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ADOPTED PROJECT: The cross-sector implementation of NICE-recommended CBT-based interventions for young people in care: Framework Chief Investigator: Dr Rachel Hiller– University of Southampton Project Team Members: Dr Gretchen Bjornstad– University of Exeter, Dr Tim Clarke – Norfolk & Waveney Children and Young People Care Group, Dr Kristian Hudson– Improvement Academy Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Professor John Macleod– University of Bristol, Dr Ruth McGovern– Newcastle University, Dr Hugh McLeod– University of Bristol, Professor Richard Meiser-Stedman– University of East Anglia, Dr Sara Morgan– University of Southampton, Dr Beverley Slater– Bradford Institute of Health Research, Professor Paul Stallard– University of Bath, ProfessorJohn Wright– Bradford Institute of Health Research, Dr Patrick Smith– King’s College London. Organisations Involved: Swindon Borough Council, Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES) Children’s Services, Thinking Allowed specialist-service, Bristol, Newcastle City Council Children’s Social Care, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (East) Background: Young people in care (care-experienced young people; CEYP) have substantially higher rates of mental health difficulties compared to their peers. Their unaddressed mental health needs have been identified as a key driver of a range of poor outcomes that categorise this group. For example, CEYP they are five times more likely than peers to be excluded from school, comprise 50% of the young male prison population, and 25% of the homeless population. Such outcomes are not inevitable. Yet services are often struggling to effectively address the mental health needs of this group, and thus prevent some of these wide-ranging consequences. To begin to address this complex issue, we are proposing a pilot implementation project, working with CAMHS, social care and third- sector mental health services across four target ARCs. Our pilot project aims to address this via overlapping stages that form the essential framework for a full-scale implementation trial. These are: (1) A scoping review and consultation with CEYP, carers, and services to develop an initial implementation framework, based on the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR) (2) The development of our implementation resources, including training materials

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Events Coming up Tue, May 14 Ageing & Dementia Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more May 14, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Microsoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Ageing & Dementia Team Wed, May 15 Qualitative Research Network Meeting: Photo Elicitation / Online MSteams Details May 15, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Online MSteams Photo Elicitation as a qualitative method Thu, May 16 Workforce and Health Systems Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more May 16, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Tue, Jun 04 Healthy Communities Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Jun 04, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Microsoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Healthy Communities Team Wed, Jun 05 Collaborating for Impact / West End Details Jun 05, 2024, 9:15 AM – 2:30 PM West End, Botley Rd, West End, Southampton SO30 3XH, UK How ARC Wessex research is improving our communites' health and care Thu, Jun 20 Long Term Conditions Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Jun 20, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Microsoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Long-Term Conditions Theme Thu, Sep 19 Workforce and Health Systems Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Sep 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Thu, Apr 18 Social Care Lunchtime Seminar / Online Seminar Details Apr 18, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Online Seminar My journey from dementia care assistant to PhD and beyond by Leah Fullegar Thu, Mar 21 Social Care Lunchtime Seminar / Online seminar Details Mar 21, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Online seminar Participatory action research by Professor Lee-Ann Fenge Mon, Mar 18 Webinar: Healthy Communities and Care Homes / Microsoft Teams Webinar Learn more Mar 18, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Microsoft Teams Webinar Wed, Mar 13 CRED Talk: Working with care homes to help residents eat and drink well / Microsoft Teams Learn more Mar 13, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Tue, Mar 12 Qualitative Research Network / webinar Details Mar 12, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM webinar An overview of co-production and experiences of using co-production in research Tue, Feb 27 Supporting Nursing, Midwifery & Allied Health Professionals Research Development / Chilworth Details Feb 27, 2024, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Chilworth, 3 Venture Rd, Chilworth, Southampton SO16 7NP, UK A cross network event held by ARC Wessex and CRN Wessex for managers & stakeholders Wed, Feb 14 Workforce and Health Systems Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Feb 14, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Mon, Feb 12 CRED Talk: Rebalancing Health and Social Care Experience in the Pre-Registration Nursing Curriculum / Microsoft Teams Learn more Feb 12, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Tue, Feb 06 Ageing & Dementia Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Feb 06, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Microsoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Ageing & Dementia Team Mon, Jan 29 Webinar: