Category: Projects

Developing innovative approaches to increasing awareness of asthma control among young people

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In Control

Based on findings from research previously conducted by the school-based asthma project, part of our Child and Adolescent Health Theme, the team have worked with Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre to develop a theatre production addressing asthma control. The theatre piece In Control has been performed in schools since June 2017, and was recently featured as part of the British Science Festival held in Brighton 5th – 9th September 2017.

Photo credit: Gerard Monaco

The aim of the play is to change the perception and image of asthma among young people, in order to help those with asthma feel supported and therefore better able to manage their condition. Written as a collaboration between the theatre and research teams, young people with asthma were involved to advise on the storylines and dialogue to make the play as real and as accessible as possible.

In Control follows a 15-year old girl, Jazz with asthma through a week of detention with two of her classmates. Usually confident and outgoing, Jazz hides that she has asthma and is reluctant to accept help when finding it difficult to breathe. After the play, the protagonist stays in character as the students participate in a discussion of the themes raised, facilitated by the other two actors. Engaging the school audiences through theatre gives a new angle from which to involve young people in thinking and talking about the challenges faced by those with asthma.

Dr Gioia Mosler from QMUL said: “It was an amazing experience seeing the direct emotional effect that a play can have on these school groups. We have been hugely encouraged by the initial reactions to this project and we are already starting to study how effective this kind of intervention can be to help young people deal with their asthma.”

Dr Jonathan Grigg, professor of paediatric respiratory medicine at QMUL and project lead added: “We must develop innovative ways of improving asthma outcomes in children and young people. Our work with Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre has identified a new space where interventions can be delivered and tested outside the standard medical model.”

Photo credit: Tunde Euba

Dr Gioia Mosler, Outreach and Learning Manager for the school-based asthma project, and Tunde Euba, Arts Practitioner working with Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, have written about the development of In Control for The Lancet: Taking Control Through Drama 

 Asthma Dodge

Also featured at the British Science Festival, was Asthma Dodge – a smartphone game developed in collaboration with the Centre of the Cell, a science education centre at Queen Mary University of London. In the game, the player takes the role of a young person with asthma. The aim is to run as fast as possible to reach the Centre of the Cell, dodging the asthma triggers along the way. Information about asthma is incorporated into the game, such as how asthma affects the airways, how different medication works, and the different types of triggers for asthma symptoms.

The ‘Asthma Dodge’ game can be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play stores; visit the Centre of the Cell website to read more. #Asthma Dodge

School-based Questionnaire on Asthma Control in London Secondary School Children

In a previous study from the school-based asthma project team, questionnaires completed by over 750 secondary school-aged students from schools in London revealed that only 54% of participants were managing their asthma well. Out of those whose asthma was not well controlled, almost half thought they had good asthma control. The school-based questionnaire also highlighted that students often feel uncomfortable about using an inhaler at school.

A short summary of this study can be found here, or read the full paper here.

 

 

Congratulations to CLAHRC HEE NCEL Fellow Pinkie Chambers

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Pinkie Chambers, a senior pharmacist at UCLH and former CLAHRC HEE NCEL Fellow is celebrating success in securing a prestigious NIHR Fellowship award.

After spending a year with the CLAHRC to hone her research skills, and against stiff competition, Pinkie secured a Doctoral Research Fellowship (DRF), which offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to undertake a PhD.

The DRF is aimed at individuals, of outstanding potential, early in their research careers.

The Fellowship scheme aims to fast-track them through a customised research training programme in an environment reflecting their individual talents and training needs.

It is anticipated that successful applicants would become independent research leaders within 6 to 10 years of completing the DRF award.

During her year with us as a CLAHRC/HEE NCEL Fellow Pinkie developed her skills and worked on her application to the NIHR.

Her areas of interest include improving the chemotherapy pathway for cancer patients, and supporting patients to self-administer some of their blood tests to avoid hospital visits.

As well as her work as a Senior pharmacist at UCLH, Pinkie is also Joint Chair of the London Cancer Chemotherapy Expert Reference Group.

In particular Pinkie was commended by the NIHR for her efforts to involve patients and the public in her work which were described as “exceptional” – thanks in no small part to the CLAHRC’ Research Advisory Panel who Pinkie worked with during her CLAHRC/HEE NCEL Fellowship and who she presented to twice.

Read more about Pinkie’s time with us here

Our congratulations to Pinkie and best wishes for her future career

Is screening for HIV in primary care cost-effective?

