Research Heroes of the Month
Small beginning, immediate impact
Research heroes are individuals who are part of a hidden army of staff supporting research across the organisation. We want to take the opportunity to celebrate their contribution and thank them for making a difference.
This month we focus on three staff who are undertaking small research projects that for a range of reasons are already having an impact.
Jennifer Mcintosh, Professional Lead for Allied Health Professionals and Dietitian and Hannah Curran, Specialist Dietitian
Jennifer and Hannah have been completing a project funded by a small pump priming grant provided by the Research and Development Department. They are conducting The COBALT Study: A Randomised Control Trial of Continuous enteral feeding versus Bolus Feeding for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa.
Hannah Curran
During their project they used their clinical expertise to create the research to ensure it would be relevant and helpful for their service users. They have also showed perseverance in difficult times where pressures conspire to reduce their ability to make meaningful change. Their passion has rubbed off on others and they have inspired student dieticians to take part in research. They have used the project to create new links and new relationships by reaching out to colleagues in different trusts.
Hannah says: “For me it’s a fantastic opportunity to pursue my interest in research, gain real insight into what service-users are experiencing and is a chance to make a difference to future practice.”
Jennifer Mcintosh
Jennifer explains: “Being involved with the nasogastric (NG) feeding research has enabled me to step back and start to understand the bigger picture regarding NG feeding for young people with eating disorders across the region. Leading to we hope, recommendations for the future to improve NG feeding practice. Improving the experience for both the young person, their families and the health professionals involved.”
Emma Pearce, Speech and Language Therapist
Emma Pearce has also been completing a project funded by a small pump priming grant provided by the Research and Development Department. She is exploring the unmet communication needs of patients living with dementia in the Older People’s Service inpatients units.
The outputs of Emma’s work have already been used on wards to inform practice. She used innovative solutions to allow her to conduct the project including utilising bank staff. Emma has shown huge motivation and enthusiasm for incorporating research into her clinical role, despite the challenges of Covid and working part time. Her research has supported a business case for increased speech and language therapy resource. This will improve quality of care and outcomes for patients.
Emma said: “The role of speech and language therapists is not well understood in dementia and older persons mental health, my research looks at the importance of communication for older people with cognitive changes and dementia. We know there is an identified need, but it is not clear how we can best meet that need within the services provided. This research enables me to demonstrate our impact as a profession in a constructive way and show where the quality of multi-disciplinary care can be enhanced by the input from speech and language therapists.”