What we continue to learn from COVID-19 / Microsoft Teams Learn more Jan 29, 2024, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Microsoft Teams Mon, Jan 22 Long Term Conditions Theme Meeting / Microsoft Teams Learn more Jan 22, 2024, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Microsoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Long-Term Conditions Theme Thu, Jan 18 Local authority adult social care recruitment and retention research project presentation / Lunchtime Webinar Details Jan 18, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunchtime Webinar Mon, Jan 15 CRED Talk: Knowing how to support mouth care and health for older people living in care homes / Microsoft Teams Learn more Jan 15, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Microsoft Teams Fri, Dec 01 Understanding narratives through timeline drawings / Online Seminar via MSTeams Details Dec 01, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Online Seminar via MSTeams Part of the Qualitative Research Network Mon, Nov 20 Webinar: Modelling complex healthcare and social care needs / Microsoft Teams Learn more Nov 20, 2023, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Microsoft Teams Thu, Nov 16 Social Care Lunchtime Seminars / Online Seminar Details Nov 16, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Online Seminar Reflections on developing collaborative research projects’ by Dr David Raper Fri, Nov 03 Healthy Communities Theme Meeting / Miscrosoft Teams Learn more Nov 03, 2023, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Miscrosoft Teams An opportunity to learn more about the work of the Healthy Communities Team Thu, Oct 19 Social Care Lunchtime Seminars / Online Seminar Details Oct 19, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Online Seminar Beyond the interview: considering creative methods in social care research by Dr. Annabel Tremlett Load More Previous events

< Back Engaging Children and Young People in Research Community of Practice Inaugural Meeting ARC Wessex Early Career Researchers - Cara Black, Naomi Leonard, Olivia Taylor and Annabelle Prescott September 2023, University of York, UK There is a knowledge gap in our understanding about approaches and methods for meaningfully involving and engaging with children and young people in matters and decisions that impact on them. We went to a two-day meeting at the University of York with researchers from the University of York, Bristol, Hertfordshire, Southampton and Auckland, NZ as well as a representative from the International Alliance of Mental Health Research Funders. This group came together to form an international Community of Practice (CoP), with the goal of sharing learning, methods, and experience for effective ways to engage young people. It also highlighted the wide variety of opportunities for putting children and young people at the heart of research, decision making and advocacy for their mental health and well-being. Here are our reflections as early career researchers (ECRs) from the meeting: What did we gain from the meeting? We thoroughly enjoyed being with professionals who have expertise in research for youth health, wellbeing, mental health, and youth advocacy. We gained an understanding of what exactly a community of practice is, listened to the experiences of all members and contributed to the conversations. It was lovely to hear international voices and get to exchange creative ideas for involving young people and encouraging them to share their ideas, as well as learning a great deal about youth engagement in general. What were our highlights? Hearing from the Healthy Mind Apprentices; Chloe, Kenzie, Lauren & Phoebe who are a group of young people passionate about mental health who work across Bradford and Craven to support young people, communities and schools with their health and wellbeing. They reflected on their time working with Y-MHESH and spoke about what their apprenticeship meant to them and what they have learned along the way. They shared with us that the problem is not that young people don’t have a voice; they instead believe that decision makers are not listening. Therefore, it was interesting to hear that we need to take necessary steps to ensure ‘decision makers’ are able and willing to share the decision-making power with young people. Overall being involved in the CoP was positive, as we had the opportunity to be involved in discussions with leaders in the field. Often, we can become ‘stuck’ in our ideas, so having the opportunity to present new ideas and challenge our Community of Practice to think in novel ways which align with the realities for children and young people was a highlight for sure. What could have been improved? It might have been more beneficial for our CoP group if the Healthy Mind Apprentices joined us for longer, as these fabulous young people reminded us that it is about listening and valuing meaningful involvement of children and young people, so it would have been great to have more youth representation in our own decision-making processes. Youth voices should be included throughout our CoP meetings, whether this be the Healthy Mind apprentices or groups of different young people. One of the main challenges in this area is that when coproduction and research is done with young people, they often don’t see the outputs they have created or get to feel the impact of their work before they move. It’s important we consider this when setting out to do co-production work or research with children and young people. What are the advantages of involving early career researchers in research and in the CoP? We provide a fresh perspective on topical issues today and have greater freedom to think beyond our specialty areas. This gives us the ability to consider the broader