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Our recently published research on the cost-effectiveness of screening for HIV in primary care has caused a great deal of interest and widespread media coverage.

We have produced a BITE sized summary of the paper with the headline findings and links to further information of interest.

The research, published in The Lancet HIV, represents the first time a model to explore the cost effectiveness of screening for HIV in primary care has been applied to the UK.

Our data provide the most reliable analyses to date and justify the investment needed to deliver HIV screening in primary care in the 74 localities considered to have high HIV prevalence – essentially most UK metropolitan areas.

Researcher and practicing GP Dr Werner Leber from Queen Mary University London said:
“We’ve shown that HIV screening in UK primary care is cost effective and potentially cost saving, which is contrary to widespread belief. This is an important finding given today’s austerity. Financial pressures, particularly within local authority’s public health budgets, mean that the costs of HIV testing are under intense scrutiny, and in some areas investment in testing has fallen.”

CLAHRC asthma awareness video is making an impact

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Our Behind the Jump video is impacting young people with asthma.

Our asthma schools study worked with Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre (GLYPT) to produce the short asthma awareness film shot at the LEAP Parkour Park in Westminster, London.

A recent comment has high praise for the film

“The timing of the release of this video after the recent tragedy within our community felt particularly important. I’ve been asthmatic since I was three years old, and have a lung capacity so pitiful that it shocks and confuses doctors every time I get retested (“are you sure you did the test right??”) but when I’m out training Parkour I always feel my healthiest. I should be less lazy about using my inhalers, this was a good reminder. Great video.”

 

CLAHRC PhD student Ryan Palmer enjoys success at the Health Services Research UK conference

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CLAHRC PhD student Ryan Palmer enjoyed success at the recent prestigious Health Services Research UK conference in Nottingham.

Ryan (pictured above) is a Health Foundation Improvement Science PhD Student working under the primary supervision of Professor Martin Utley.

His research, part of our Methodological Innovation theme, focuses on patient flow between community and hospital services and he won one of the runner up prizes for best oral presentation held at the conference, which brings together researchers and NHS organisations, alongside third sector bodies, professional groups and private sector associates.

Ryan’s poster (below) and oral presentation focused on patient flow within community healthcare.

Ryan is based at one of our CLAHRC partner organisations – North East London NHS foundation Trust – where is he is helping the Trusts leaders and managers model patient flow and referral patterns so they can better design and plan services.

GP-based testing for HIV is cost-effective in areas of high prevalence and should be rolled out in 74 local authorities

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New CLAHRC research published in The Lancet HIV has found that offering HIV testing to people on registration with a new GP in areas of high prevalence of the disease is cost-effective and will save lives.

Researchers based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) carried out the study in areas with high prevalence of HIV – involving 86,000 people from 40 GP surgeries.

The promising results prompted CLAHRC researchers to call for a roll-out of HIV screening to all 74 high HIV prevalence local authorities in England (those with more than two diagnosed HIV infections per 1,000 adults).

HIV treatment is expensive, particularly when diagnosis is late. Early diagnosis means earlier intervention and treatment, saving the NHS money.

Building on earlier research from a trial in Hackney – a socioeconomically deprived inner London borough with an HIV prevalence rate of 8 per 1000 adults – the trial involved 40 general practices where they tested the effect of rapid fingerprick HIV testing as part of the standard health check during registration. They found it led to a four-fold higher HIV diagnosis rate.

Using a mathematical model that includes all the costs associated with HIV testing and treatment, the team now show that primary care HIV screening in high prevalence settings becomes cost-effective in 33 years (according to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE] criteria).

The CLAHRC North Thames study was carried out in partnership with NHS City and Hackney and involved University College London, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University of Warwick, and University of British Columbia.

Dr Werner Leber from QMUL said: “We’ve shown that HIV screening in UK primary care is cost effective and potentially cost saving, which is contrary to widespread belief. This is an important finding given today’s austerity. Financial pressures, particularly within local authority’s public health budgets, mean that the costs of HIV testing are under intense scrutiny, and in some areas investment in testing has fallen.”

Read the full paper

Rebecca F Baggaley, Michael A Irvine, Werner Leber, Valentina Cambiano, Jose Figueroa, Heather McMullen, Jane Anderson, Andreia C Santos, Fern Terris-Prestholt, Alec Miners, T. Déirdre Hollingsworth, Chris J Griffiths.

Cost-effectiveness of screening for HIV in primary care: a health economics modelling analysis.

The Lancet HIV. DOI:10.1016/S2352-3018(17)30123-6