Category Archives: Health Psychology

The Role of Health Psychology in fighting the Obesity Epidemic, #StaffsVSS, Thursday 7th April 4pm

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Apr 16 Gillison VSS

Dr Fiona Gillison

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Fiona Gillison (Senior Lecturer in Exercise & Health Psychology, University of Bath) who is giving the next Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 7th April, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Fiona previously worked in a public engagement role with primary care teams, and as a stop smoking and weight management specialist in the NHS, and so has continued to take a very applied approach to her research. Fiona’s current focus is on applying psychological theory into practice, in investigating how we can better support people to improve their health behaviours in the prevention and reduction of obesity – whether at the individual, community or policy level. She is currently involved in a range of research studies including; an intervention to promote weight loss in people with high cardiovascular risk, work with school nurses, public health teams and health communication specialists to improve the positive impact of the National Child Measurement Programme, and a collaborative project to identify the important dynamic processes within groups that facilitate behaviour change.

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All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

New paper exploring the effectiveness of mindfulness for reducing stress in health care professionals

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Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean (Senior Lecturers in Health Psychology) have been working in collaboration with an MSc Health Psychology graduate, Catherine Burgess, and researchers at the University of Leeds to explore the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions for reducing stress in health care professionals.

With the proposal of a move to a 7 day Mar16 AB Mindfulness Review 1NHS service hitting the headlines there are growing concerns about the impacts this may have on the quality of patient care. Many health care professionals already feel overworked, stressed and at risk of burnout with a recent survey highlighting that 81% of doctors and specialists are considering early retirement due the impact of stress on their sleep, relationships and physical health (Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, 2015). It is therefore vital that we identify successful ways to reduce stress levels in the caring professions.

Mindfulness is one approach to reducing stress and is a simple form of meditation that encourages the stressed person to focus on the present moment and acknowledge and accept their thoughts and feelings. For this research the team identified and reviewed nine published studies that have tested the value of using mindfulness interventions to reduce stress in health care professionals. The results of this review indicated that mindfulness interventions significantly reduced stress levels in this group.

Mar16 AB Mindfulness Review 2However, there were problems with the studies that indicate the need for more work in this area. Many of the interventions were very time intensive and drop out was common due to work, family and other pressures. This suggests that the mindfulness approach is not always possible within current health care environments without additional support. Furthermore, the quality of some of the reviewed studies was poor and very few explored whether the reduced stress levels reported were maintained long term. The team propose that more high quality research is needed before clear conclusions about the value of this type of intervention for reducing stress in health care professionals can be drawn.

Details of the full paper:

Burton, A. E., Burgess, C., Dean, S., Koutsopoulou, G., & Hugh-Jones, S. (2016). How effective are mindfulness-based interventions for reducing stress among healthcare professionals? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress and Health.

The Home of Health Psychology – Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and BPS Accredited Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

Follow the Psychology Department’s latest research news via @StaffsPsych and clicking on the #StaffsPsyRes hashtag.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Health Psychology staff, students and graduates present their research at the 2016 MHPN Conference

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Staffordshire University has once again illustrated why we are the #HomeOfHealthPsychology at the Midlands Health Psychology Network Conference. The event, held at Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent on the 25th February 2016, was attended by 3 members of staff and over 20 current students and graduates from Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology. Our Health Psychologists and trainees made a huge impact at the conference presenting in half of the talks and displaying several research posters.

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Our current MSc in Health Psychology students enjoying the MHPN Conference

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Aimee Cooke with her poster at the MHPN Conference

Contributors included: current MSc Students, such as Aimee Cooke who presented her poster on vestibular rehabilitation interventions; Professional Doctorate students, including Katrin Hulme who presented the experience of chronic cough; and graduates, including Rebecca Rushton who presented on her MSc research exploring the effectiveness of personality and the theory of planned behaviour for predicting intentions to attend for cervical screening. Rebecca found the conference a fantastic opportunity to put into practice the skills developed during her time studying for the MSc Health Psychology: “Having the opportunities to develop my presentation skills during the MSc prepared me to present at the conference. Although I was apprehensive it has provided me with invaluable experience”.

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Rebecca Rushton presenting her research in the Kings’ Hall, Stoke

A trip to the conference was built in to the MSc Health Psychology teaching programme to ensure all current students had the opportunity to attend. MSc student Suha Ahmed really enjoyed the experience: “I learnt a lot from the conference and particularly enjoyed learning about all the different areas where Health Psychologists work and conduct research. I also found it useful to watch the presentations and pick up tips to help me develop my own presentation skills and enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to other health psychologists in person and ask questions about their research. I absolutely loved it!”.