picture at an international or societal level and bridge the gap between young people and established researchers, as we understand the points of view and needs of young people, while simultaneously understanding research processes. This meeting was a great way to solidify the learning from the CoP and focus us on a clear path forward to best support the goals of children and young people in research. Reflections Reflections on public engagement and engagement in research for young people From the perspective of an ECR, it seems extremely important that “brand image” and visibility are recognised by senior management at universities and funders at research centers. Engaging well with the public, in this case, young people, both heightens visibility and reinforces brand image, which is why Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) work with young people within schools, young people’s PPI groups and other youth groups, including the Healthy Mind Apprenticeship scheme, is so valuable. Although, it can be difficult to get PPIE work funded. The purpose of PPIE work is to get people’s views on what needs to be researched and what is important to them, so to do this after a project has been decided defeats the purpose. Young people form part of our communities, but their inputs have been historically overlooked as unimportant or uninformed. Yet, some of the most valuable insights come from our young people, because at the end of the day this is their reality, and they live it every day. It is therefore crucial to have young people be meaningfully engaged so research, funding and decisions are aligned with what people want and need – and children and young people should be no exception. If we consider and give power to the voices of young people, then perhaps we can work to meaningfully elevate the health and wellbeing of entire future communities. So with that, we leave you with this whakatauki (Māori proverb). Mā whero, mā pango ka oti ai te mahi With red and black the work will be complete Previous Next

PARTNERS Project: Development and implementation of a digital tool for multisectoralsupport and management of long-term condition PARTNERS Project: Development and implementation of a digital tool for multisectoralsupport and management of long-term condition Principal Investigator: Professor Mari-Carmen Portillo Co Applicants : Line Bragstad, Dr Dorit Kunkel, Dr Kat Bradbury, Dr Lindsay Welch, Hayden Kirk, Dr Caroline Barker, Sandra Bartolomeu Pires, Christopher Edwards, Lindsay Cherry, Francesca White, Caroline Aylott, Cathal Doyle. Partners: University of Southampton, University of Oslo, Solent NHS Trust, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS, Versus Arthritis, and Parkinson’s UK. Lay Summary Background to the research : Self-management is an approach to help people with long term conditions manage their health daily. Existing NHS self-management tools focus on healthcare (medication management, appointments) and fail to capture aspects of how people live with and adjust to long-term conditions. This includes social support (family/friends) and other resources and networks available like the voluntary sector, industry and community groups.We have created an intervention (an action to improve a situation or prevent it getting worse) to support self-management for people with Parkinson’s Disease and their family/carers. This intervention recognises the role of social support, voluntary sector, industry, and community groups in adjusting to living with a condition. Our next step is toadapt this intervention to the needs of people living with other conditions like Arthritis and for those living with more than one condition and create a digital tool. Aim of the research : To develop, implement and evaluate a digital tool that supports the management of people with Parkinson’s Disease and/or Arthritis. The tool will support professionals and other organisations to connect, share resources and optimise communication and referrals, leading to more personalised and cost-effective use of resources (beyond healthcare) in the community. Design and methods: The research will take place in community settings in Wessex. We will prioritise disadvantaged groups (those less comfortable using technology and less able toaccess available resources and support). We will : 1. Work with our patient and public involvement (PPI) representatives, relevant voluntary organisations, health and social care providers, and key people involved in policy making and NHS strategy. They will have a voice ineach decision to ensure our tool is relevant and acceptable to those using it. 2. Host discussion groups with people with Parkinson’s Disease and/or Arthritis and theirfamily/carers to understand the positive and negative aspects of existing digital tools, from a patient perspective. 3. Design our self-management tool. 4. Test the tool through two primary care surgeries (GP) and voluntary organisations (Parkinson’s UK and Versus Arthritis).Testing will help understand how the tool is used and what helps or hinders its success. Deliverables : The research will generate: a digital tool to support more effective self-management of Parkinson’s Disease and/or Arthritis, recommendations for policy development, evidence for how to improve NHS services. Public Patient Involvement: We willwork with people with Parkinson’s Disease and/or Arthritis and their families/carers. We will work together as equal partners to define their level of involvement, roles, methods to input and training needs. We will also explore what works best or what we should do differently intheir involvement. Dissemination : We will share our learning across the different groups involved. This will include presentations, policy briefings, newsletters, and public events.

