Tag Archives: Amy Burton

Sarah Higgins wins the National BPS/ATSiP Technical Support in Psychological Teaching Award!

Posted on by

We are very pleased to announce that Sarah Higgins, Technical Sarah-HSkills Specialist in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University, has won a National Award in recognition of her excellent contribution to teaching!

Sarah’s award is jointly recognised by the British Psychological Society and the Association of Technical Staff in Psychology (ATSiP), and has been announced as a joint-winner of this year’s award. Sarah has been invited to the BPS’s Annual Conference to be held in Brighton in May 2017 to receive her award.

Sarah’s award recognises her excellence in teaching, her contributions to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, supporting staff research projects, her advanced technical skills knowledge as well as her interactions with prospective students at Open Days where she demonstrates the state-of-the-art equipment housed in the £30 million Science Centre home to the Psychology Department. Sarah is also an active member of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, home to Staffordshire University’s psychological research, and has previously won national prizes for her own research (click here for further details).

Judy David, Academic Group Lead for Psychology and one of the team who nominated Sarah for the award, commented:

“Psychology is so proud of Sarah, and we feel very lucky indeed to have her in our Technical Team.  The award is so richly deserved! Sarah works incredibly hard in teaching and supporting students and helping them learn new skills and knowledge. We are delighted this has been recognised with this prestigious award.  With two award winners now in our technical team, we know our students are getting the very best experience possible!”

Dr Amy Burton, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology who was also part of the nominating team, said:

“Sarah is an irreplaceable member of the team having progressed from being an undergraduate student to MSc level and now actively contributing to our MSc Health Psychology. Sarah has shown a fantastic commitment to our students from assisting at open afternoons, giving applicants a taste of the equipment and inspiration on how it might be used, through to one-to-one tutorials facilitating the use of complex technical equipment.

In particular, Sarah plays an essential role in the learning and development of our MSc Health Psychology students and supports them to complete high quality, well-designed and innovative research using technology and equipment at the forefront of the discipline. Sarah fully deserves this award and we are very proud and lucky to have her as part of our team.”

Many congratulations to Sarah on her fine achievement!

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an open day, please visit: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

Exercise for All! The beneficial effects of physical activity for all ages

Posted on by

Dr Sarah Dean (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & a Trainee Health Psychologist) and Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & Health Psychologist) blog about ageing, health, stereotyping and physical activity in a piece reposted from the Stoke Sentinel newspaper:

If we were to ask you to describe your typical older person chances are we’d get a wide range of answers from “grey-haired, lonely, unable to work”, “frail, memory problems and declining health” to “wise, caring, happy and active”. What is clear is that there isn’t a ‘typical older person’ at all but there are lots of negative stereotypes that are linked to aging. Interestingly there are now many more older people alive than ever before and this number is set to rise dramatically in the coming years, with record numbers of people living into their 80s, 90s and beyond!

dean-burton-sentinel-image

Physical activity is really important for everyone and this doesn’t change as we get older. Exercising keeps us physically fit and helps protect us from developing a range of major illnesses including stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia. It can help us to feel good about ourselves, be a great stress buster and be a fun way to socialise.

Even though many of us know taking exercise is good for us, some people find it difficult. There are many reasons people might have for not exercising. Some feel they are too busy or that it’s too expensive. Others feel nervous about starting a new activity or worry that they are too unfit or overweight to start exercising. People may even think that they are too old for exercise!

As they get older some people start to do much less exercise, others stay physically active and some take up new sports or activities when they retire. One reason for these differences is the extent to which people believe negative aging stereotypes and the extent they apply these to themselves. If someone believes the stereotype that “Aging means a decline in fitness and an increase in ill health” and also believes “I am an older person so I can expect to be less fit and have poorer health” they are much less likely to engage in physical activity than someone who doesn’t believe the stereotype at all or someone who doesn’t believe it applies to them and instead thinks “I am not your average older person, so I can run a marathon”. For example, in 2011 British national Fauja Singh became the first 100 year-old to complete a marathon! At Staffordshire University we are exploring ways of measuring aging self-stereotypes. Once we can accurately measure them we can explore ways of changing them, which should encourage more older adults to exercise!

So…what does all of this mean for you? Regardless of your age, engaging in some form of physical activity each week is likely to be good for you. With Stoke currently the European City of Sport there couldn’t be a better time to do a little more exercise or try something new! If you plan to regularly take exercise it’s a good idea to choose something you enjoy. You should also choose something suited to your current fitness level and your budget. A range of exercise classes are available at the local gyms, such as Zumba, circuit training, aqua aerobics and Osteo-Aqua (a low-impact class designed to combat the effects of conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis, as well as keeping the joints supple). You could try Walking Football or Tai Chi, join a Walking for Health Group or try out one of the 5k Parkruns at 9am every Saturday in Hanley Park.