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Rebecca Lawrence-Higton presenting her research at the MHPN Conference

The MSc students also valued the opportunity to learn about research conducted by our own Professional Doctorate students. For example, Mike Oliver particularly enjoyed the presentation by current Professional Doctorate student Alison Killen: “I thought Alison’s presentation was really thought provoking.  The points about gratitude as a means to promote wellbeing was interesting, and the ‘gratitude diaries’ sounded like a practical way to take the theory into practice.  Set in the context of ageing and loneliness which are receiving more and more attention, I think the work provides an example of how health psychology could make a big difference in society”.

Some of our current and past Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology students

Some of our current and past Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology students

Our MSc Health Psychology Course Director, Dr Amy Burton, was impressed by the professionalism, confidence and health psychology knowledge shown by our current and past students: “three of my current and graduate project students presented at the conference this year and all were passionate about their research. They used skills developed throughout the MSc to network with, and answer questions from, other health psychologists and trainees from throughout the Midlands – I’m confident they all have an exciting career in Health Psychology ahead of them”

Current MSc Student presentations:

Cooke, A., & Burton, A. Vestibular Rehabilitation: Impact upon Quality of Life and Physical Daily Tasks. A Mixed Methods Approach. (Poster)

Current Professional Doctorate Student presentations:

Killen, A., & Macaskill, A. Using a gratitude intervention to enhance well-being in older adults.

Highton, F., C., O., & Clark-Carter, D. The experience of vision impairment diagnosis and its prognosis on health related quality of life.

Hulme, K., Dogan, S., Parker, S., & Deary, V. “Chronic cough, cause unknown”: A qualitative study of patient perspectives of idiopathic cough.

Sumodhee, D., & Payne, N. Healthy eating beliefs and intentions of mothers and their adult children: An intergenerational transmission perspective. (Poster)

Health Psychology MSc Graduates and Staff presentations:

Higgins, S. J., & Semper, H. The effects of nutrition label format on healthier dietary choices: A forced choice eye-tracking study. (Poster)

Hope, K., & Sherman, S. Perceptions of cervical cancer and screening among older women – A work in progress. (Poster)

Hughes, M., Burton, A., & Dempsey, R. Using photo elicitation to explore quality of life in people with paraplegia and chronic pain.

Rushton, R., & Dean, S. Predicting cervical screening intentions using personality and the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Lawrence-Highton, R., & Burton, A. Looking at things from a positive point of view: an IPA on the exercise experience of individuals with positive body image

The Midlands Health Psychology Network

The MHPN hold a one day conference in February every year which is attended by around 100 members from across the Midlands and is a forum for health psychologists to share clinical and research experiences, information, knowledge and training. Existing members include MSc students, doctorate students, chartered health psychologists based at local NHS sites and regional universities, third sector employees, senior and early career academics, health practitioners and pharmacists. To learn more about the MHPN please visit the website: www.mhpn.co.uk.

The Home of Health Psychology – Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

MSc Health Psychology Graduate wins National BPS Prize!

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We are very pleased to announce that our own MSc in Health Psychology graduate Sarah Higgins has won the UK-wide award for ‘Outstanding MSc Thesis’ awarded by the British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology. The competition for this award is stiff with course leaders from across the UK nominating the best MSc thesis from their cohort of students.

Sarah Higgins‘ thesis was entitled ‘The effects of nutrition label format on healthier dietary choices: A forced choice eye-tracking study’ was nominated by her supervisor Dr Heather Semper and course leader Dr Amy Burton as she achieved the highest mark in the 2014-15 cohort, and the work was of exceptional quality. Sarah completed her MSc in Health Psychology alongside a full time job as a Psychology Technician at Staffordshire University, and achieved a Distinction overall for her Masters’ degree.

Sarah Higgins presenting a poster version of her study at the Midlands Health Psychology Network conference in Stoke-on Trent on February 25th 2016.

Sarah Higgins presenting a poster version of her study at the Midlands Health Psychology Network conference in Stoke-on Trent on February 25th 2016.

Sarah’s thesis explored whether hybrid labels, which combine text values and traffic light colours, could improve the selection of healthier dietary choices and the attention to health-related nutrients. She used an eye tracker to investigate the label formats with 48 healthy participants. The analyses showed significantly lower correct selections of healthier dietary choices for colour-only vs. hybrid label formats. The colour-only and hybrid label formats were processed faster than the text-only label formats, with reduced fixation counts and fixation dwell times. For all label formats the percentage fixation dwell time was significantly greater for fats and sugars than other nutrients.

Supervisor Dr Heather Semper said “Sarah’s thesis was exceptional, and we are very pleased that she has won the award and very proud of her. She clearly worked very hard on the project and the topic is novel and interesting. We are currently in the process of writing this study up for publication in a peer reviewed publication. She has a very bright career in health psychology ahead of her”.