ADOPTED PROJECT: EnablExercise in Crohns: A qualitativE study to uNderstAnd the Barriers and faciLitators to physical activity and Exercise IN children and adolescents with CROHN’S disease ADOPTED PROJECT: EnablExercise in Crohns: A qualitativE study to uNderstAnd the Barriers and faciLitators to physical activity and Exercise IN children and adolescents with CROHN’S disease Principal Investigator: Dr Zoe Saynor Co Applicants : Dr Nadeem Afzal , Dr Christopher Roberts , Professor Kelly Mackintosh , Dr Danielle Lambrick , Professor James Faulkner , Mr William Freer (PPI Contributor) Partners: University of Portsmouth, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Swansea University, University of Winchester, For Crohns (charity), Guts UK (Charity) Duration : 12 Months Background: We know that people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), of which one of the main forms is Crohns, are at a high-risk of not meeting the physical activity recommendations for health, due to a combination of bowel and general physical symptoms (e.g. abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fatigue). Additionally, there are currently no physical activity and exercise guidelines for young people with IBD – making it difficult to advise what people should be doing. Researchers within our team have been monitoring the effects of COVID-19 and associated lockdowns on physical activity and mental health on a global scale, and saw negative impacts in both people with long-term conditions and in the wider population. However, there is currently no data to tell us how young people with e.g. Crohns have been impacted during this time. in our centre, we are seeing an increasing number of people with Crohns transitioning from paediatric to adult care with metabolic syndrome and we anticipate this will rise in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: Assess the barriers to, and facilitators of, physical activity and exercise participation in young people with Crohns disease. Additionally, comparing their views to their parents/guardians and clinicians. Design and Methods: The proposed research will be a qualitative cross-sectional study consisting of individual semi-structured interviews with the three participant groups (in clinic for young people; videoconference for parents/guardians and clinicians). The interview schedule will be co-developed with people living with Crohns. Information from the interview will be digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. For the young people with Crohns involved in the study, we are interested in documenting their disease activity and nutritional/growth status at the time of interview so will use the Paediatric Crohns Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) to determine remission, mild activity, or moderate-to-severe activity and growth ‘weight height and BMI’ Z-scores for this. Clinical and Scientific Impact: Physical activity is important for both mental and physical health and is particularly important in people with a long-term condition. This work will provide important understanding of the views and experiences of young people with Crohns, their parents/guardians and clinicians surrounding physical activity and exercise. The findings from this qualitative study will provide insight as to why young people with Crohns may not undertake physical activity and exercise and will help inform the design and delivery of future appropriate physical activity and exercise programmes for this population. This information would complement our ongoing research (The ACTIVE-IBD Study), and will inform future funding applications to develop, evaluate and implement educational and interventional resources to increase the physical activity and exercise undertaken by young people living with Crohns. This funding award will help expedite our journey to the end goal of improving this provision and, ultimately, the quality of lives of people with Crohns

