagnosed with prostate cancer and a lived experience of radiotherapy, to participate in co-designing an exercise and radiotherapy trial.

It is known that tumour hypoxia can impact the effectiveness of radiotherapy, and exercise can improve levels of oxygenation. Animal models have shown that exercise can improve tumour hypoxia and therefore treatment efficacy, but no human data exists and the mechanisms are poorly understood.   We are currently designing a novel clinical trial to determine if exercise can be implemented immediately prior to radiotherapy treatment and improve hypoxia and hence outcomes.  As part of this design, we are seeking PPI input to gauge perceptions about this intervention, with the overarching aim of intervention and trial refinement.  This will involve workshops with key stakeholders including patients with a lived experience of prostate cancer and health care professionals (oncologists and radiographers) to gain an understanding of the acceptability and feasibility of the proposed exercise intervention timing (i.e. immediately prior to radiotherapy treatment).  These co-design workshops, alongside an already published review and planned small pilot study will form the basis of a larger grant application.

This project can offer students experience in a number of areas that can assist in their professional development including PPI activities; steering committee involvement; clinical trial design; experience of co-design methodology; and grant applications.

STUDENTSHIP 2

TITLE: Data extraction, synthesis and write up of a scoping review of literature, in collaboration with Suicide Prevention Research Impact Network 

LEAD SUPERVISOR: Dr Karen Galway (k.galway@qub.ac.uk)

DESCRIPTION: In 2020, a new network was established: Suicide Prevention Research Impact Network for Northern Ireland – SPRIN. The aims of the network are to develop connections, support and advocacy.

The research studentship will focus on a scoping review: Support needs for carrying out research involving those affected by suicide. It is considered critical to support those working in this challenging area, in order to ensure the success of ongoing capacity building and succession planning within research on suicide prevention. The research student will carry out the following tasks:

• Work with an existing review protocol, and completed search results to complete a scoping review
• Extract data from 15 articles identified
• Synthesise the evidence, with support from members of SPRIN’s network development group (co-authors)
• Incorporate lived experience insights to the review, by discussing the findings with Families Voices Forum representatives and researchers
• Write up review and submit for publication

The student will receive ‘on the job’ training supervised by a Cochrane Author (KG). Skills development will also include use of review software Rayyan and referencing software such as Mendeley. The student will also be required to assess publication requirements and work with members of the SPRIN Network Development Team to incorporate lived experience insights to the review. Most importantly and most beneficial to the student would be the opportunity of co-authorship on the published peer-reviewed article.

STUDENTSHIP 3

TITLE: Data analysis and write up for the PALLVET Study which is a mixed methods study exploring Mindfulness in PALLiative care for American war VETerans

LEAD SUPERVISOR: Dr Clare Mc Veigh (clare.mcveigh@qub.ac.uk)

DESCRIPTION: The international PALLVET Study has been exploring the use of mindfulness as a psychosocial intervention for American war veterans with palliative care needs. This study aims to identify the views of American war veterans with a life-limiting illness in relation to mindfulness, and explore the perceptions of healthcare professionals involved in their care. It is hoped this study will lead to a potential mindfulness intervention, which could be embedded within the care of American war veterans with a life-limiting illness. This study is being conducted at Boise VA Hospital in Idaho, with involvement from clinicians and academics from the University of Washington and Mc Gill University, Montreal. 

The successful candidate will be supported in the use of SPSS and NVivo to help analyse descriptive statistics from a veteran questionnaire, and aid in the thematic analysis of focus group data. The successful candidate will also help in writing up the findings for publication and be added as an author on the paper. 

STUDENTSHIP 4

TITLE: Exploring the experiences of healthcare professionals in supporting the sexual health needs of patients with end-stage kidney disease or a kidney transplant

LEAD SUPERVISOR: Prof Helen Noble (helen.noble@qub.ac.uk)

SECOND SUPERVISOR: Dr Clare McKeaveney

DESCRIPTION: Sexual health is an integral part of overall health, well-being, and quality of life. However, there is an increased prevalence of sexual health issues among patients with chronic disease (McGrath et al. 2021). Epidemiological evidence suggests that women and men with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) receiving renal replacement therapy may have more than 107% and 195% increased prevalence of sexual dysfunction than their healthy peers, respectively (Luo et al. 2020). Disentangling sexual dysfunction can be difficult as the aetiology of sexual dysfunction is often multifactorial and includes a heterogeneous group of disorders due to chronic kidney disease stage, treatment-related factors, hormonal impairment, co-morbidities, and psychosocial factors (Harrison et al. 2020). Work is required to help understand why sexual dysfunction concerns are not routinely addressed by renal healthcare professionals and to enhance knowledge and confidence (Hendren et al. 2019; McKie et al. 2021). This will help to inform clinical guidelines. The student will assist with a survey of the experiences of healthcare professionals in supporting the sexual health needs of patients with ESKD or a kidney transplant across the UK. The study fits within the School’s Chronic Illness and Palliative Care research theme.

Outcomes of this survey will inform future qualitative work. The applicant will be required to begin a background literature section and assist with adapting a survey previously used in a cancer population; assist with the launch of the survey on social media and continue with writing the background and methods for a future publication; assist with collation of results and analysis; complete data analysis; develop draft paper for publication.

STUDENTSHIP 5

TITLE: Developing best practice guidance for using multiple choice questions in assessment

LEAD SUPERVISOR: Dr Katherine MA Rogers (k.rogers@qub.ac.uk)

SECOND SUPERVISOR: Dr Iseult Wilson

DESCRIPTION: Are you considering post-graduate study, or an academic career, in nurse education?

Participating in this research studentship will provide insight into a significant assessment strategy used throughout nurse education programmes.

Within the Education and Practice Research (EPR) Theme our Assessment stream is the developing a School strategy for multiple-choice question (MCQ)-based assessment.  As significantly more assessments within the School now utilise this form of examination, a robust and transparent process is required to ensure consistency in the approach taken with question writing and, pre- and post-assessment quality assurance checks. The next phase in our programme for development of an MCQ Strategy is to undertake a robust review of relevant current literature to inform the pedagogical principles that will underpin our School MCQ Strategy.

This co-design research studentship will require the candidate to undertake a thorough guided search of relevant literature to identify key themes associated with MCQ-based assessment in healthcare programmes and produce a report for the EPR group.  This will ensure that our Strategy proposal is informed by current best evidence and good pedagogical practice. 

This assessment-themed project is suitable for someone considering an academic career, as it introduces key concepts aligned with the principles of academic assessment in higher education and provides insight to the development of assessment strategies.  It also provides training and development of transferable skills in undertaking a literature review, academic writing for publication and creating a live presentation.  The student’s contribution will be fully acknowledged on all outputs from this project.