Research impact

Overall our strategy is to increase the amount of research that supports healthcare and which focuses more on the social model of wellness rather than medicalisation of ill health.

Standardised data collection

Physiotherapy

Professor Ann Moore has designed her musculoskeletal research to underpin the work of the allied health professions both in the NHS and in private practice and including osteopaths.

One pressing issue is the quality of the data that the researchers have available to work with. Here Professor Moore has worked to enable health professionals, particularly physiotherapists and more recently osteopaths, to collect high quality data in practice using physiotherapy Standardised Data Collection tools (SDC).

These SDC tools included forms to collect patient data as well as information around presenting symptoms, management and treatment at first appointment, second and subsequent appointments and final outcome(s) of care.

The development of the SDC tools in each case has been seen as the foundation for future research developments, as the data collected identified a cluster of research questions that need to be answered in each of the disciplines.

Osteopathy

A profession-specific standardised data collection tool was developed using similar principles and processes for the osteopathic profession between 2008 and 2010. Following piloting, a national survey took place where 1,603 data sets were collected from 350 osteopaths across the UK, utilising the developed osteopathic-specific tool. A full report on this work was published by the General Osteopathic Council on its website in September 2010.

In each case the data generated from the use of the SDC tools and in the range of snapshot surveys has been used by professional organisations, for example, Physio First, and in the case of osteopathy, has been used by the regulator - General Osteopathic Council.

Development of the Council for Health Professions Research (CAHPR)

Under Professor Moore’s leadership the University of Brighton, in collaboration the University of Brighton, Southampton University and Kings College, London, led in the formation of the National Physiotherapy Research Network, which merged into the Allied Health Professions Research Network (AHPRN) in 2012.

The creation of the network, of which Professor Moore has been the chair and now the Director, meant Allied Health Professionals being able to work together more closely in the fields of research.

The network utilises 23 research hubs across the UK and Republic of Ireland, in its work. It has representation from a range of health professions in addition to physiotherapists, including Art Therapists, Drama Therapists, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Orthotists and Prosthetists, Podiatrists, Speech and Language Therapists, Dieticians, Radiographers and Orthoptists.

From this broader membership base, the network can facilitate more sharing of expertise and allow the most to be made of the research resources available across the Allied Health Professions.

The AHPRN recently became the Council for AHP Research (CAHPR) and was launched in 2014. Its mission is to develop allied health profession research, strengthen evidence of the professions’ value and impact for enhancing service user and community care, and enable the professions to speak with one voice on research issues, thereby raising their profile and increasing their influence. CAHPR is supported by 12 AHP professional organisations and comprises a strategy committee, an AHP professoriate and a UK wide regional Hub network

CAHPR provides excellent opportunities for learning, sharing, networking, collaborations and access to advice and support. CAHPR strengthens the professions’ research activities and outputs facilitating the translation of research findings into practice and education.

The Neater Uni-wheelchair steering kit

Dr Anne Mandy and her team developed the Neater Uni-wheelchair Steering Kit attachment to convert a standard wheelchair for use by hemiplegic patients. This work was undertaken in response to a Department of Health (DOH) priority to develop technology to support elderly and disabled people living independently at home.

The kit attachment makes propulsion easier which in turn has resulted in improved ergonomic efficiency. The prototype attachment was first developed in 2002 by retired faculty fellow Dr S Lesley who then formed a collaboration with Dr Mandy for testing, redesign and evaluation.

It was designed and evaluated by users, wheelchair services and therapists and was renamed the Neater Uni-Chair once in manufacture (NUW). Following manufacture the development has been showcased by NIHR in a publication which details the work as an example of a successful collaboration between academia, the NHS and industry.

The work has also been published for stroke users in Stroke News which generated 29 enquires, requests for 18 demonstrations and several individual sales in addition to orders by Trusts. Recent work has explored abilities of users through the measurement of activities of daily living when using a standard issue one-arm drive wheelchair compared to the NUW.

Resilient therapy

Collaborative research with practitioners’ parents and young people led to the development of Resilient Therapy (RT) - an approach to building resilience in disadvantaged families. The RT model has been adopted by 10 local authorities in England as well as local and national charities as part of their service provision.

The RT approach has had international impact and has changed the design, delivery and evaluation of services for young people and families in Crete and Sweden. RT has been commended by the Chief Medical Officer (UK) for its contribution in supporting children. Over 120 community partners and service users were closely involved in the co-production of the research and for many of them this changed their roles in the community as they were central to the production and use of tailored training materials self-help guides and courses.

In particular, the BoingBoing website, which is a community-university collaboration.

National Association of Educators in Practice (NAEP)

NAEP, which is chaired by Dr Jane Morris, is a support network for educators in practice across the allied health professions, midwifery, nursing and all health and social care professions.

The pedagogy in health and social care research area has close links with the National Association of Educators in Practice (NAEP) and members regularly present at the annual conference and publish in the International Journal of Practice Based Learning in Health and Social Care that has been developed between NAEP and the Higher Education Academy.