COMPLETED: Promoting person-centred care using the CHAT&PLAN conversation guide Promoting person-centred care using the CHAT&PLANTMconversation guide Project leads: Professor Jackie Bridges (Professor of Older People's Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Teresa Corbett (Lecturer, Solent University) Team members: Professor Jackie Bridges (Professor of Older People's Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Teresa Corbett (Lecturer, Solent University), Professor Alison Richardson (School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Jane Winter (Macmillan Consultant Colorectal Nurse, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust), Start: 1 October 2019 Ends: 30 April 2022 Project Partners: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Bournemouth University, Macmillan Cancer Support Lay summary The aim of this Wessex ARC project is to share a conversation guide we have developed through our research. The guide helps health and social care staff talk to older adults who have lots of different conditions. The guide has 8 steps that should be followed in a meeting with people about their needs and personal goals. We call the guide “CHAT&PLAN” and we’d like to make sure that people working in health and social care know about it and use it in their work. This website leads to resources to support people to use CHAT&PLAN in their work. We have a new project underway with the Wessex Cancer Alliance that tests out some new ways of supporting people with cancer, including the CHAT&PLAN. Corbett, T., Cummings, A., Lee, K., Calman, L., Fenerty, V., Farrington, N., Lewis, L., Young, A., Boddington, H., Wiseman, T., Richardson, A., Foster, C., Bridges, J. (2020). Planning and optimising CHAT&PLAN: a conversation-based intervention to promote person-centred care for older people living with multimorbidity. PLOS One . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240516 The following people were involved in the research behind the CHAT&PLAN: Dr Hilary Boddington, Professor Jackie Bridges, Dr Lynn Calman, Dr Teresa Corbett, Dr Amanda Cummings, Dr Naomi Farrington, Vicky Fenerty, Professor Claire Foster, Dr Kellyn Lee, Lucy Lewis, Professor Alison Richardson, Dr Jane Winter, Professor Theresa Wiseman, Alexandra Young

Understanding psychosocial determinants of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in older adults: exploring the role of social networks and loneliness in living with AUD (OLA study 2). Lead applicant : Professor Julia Sinclair Co-applicants : Dr Rebecca Band, Professor Jackie Bridges Implementation Champion: Dr Stephen Lim Starts: 01/01/2023 Ends: 01/07/2024 Summary Alcohol use disorders (AUD) in older adults is a growing problem which is currently under-recognised and under-treated. With little research into this area, there is no in-depth understanding about the factors that may contribute to AUD in older adults, nor the lived experiences of this group. Some have suggested that factors such as social isolation, loneliness and loss associated with older age may be important in understanding alcohol use. We know that in general, limited social contact and loneliness have a negative impact on both mental and physical health. One way to understand the amount and types of social connections someone has is to map their personal social network. This might include a whole range of people such as important family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances, pets, community places, groups or activities. This helps people to think about who is important in their daily lives, the roles that different relationships play, how this might have changed over time and how this might be improved, for example, by exploring ways to obtain additional support in the future. In this study we will invite older adults who have participated in a linked study to take part in an interview. The linked study will follow-up older adults with AUD for 6 months after being admitted into hospital. The people invited to this study will be selected based on lots of different factors, such as their age, how many people they live with, or how lonely they are, to ensure we are able to capture a variety of experiences within this group. Only those who have given permission to be contacted will be approached. The interviews will be 1:1 with a researcher and might happen in person, over the phone or through an online video call. Participants will first be guided through the process of mapping their current social network with the researcher. The interview will then discuss the support received from the person’s social network, as well as talking about the participants’ daily lives (including daily routines, physical and mental wellbeing and valued activities) and additional support needs. Interviews will last around 1 hour. They will be audio-recorded, transcribed and anonymised before analysis.