If you are an older adult or are worried about getting older here are a few things for you to bear in mind:

  • While it’s true that physical changes do occur in us as we get older, a rapid decline in our health and physical functioning is not inevitable. Regular exercise can help to protect against decline and improve stamina and fitness.
  • The way we think about things can have a really big impact on the way that we behave and feel. Research has shown that simply encouraging older adults to think about negative aging stereotypes results in short term memory declines, slower walking speeds and poorer handwriting!
  • If you have a medical condition or have had an injury that makes certain activities difficult or unsuitable for you, try to find something that you can safely do.
  • If you have any doubts remember to discuss increasing your levels of physical activity with your GP first.

The take home message? In relation to exercise, we should put less focus on our age and more focus on our own abilities and goals!

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a Psy1centre 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 Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and 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:

Health Psychologist, Dr Amy Burton, reports on her Change Exchange visit to Uganda

Posted on by

Health Psychology in Action: Global Health

Our Health Psychologist, Dr Amy Burton, spent some time working in Africa at the beginning of April. Amy was selected by The Change Exchange to work as a Behaviour Change Consultant for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology partnership with Kitovu Hospital, Uganda. The Change Exchange is funded by The Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) in association with the Department for International Development (DFID) and The Global Health Exchange. The project places behavioural scientists into health partnerships to evaluate and seek to improve projects aimed at changing healthcare practice in low and middle income countries.

Amy blogs on her experiences:

I heard about The Change Exchange project in two ways: a recent issue of The Psychologist and a visit to Staffordshire University by Jo Hart, one of the project leads. As a recently qualified and HCPC registered Health Psychologist I was keen to put my skills into practice and was excited about the challenge of taking myself out of my comfort zone by working in a low income country (something I have never done before!). Over 45 psychologists applied for the project and I was one of the lucky few to be chosen to take part.

May16 AB Uganda 1

The Change Exchange Team

My first encounter with the rest of the team was a group meeting on a rainy March day in Manchester. This was my first opportunity to hear about the project I would be working on and to meet my colleagues Nisha Sharma and Fiona Gillison. We were appointed to work with an RCOG project based in the Masaka region of Uganda. The Excellence in Obstetric Skills Course trains local health workers in essential skills with the aim of improving care for mothers and babies and reducing the incidence of obstetric fistula (the development of a hole between the vagina and rectum or bladder often caused by prolonged obstructed labour that results in women being incontinent).

May16 AB Uganda 2

Kitovu Health Care Complex

May16 AB Uganda 3

The Fistula Ward

As behavioural scientists, Nisha and I were keen to understand how behaviour change techniques were being employed within the course. We therefore spent some time observing the RCOG obstetric skills course and the “train the trainer” course (to teach Ugandan health care professionals how to teach their colleagues obstetric emergency skills) and coding them for known behaviour change techniques. We had the opportunity to be ‘practice’ patients and learnt a lot about obstetric care!

We were also interested in how the Ugandan health care professionals perceived the course and what barriers they felt they would experience when putting their new knowledge and skills into practice. To explore this we conducted four focus groups with the course delegates to learn about their experiences and ideas.

Amy and Nisha with the RCOG Faculty and 'Train-the-Trainer' Graduates

Amy and Nisha with the RCOG Faculty and ‘Train-the-Trainer’ Graduates

In addition, I travelled with Nisha and the RCOG clinical lead to visit several previous delegates in their health centres and witness how the behaviours learnt on the course were being put into practice. This was an eye opening experience and gave me the opportunity to see first-hand how health centres work in Uganda.

May16 AB Uganda 5

A Health Centre in the Masaka District

I am currently working with my colleagues at The Change Exchange to produce an interim report for the RCOG based on the data we collected during our visit. Nisha and Fiona will be returning to Kitovu in June to conduct more work with the RCOG and hopefully put some of our report recommendations into practice. I am sad to not be returning to Kitovu but I will continue to be involved with the project from the UK.

Working on this project has been an exciting, enlightening and eye opening experience and I very much hope to have more opportunities to put my health psychology and behavioural science knowledge into practice in low income countries in the future.

Interested in Health Psychology?

Come along to one of our MSc in Health Psychology Open Afternoons (Click here for details) or visit one of our Undergraduate Open Days (Details & book your place here).

The Home of Health Psychology – Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a Psy1centre 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.