The award will be presented at the Division of Health Psychology’s Annual Conference in Aberdeen in August 2016 (http://ehps2016.org/) where she has been invited to present the paper in an oral presentation.

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

 

MSc Health Psychology Open Afternoons 2016

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The Centre for Health Psychology are running a series of popular open afternoons (click here for a flyer) for Psychology Graduates interested in completing the MSc Health Psychology at Staffordshire University.

Health Psychology is the study of psychological processes and their application to health, illness and health care. Qualified Health Psychologists work in a number of health and academic settings including:

  • Patient assessment and support
  • Clinical intervention and health behaviour change
  • Student and health care professional education
  • Health related research
  • Health promotion and public health

The MSc in Health Psychology at Staffordshire was the first MSc Health Psychology programme in the UK to be accredited by the British Psychological Society and maintains an excellent reputation nationally. Our students have access to a dedicated base-room within the multi-million pound BPS_logo_176_tcm44-79214Science Centre, a thriving psychology visiting speaker programme and journal club as well as high-level teaching from academics who are active researchers and Health Psychologists.

Staffordshire University's £30 million Science Centre, home of the Psychology Department

Staffordshire University’s £30 million Science Centre, home of the Centre for Health Psychology

We think our course is great – but you don’t have to take our word for it. Our students and external examiner think it’s great too! Our MSc achieved 100% student satisfaction in the latest Post Graduate Taught Experience survey and has been highly praised by our external examiner: “The quality of teaching shines though in the student performance.  A range of teaching methods and assessments are used that will have a positive impact on the student experience, performance and transferable skills.”

If this sounds like the course for you, or if you just want to find out more about Health Psychology, then we’d love to meet you! We have Open Afternoons taking place in 2016 which are designed to provide you with a wealth of information about the MSc in Health Psychology. Learn more about the modules covered in the course, meet the registered Health Psychologists who teach on the course, get advice on the application process and have a look around our Centre for Health Psychology situated in our Science Centre.

Open Afternoon Dates:

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 (2-4pm)

Wednesday 6th July 2016 (2-4pm)

Wednesday 17th August 2016 (2-4pm)

Book your place: Please contact Dr Amy Burton, MSc Health Psychology Course Director (amy.burton@staffs.ac.uk). Note that places are limited so booking is essential.

Health Psychology is one of the latest branches of Psychology to be given professional status by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Completion of the MSc in Health Psychology is the first step towards gaining Chartered Health Psychologist status and registration with the HCPC as a Health Psychologist. For more details, see our Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology and the Division of Health Psychology web pages.

The role of Health Psychology in understanding death and dying (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 28th Jan, 4pm) CANCELLED

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TALK HAS BEEN CANCELLED

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Paula Smith (Senior Lecturer, University of Bath) who is giving the fifth Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 28th January, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Paula will be speaking about her applied psychological research into death and dying. Paula is a Health Psychologist and a qualitative researcher whose current work explores the way in which families and health professionals manage the loss of a baby at birth, the nature of twin bereavement and also the psychological consequences and management of stroke in the acute phase.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Jan16 VSS Smith

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

New Research into Stereotypes of Ageing funded by Staffordshire University

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Dr Amy Burton

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean, Senior Lecturers in Psychology, have been successful in securing funding from the Staffordshire University REF2020 research scheme to explore ageing stereotypes. Amy blogs on their research plans:

In the UK there are currently 10 million people aged 65 and above and it is predicted that this will reach 19 million by 2050 (Cracknell, 2010). Average life expectancy has increased steadily but healthy life expectancy has not matched this, meaning additional demands are being placed on services such as the NHS (Cracknell, 2010). It is recognised both within academic literature (e.g. Reed, Stanley, & Clarke, 2004) and in the work of charities (e.g. Age UK, 2013) that research is crucial to understanding the experiences of older adults in order to break down the barriers preventing them from active participation in society and healthy ageing. Such research will have a substantial impact on the health and well-being of older adults.

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Dr Sarah Dean

Dr Burton’s research into barriers and facilitators to physical activity in older people with sight loss highlighted an important psychological concept in need of further exploration (Burton, Clancy, & Cowap, n.d. Under Review). During focus groups participants frequently used examples of negative self-directed stereotypes to justify reduced participation in physical activity (e.g. ‘Young adults, rather than 70 or 80 year olds […] they are the ones that really need all of the exercise and can actually do it’). Stereotype Embodiment Theory proposes that age stereotypes can be internalised by individuals across the lifespan (Levy, 2009). Such self-directed stereotypes have been implicated in reductions in cognitive functioning and physical health (Levy, 2003).  Furthermore, evidence suggests that attributing illness and functional decline to old age and holding the belief that ‘to be old is to be ill’ is associated with negative health outcomes and reductions in health maintenance behaviours (Beyer, Wolff, Warner, Schüz, & Wurm, 2015; Stewart, Chipperfield, Perry, & Weiner, 2012).