INVOLVing pEople with cognitive impaiRment in decisions about their hospital nursing care (INVOLVER): a pilot study Principal Investigator: Professor Jackie Bridges Team members: Professor Jackie Bridges (Professor of Older People's Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Jo Hope (Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Teresa Corbett (Lecturer, Solent University) Start: 1 January 2020 Ends: 31 December 2022 Project Partners: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Solent NHS Trust, Solent University, Centre for Implementation Science, University of Southampton Lay summary We want to help nurses look after their patients in hospital. We want to help them find out how each patient likes to do things like getting clean, going to the toilet, eating and drinking. Some people have to go into hospital to get better. Sometimes, when they are in hospital, the nurses don’t ask them enough about the way they like to do things. For example, if they like a bath or a shower. Or if they need help going to the toilet. Or if they would like to walk about. Or what food or drink they like. Not being asked about these things is not helpful. It might mean that people end up getting sicker and staying in hospital longer. Or they may go home needing more help from their family. People with dementia, learning disabilities or stroke may not be asked these questions about what they like. Sometimes the nurses don’t know how to do this well. Sometimes they know how to do it but can’t do it. The reasons they can’t do it are not well understood. We are a group of people who want to make this better. Some of us work at a university finding things out. Some of us are nurses. We want to include people with dementia, learning disabilities or stroke in our group. This will help us think about how to make things better. We think we can help nurses by using ideas that have worked in other places. When people like us have an idea about how something can be made better, we try the idea out and see if it works. An example of an idea we might try is a training day for nurses. A teacher in a classroom shows the nurses how to do something new. Then the nurses see if they can do the new thing when they go to work. We will write down the story of what happens. The story gets printed in a magazine or a book. Or the story might get shared in meetings with other people or on the internet. This is our plan to make an idea that will help nurses to help patients: Find and read the stories of ideas tried in other places that might be useful. Talk to patients, nurses and others to make an idea that we think will work. Talk to patients, nurses and others to see what they think about the idea. When we’ve done this work, we will be ready to try this idea out. If it works, when people go into hospital, they will be asked about what they like. And the nurses will be helpful. And the care will be a little more like being at home.

COMPLETED: Testing the effects of food product placement on customers’ visual attention and intended product purchases: a randomised trial in a virtual supermarket setting (Phase I) Does supermarket placement affect intention to buy healthy and unhealthy foods? Principal Investigator: Janis Baird and Christina Vogel, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology and Principal Research Fellow in Public Health Nutrition respectively, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Team: Dr Sarah Crozier, Senior Statistician, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Sarah Jenner, Senior Research Assistant at University of Southampton Dr Sarah Muir, Senior Research Fellow, University of Southampton Professor Marcus Munafo and Dr Olivia Maynard, Bristol University Ravita Taheem, Southampton City Council, Sure Start Children’s Centres Megan Brook, Public Contributor Tiana Chadwick, Public Contributo Start date: 1 October 2019 End date: 28 February 2022 Background Poor diet has been recognised as a major contributor to the burden of non- communicable diseases in the UK and costs the NHS approximately £6 Billion annually. Most adults in England consume too much salt, saturated fat and free sugar, and do not eat the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables. Among low-income groups these trends are more extreme. Almost 90% of UK grocery sales occur within supermarkets4 and their subtle use of marketing techniques influences the food choices of an almost captive market. Women of childbearing age are an important target group to study because they remain primarily responsible for domestic food tasks such as shopping and cooking and their nutrition status influences the short and long-term health of their children. Our prior work in Hampshire showed that the diets of women with low educational attainment were more affected by less healthy supermarket environments than women with higher attainment. Shopping at less healthy discount and small supermarkets, with poorer availability, pricing and placement of healthy foods, was associated with poor dietary quality among women who left school aged 16 years but not among those with degree qualifications. UK government policy recognises that more effort is needed to develop interventions to improve health equitably and is introducing legislation on product placement initiatives to support families to make healthier food choices in supermarkets. Research using adequately powered clustered randomised controlled trials in supermarkets is limited, largely due to the complexity and large number of stores required. Evaluating changes in supermarket layout is notoriously challenging due to differing health and business agendas and randomisation at the store level requires commitment that is problematic in this highly competitive, commercial setting. Virtual supermarkets offer a viable alternative to investigate the likely impact of supermarket-based, healthy eating policy options using robust trial designs. Additionally, neuroscience techniques, such as eye-tracking, offer objective evidence that complements self-report behaviours, and facilitate a deeper understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying health-related behaviours. Such techniques have been used to examine how product placement facilitates customers’ visual attention, however there is a gap in understanding of how visual attention differs according to the healthfulness of products, particularly while placed in prominent in-store locations and whether visual attention differs according to customer’s socioeconomic position. This study aims to use experimental randomised trials and a virtual supermarket setting to determine differences in visual attention and intended purchase of healthy, unhealthy and non-food products placed in prominent in-store locations such as checkouts. It will also assess effect modification by educational attainment on these relationships to explore potential effects on inequalities. This is the first of two phases of research assessing visual responses to product placement. In this phase, heat mapping technology using Qualtrics software determined whether interest in and intended purchase of products in prominent in-store locations differed if the products were healthy, unhealthy or non-food items. We assessed effect modification by educational attainment to explore potential effects on inequalities. Women with young children (n=230), recruited through Sure Start Children’s Centres, early years setting and other community groups in Hampshire, undertook shopping trips in a virtual supermarket to assess whether their purchasing intentions differ if unhealthy foods, healthy foods or non-food items are placed in prominent positions (store entrances, checkouts and end of aisle). Preliminary findings indicated differences in women’s intention to buy certain types of products according to their educational attainment. Women with no educational qualifications beyond aged 16 years were intent on purchasing fewer healthy products when they were placed in prominent locations whereas those with higher educational attainment were intent on buying significantly more healthy products. A total of 230 women participated in phase I, exceeding our target sample size of 52. The study Women were shown a series of pictures representing six journeys through a supermarket. Pictures focused on the areas in a store where most shoppers usually pass through including the store entrance, end-of-aisles and checkouts. In the first three journeys, women needed to click all items they were interested in. In the last three journeys they needed to click all the items they would intend to buy if this was a real shop. Each set of journeys included a healthy journey, unhealthy journey and a non-food journey. What were the results? 201 women took part in a virtual supermarket survey. Overall, women in the study showed more interest in unhealthy products than healthy or non-food items. At checkouts, however, they did show more interest in non-food items. Women intended to buy more healthy and non-food items than unhealthy food items. On average they wanted to buy 12.9 healthy products per shop compared to 11.5 unhealthy products. What difference will this make? Unhealthy products can be interesting to women who shop at supermarkets but they have higher intentions to buy healthy and non-food items in noticeable places in stores. Supermarkets usually place unhealthy foods in noticeable places to make profits. Replacing these unhealthy foods with healthy or non-food items will just as likely, if not more successfully, lead to purchases. This can help families lead healthier lives. Why is this important for patients, health and care providers and policy makers ? Placing unhealthy foods in noticeable places can lead to impulse purchases of foods that can lead to obesity. Our study shows that women do not intend to buy these foods but may show interest in them. Since 2022, UK policy has banned the placement of some unhealthy foods at noticeable places in supermarkets. This research provides evidence that customers likely support this policy as they would like to buy healthy and non-food items from these locations. What we are going to be doing next? We wanted to further understand how attention to healthy, unhealthy and non-food items differ in noticeable places in supermarkets. We therefore ran eye-tracking experiments with 70 women in Hampshire. Data are being analysed. We plan to report the results of our survey and eye-tracking studies to policymakers (e.g. Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England) via a policy brief. We also aim to share our results with families via Sure Start Children’s Centres, Facebook and Local Schools. We have plans to share our findings at public health conferences and in an academic journal.

PUNDIT – Predicting hospital Usage Numbers via a DIgital Twin Principal Investigator: Dr Carlos Lamas-Fernandez , Associate Professor in Business Analytics/ Management Science in Southampton Business School / Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton. Team : Professor Christine Currie , School of Mathematics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton. Dr Dan Burns , Innovation Centre, Electronics & Computer Science, University of Southampton. Dr Chris Duckworth , Innovation Centre, Electronics & Computer Science, University of Southampton. Professor Michael Boniface , I nnovation Centre, Electronics & Computer Science, University of Southampton. Professor Peter Griffiths , School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton. Dr Mark Wright , University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Starts: 1 April, 2024 Ends : 30 September 2024 Summary Hospitals in the UK are in crisis with high levels of occupancy. The percentage of occupancy in England during July-September was 88%, and in UHS it reached 92.2% . These levels exceed the safety threshold for hospital occupancy, which sits at around 85%. Together with difficulties to ensure a smooth patient flow across the hospital, this results in adverse effects for patients: elongated hospital stays, increasing the backlog of elective procedures, increasing delays in ambulance handovers and increased mortality. In practice, hospitals try and control high occupancy levels by certain interventions, such as dedicated discharge teams, re-scheduling or cancelling elective procedures or repurposing hospital wards. These measures, however, are reactive, i.e. when the occupancy is already reaching unsafe levels, rather than proactive, that is, when anticipating a high occupancy in the near future. Further, it is not clear whether occupancy levels have an effect on treatment and discharge times, but from frontline clinicians at UHS, there is the hypothesis that higher occupancy could make them longer (as clinicians are busier prioritising the sick over the well patients who could go home), compounding the occupancy issues. Higher occupancy also decreases likelihood of patients being in the optimal location. A related research project (PROCED) has shown early evidence that frequent ward/team changes increase delays in patient discharge. The aim of this project is to investigate the feasibility and build the foundations of a simulation model that can predict accurately future, short-term, hospital bed occupancy to inform interventions. The project will have a special focus on investigating the feasibility of a model to be tailored to use in practice as a “Digital Twin” (DT), which can anticipate hospital occupancy under different scenarios, some of which can reflect proposed interventions.

ADOPTED PROJECT (COMPLETE) OPTIM Park COMPLETE: Optimization of community resources and systems of support to enhance the process of living with Parkinson’s Disease: a multisectoral intervention (Linked to PARTNERS) Chief Investigator: Professor Mari Carmen Portillo – University of Southampton Funder : Background: This ongoing project looks at strategies that could help people live with Parkinson’s disease in the community through better use of resources and systems of support. It has worked with other organisations and community groups to test out an intervention to improve the coordination of services and resources for people with Parkinson’s disease, along with their and family carers, in 4 European countries. The overall aim of this project was to establish the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention that will enhance the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their family/carer. It has helped build a multisectoral care pathway. Iin particular it has focussed on how to optimize the use of resources and systems of support in the community, for disadvantaged populations of different European countries. We have looked at personalised assessments of needs and priorities, the role of a Parkinson’s disease coordinator, and navigation of resources in the community. In the UK we are working in collaboration with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System, Solent NHS Trust, and Parkinson’s UK. Who did we work with? Coordinator/chief investigator of the project: United Kingdom : University of Southampton, Professo Mari Carmen Portillo Country leads : Spain: Autonomous University Madrid, Dr Victoria Navarta Sanchez Spain, Fundación La Princesa, Dr Lydia López Denmark: VIA University College, Dr Anita Haahr Norway: University of Oslo, Dr Line Kildal Partners: Parkinson’s disease associations in the four countries What did we learn? During the qualitative phase: 47 people with Parkinson’s disease and 39 family carers were recruited The themes emerged were the following: Personalised care for individual needs Collaboration of different key agents Accessibility of different types of support systems Self-management Intervention 86 participants took part in the intervention (data being analysed) What difference will this make? Based on this project, partnerships between individuals (person living with Parkinson’s disease, family carer, and healthcare professionals) and across sectors in the community were developed. These can optimize the use of resources in the health-care system and personalise the information about disease, treatments, and the use of community resources/professional services in Parkinson’s disease management. A feasible intervention has been developed across countries that could be embedded in care pathways for people with Parkinson’s and carers. What difference can this make to people with Parkinson's disease (PD)? It can promote a change of culture and roles that enables the dialogue between sectors and levels of care It will empower people with PD and families to be at the centre of the decision making process of the multisectoral intervention It can enhance health and create the foundation of a transformative framework of bottom up strategies to create an overarall approach across Europe. This could enhance equity, continuity and transparency, as well as mobilise resources in health and social care. This would have a clear impact on people with Parkinson disease and families’ to make important decisions on their care and improve quality of life What's next? This project has become the basis of a submission for futher funding to test our intervention with people with MLTCs Multiple Long Term Conditions (MLTCs ) and how to implementation it Our partners hope to develop and implement a digital tool, through cross sector collaboration, to improve: - support and self-management for people with Long Term Conditions (LTCs) - communication and quality of cross sector care