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

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

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 3

Our current MSc in Health Psychology students enjoying the MHPN Conference

Mar16 MHPN Conference 1

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”.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 2

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!”.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 5

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 Open Afternoons 2016

Posted on by

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.

New Research into Stereotypes of Ageing funded by Staffordshire University

Posted on by
Amy_Burton_150_tcm44-79990

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.

Dec 15 AB SD REF2020 piece

Sarah Dean profile pic

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:

 

100% Student Satisfaction on Staffordshire University’s MSc in Health Psychology!

Posted on by

MSc Health Psychology students at Staffordshire University are 100% satisfied with the quality of their course according to Post Graduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2015 results. The Higher Education Authority’s annual Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is the only sector-wide survey to gain insight from taught postgraduate students about their learning and teaching experience.

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean with some of our 2015 MSc Health Psychology Graduates

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean with some of our 2015 MSc Health Psychology Graduates

Staffordshire University is the home of Health Psychology with our MSc being the first programme of its kind in the UK to be accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Our students have access to top of the range facilities including a dedicated base-room within the £30 million pound Science Centre, a thriving psychology visiting speaker programme and journal club, as well as high-level teaching from academics who are active researchers in the area of Health Psychology.

Our MSc continues to hold an excellent reputation nationally and is going from strength to strength. In the recent PTES poll overall satisfaction was 100% with all students surveyed indicating that they would recommend studying at Staffordshire to a friend or relative. In particular students were 100% satisfied with the quality of learning and teaching on the MSc including support, staff enthusiasm, and intellectual stimulation and 100% satisfied with their skill development feeling that the course helped to prepare them for future careers.

Dr Amy Burton, Course Director for the MSc Health Psychology, comments “I have been Course Director for two years now and really enjoy meeting our new students and hearing about their research interests and ideas. The MSc is the first step towards becoming a Health Psychologist and many of our graduates go on to become experts in their field, working in academia, research and clinical practice. I am delighted with our PTES results. Our academic team work hard to ensure that our students get the best out of the course and these results show that we are succeeding in our goal to provide a stimulating and rewarding experience”.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology related postgraduate degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

 

Greater health benefits when dieting with a partner

Posted on by
Reply

The Sentinel Newspaper recently printed a story highlighting the benefits of dieting with a partner. Evidence suggests that when we diet or increase our exercise behaviour in partnership with someone else we are more likely to successfully lose weight.

Dr Amy Burton

Dieting is an important area of interest for Health Psychology and Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology) was contacted by the paper for comment. Dr Burton explained: “One theory that can help to explain the success of couples dieting together is Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour which was developed in the 1980’s. This theory proposes that our intentions to engage in healthy behaviours (such as diet or exercise) are dependent on three factors: our attitudes towards the behaviour, our perceptions of the resources available to us for completing the behaviour, and how we think others around us are behaving or expecting us to behave. When we work with another person the importance of those around us becomes more salient meaning our attitudes towards diet and exercise will be more positive, we will perceive that we have support from those around us to continue with the behaviour, and we are more likely to follow through with our plans to diet or exercise to ensure we don’t disappoint our partner.

The full article was published in the Saturday Sentinel on 21st March 2015 and an online version of the piece is available here. Dr Amy Burton is a member of the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University (click here for more details).

Dr Amy Burton: Training Health Professionals in Pain Management

Posted on by
Reply

AB Pain Management PictureIn January 2015 Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology) delivered a training session for pain management professionals in the Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) Pain Team. The session covered an introduction to culturally competent communication and practical tools to help health care professionals to communicate more effectively with patients from different cultures.

One activity encouraged the attendees to practice the ‘teach-back’ technique involving delivering small chunks of information to the patient and then checking understanding before moving on to additional information. The health care professionals practiced through role play by explaining an everyday concept to a partner – practice examples included: the offside rule, how to bake a cake, and how to ride a motorbike!

The training was well received:

“One of the biggest clinical challenges facing the BCHC pain team is the provision of care to culturally diverse patients. The training delivered by Dr Amy Burton has helped to increase open-mindedness and cultural awareness, as well as enabling the Pain Team to develop its ability to communicate more meaningfully with people from minority backgrounds” (Dr Laura Chipchase, Specialist Health Psychologist in Pain)

The training was informed by Dr Burton’s recent review paper entitled “pain management programmes for non-English-speaking black and minority ethnic groups with long-term or chronic pain” published in Musculoskeletal Care. The health care professionals are now planning to incorporate techniques from the training within their pain management programmes illustrating the direct link between research conducted in the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University and real world health care practice.