Dr Burton and Dr Dean will be using the REF2020 funding to further explore and define the ageing stereotypes held by people living in the UK and how self-directed stereotypes impact on health and wellbeing outcomes for older people.

Drs Burton and Dean are members of Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology, a centre of excellence for teaching and research in health psychology, and are course leaders for Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

 

Me-Therapy: A new online mindfulness-based resource for people dealing with cancer

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Dr Rachel Povey

Trainee Health Psychologist Szilvia Vas together with her supervisor Dr Rachel Povey, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University and member of the Centre for Health Psychology, are recruiting participants to trial their new mindfulness-based online resource “Me-Therapy”.

Me-therapy was originally conceptualized by Miss Vas and developed together with Dr Povey as a resource for improving body image and managing physical changes associated with cancer. The trial is being conducted jointly with CancerCare US, and is free for anyone who would like to take part.

“Participating in this online program is a unique opportunity for anyone facing cancer, as it gives men and women the chance to work through some of the body-image changes that they might be struggling with during or after treatment,” says CancerCare Social Work Internship Programme Director, Maria Chi. “The program provides tools to help people become more mindful of the present moment and how their thinking patterns directly affect what they’re feeling.”

Dec15 MeTherapy RP Blog

www.me-therapy.org

Me-therapy was inspired through Miss Vas’ work at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice in Stoke-on-Trent. The programme includes video clips, audio resources and mindfulness exercises to teach participants how to challenge unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that characterize negative body image. Participants are also provided with direct email support as they are provided with trained “body image buddies” to better address users’ unique needs.

Participants must be 18 years of age or older. To register, visit www.Me-therapy.org

For more details of this trial, please visit the Cancer Research UK website.

Staffordshire University is home to the Centre for Health Psychology, a centre of excellence for teaching and research in health psychology. For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Dr Sarah Dean: Reviewing Eye-Patching Treatment for Children with Amblyopia

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Sarah Dean profile pic

Dr Sarah Dean

Dr Sarah Dean, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and a member of Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology, summarises the findings from her recent review of research on patching treatment for children with amblyopia which has recently been published by the British Journal of Ophthalmology:

Amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’ is a condition that affects a lot of children. Children with amblyopia have poor vision in one eye and without treatment this vision does not develop, meaning they have an increased risk of blindness. Treatment for amblyopia often involves the child being prescribed to wear a patch over their ‘good’ eye for part of the day. This forces the child to use their ‘lazy eye’ which allows the vision to develop. Although this treatment has been found to work really well when used with children under 7 years old, a lot of people find it difficult to adhere to their prescribed treatment. I am exploring strategies to encourage children to complete the treatment.

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Getting young children to wear eye-patches can be quite difficult!

In our recent paper, myself and my colleagues, Dr Rachel Povey and Jessica Reeves, investigated how effective existing interventions which aimed to increase compliance to patching treatment in children with amblyopia were. We reviewed nine studies in our final sample, with interventions ranging from sticking the patch more tightly to the child’s face, changing aspects of the patching regime, to providing information for the child, family and friends. Our findings indicated that interventions that include an educational element may be most effective in encouraging children to keep wearing their eye-patches to treat amblyopia.

Dr Sarah Dean plans to continue working in this area. In her next study she plans to talk to young children who are undergoing patching treatment to find out more about their experiences of patching. Information from this next study will then help her to develop a new intervention to help children complete their patching treatment.

Read more about Sarah’s review via the British Journal of Ophthalmology’s website:

Dean, S.E., Povey, R. P., & Reeves, J. (in press). Assessing interventions to increase compliance to patching treatment in children with amblyopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Ophthalmology. doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2015-307340

Staffordshire University is home to the Centre for Health Psychology, a centre of excellence for teaching and research in health psychology. For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Professor Karen Rodham’s Blog: The Need to Address Antibiotics Overuse

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Prof Karen Rodham

Professor Karen Rodham, Professor of Health Psychology at Staffordshire University and current Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology, has written a blog piece discussing the potential role of social scientists (including health psychologists) in reducing the overprescription of antibiotic medication.

Read more about this story on Karen’s blog (click the below link):

ProfRoddersBlog: Social Scientists needed to solve the problem of antibiotic overuse

Nov 15 KR Blog Story antibioticsBanner

http://www.tamesideandglossopccg.org/campaigns/antibiotics-awareness

Staffordshire University is home to the Centre for Health Psychology, a centre of excellence for teaching and research in health psychology. For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages: