Digital Commons Network^™

A Path Out: Using Video Games To Reduce Prejudice Towards Refugees, Liam Cross, Gray Atherton, Chris Stiff

School of Psychology

Historically, research on video games has centred on their potentially adverse effects, though more recently, work has started to explore the benefits. Here, we investigate whether playing a video game portraying a refugee’s plight in escaping war-torn Syria could affect implicit and explicit attitudes towards that social group. We show that after 30 min of game play embodying a Syrian refugee, participants showed reduced prejudicial attitudes and increased empathy towards Syrian refugees compared to those playing a mechanically similar but contextually unrelated game. While implicit attitudes followed the same direction, this difference was not statistically significant. Potential theoretical underpinnings of …

Metabolic Diversity Of A Widely Distributed Tropical Freshwater Crab Is Not Underpinned By Genetic Differences, Lucy Turner, Christopher Thorpe, Michael Collins, Smrithy Raj, Tripti Shukla, John Spicer, Mairi Knight, Dheeraj Sharma, Krushnamegh Kunte

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AimThe aim of this study was to understand the interplay between local and regional factors as drivers of population physiological diversity in a tropical freshwater crab species.LocationWestern Ghats, south-west India.TaxonBarytelphusa cunicularis, Brachyura, Crustacea.MethodsWe applied an integrative approach combining population genetics and whole animal physiology, using the tropical freshwater crab Barytelphusa cunicularis as our model species. We tested for effects of population location (e.g., latitude, altitude), season (as a proxy for rainfall and water temperature) and/or warming on indices of whole animal respiratory physiology (metabolic rate, MO2) and hypoxic performance (Pcrit, i.e., the PO2 at which routine MO2 can no longer …

The Awareness, Attitudes And Knowledge Of Neurologists In Hungary On Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy (Sudep), Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Background: A leading cause of epilepsy mortality is Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). All international epilepsy guidelines encourage clinicians to discuss SUDEP with people with epilepsy (PWE). However,implementation of this guidance has been ambiguous depending on the country in question. This is inspite ofoverwhelming wishes from PWE for their clinician to discuss it with them. There has been no study to inquireinto the knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards SUDEP communication in epilepsy professionals inHungary (population: 9.6 million).Objective: We investigated neurologists and paediatric neurologists views in Hungary on SUDEP counselling.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of 20 questions many Likert style …

The Simca Study Protocol: Factors Influencing The Implementation Of The Midwifery Continuity Of Carer (Mcoc) Model Of Care In Nhs Maternity Care In England: A Mixed Methods Cross Case Analysis Involving Clinicians, Women And Policy Makers [Version 2; Peer Review: 3 Approved], Rebecca Milton, Susan Channon, Julia Sanders, Sara Kenyon, Aimee Middlemiss, Heather Strange, Kate Davies, Lena Choudary-Salter, Susan Barry, Tina Prendeville, Aled Jones

School of Nursing and Midwifery

BackgroundDuring pregnancy, labour and early motherhood, most women in the UK receive care from different midwives. The National Health Service (NHS) policy change in England sought to introduce a model of care whereby each woman is cared for by the same midwife throughout antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods, supported by a small team of midwives to cover off-duty periods. This model is called the Midwifery Continuity of Carer (MCoC). The aim of this study is proposes to evaluate the implementation and delivery of MCoC across England, aiming to better understand the factors that result in different rates of progress with …

Challenging Magicians’ Intuitive Insights: The Role Of Audience Participation In Experiencing A Magic Trick., Radoslaw Wincza, Gustav Kuhn

School of Psychology

Magic is a performance art that relies on tricking the spectator’s mind into experiencing things that seem impossible. Experience in performing these tricks in front of live audiences provides magicians valuable insights into how spectators experience such tricks. However, most of these assumptions have not been empirically tested. Three widely held assumptions were selected: active participation increases the sense of wonder that participants experience, naming a card feels freer to the participant than physically selecting a card from a deck, and a trick that happens in the spectator’s hand is more impressive than if it happens elsewhere. To validate those …

Responsible Research Impact: Ethics For Making A Difference, Eric Allen Jensen, Mark S. Reed, James Daybell, Louise Rutt, Aaron M. Jensen, Gabriella Arrigoni, Marta Ballesteros, Sadiq Bhanbhro, Bethann G. Merkle, Caitlin Hafferty, Philly Iglehart, Sawsan Khuri, Andrzej Klimczuk, Ian D. Marder, Daniel Milosavljevic, Josmel Pacheco-Mendoza, Ursula Pool, Simon Robinson, Lindsay C. Stringer, Steve Taylor, Anne H. Toomey, Daniela Martin, Lisa Louise Taylor-Sayles, Andrew N. Makohon-George, Russell T. Rodrigo

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

The need for ethical guidelines that support and empower researchers who aim to enhance the societal impact of research has become critical. Recognizing the growing emphasis on research impact by governments and funding bodies worldwide, this article investigates the often overlooked ethical dimensions of generating and evaluating research impact. We focus on ethical issues and practices that are specific to the process of intentionally working to develop societal impacts from research. We highlight the complexities and ethical dilemmas encountered when researchers engage with non-academic groups, such as policymakers, industries, and local communities. Through a combination of literature review and insights …

Meta-Analysis And Survival Analysis In Healthcare: Methods, Applications And Impact, Yinghui Wei

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We described our novel research in medical statistics and their impact in healthcare by drawing upon the following examples: a meta-analysis within the Cochrane review on the effect of cutting portion size on consumption of food; a Stata command to regenerate individual level time-to-event data from published survival curves; and the use of the difference in restricted mean survival time as an alternative to hazard ratios when analysing time-to-event outcomes.

Relationships Among E-Voting, E-Auction, E-Cheque, And E-Cash, Yun-Xing Kho, Swee-Huay Heng, Syh-Yuan Tan, Ji-Jian Chin

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper illustrates how a transformation technique can be used to demonstrate therelationship among e-voting, e-auction, e-cheque, and e-cash, even though they serve distinct purposes.Initially, we examine the definitions of e-cheque and e-cash schemes, along with their respective securitymodels. Subsequently, we develop a systematic framework to transform e-cheque into e-cash, supportedby formal proof demonstrating the security of the conversion. As a corollary, we further exemplify thisintegration with a generic transformation framework to obtain e-cash from e-voting directly by combiningan existing transformation of e-voting into e-cheque and the transformation of e-cheque into e-cash whichwe established earlier. We apply our transformation framework …

A Multi‐Sector Mixed Methods Study Of Stroke Services In The Philippines: Insights From Government Officials And Organisational Leaders, Sarah Buckingham, June Ann De Vera, Lorraine Faeldon, Bridie Kent, Angela Logan, Aira Ong, Nena Marie Santos, Paula Melizza Valera, Jonathan Marsden

School of Nursing and Midwifery

ObjectivesThis study aimed to illustrate the state of stroke care and rehabilitation in the Philippines through the perspectives of local government officials, policymakers, and organisational leaders. It sought to identify challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for improving stroke policies and services across different administrative levels.MethodsMixed-methods approach involving a structured survey of 131 local government officials and in-depth interviews with eight key stakeholders. Survey participants included Department of Health (DoH) officials, local chief executives, policymakers, Local Government Unit (LGU) employees, and representatives from non-government agencies. Interviewees comprised leads and managers from the DoH and representatives from organisations including the Philippine Academy of …

A Multi-Sector Mixed Methods Study Of Stroke Services In The Philippines: Insights From Government Officials And Organisational Leaders: Sarah Buckingham, June Ann De Vera, Lorraine Faeldon, Bridie Kent, Angela Logan, Aira Ong, Nena Marie Santos, Paula Melizza Valera, Jonathan Marsden, Sarah Buckingham

School of Nursing and Midwifery

ABSTRACTObjectivesThis study aimed to illustrate the state of stroke care and rehabilitation in the Philippines through the perspectives of local government officials, policymakers, and organisational leaders. It sought to identify challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for improving stroke policies and services across different administrative levels.MethodsMixed-methods approach involving a structured survey of 131 local government officials and in-depth interviews with eight key stakeholders. Survey participants included Department of Health (DoH) officials, local chief executives, policymakers, Local Government Unit (LGU) employees, and representatives from non-government agencies. Interviewees comprised leads and managers from the DoH and representatives from organisations including the Philippine Academy of …

Same Difference: A Qualitative Exploration Of Stressors Experienced By Dental Team Members Across The Uk, Uk Dental Team Mental Health Research And Implementation Group, Robert Witton, Jennifer Knights, Fiona Ellwood, Ian Mills, Lois Minnis

Peninsula Dental School

Introduction Poor mental health and wellbeing in dental team members is increasingly recognised. The practise of dentistry is linked to high levels of self-reported stress, burnout and psychological distress. Different dental systems operate across the four United Kingdom (UK) countries and there is currently a lack of exploration of the impacts these different systems have on the stressors and challenges dental teams experience.Aim The aim of this paper is to explore and provide a UK country comparison of dental team members' experiences and stressors reported through the MINDSET U.K. survey 2023.Method Qualitative data were collected in an online questionnaire which …

Robust Inference For The Unification Of Confidence Intervals In Meta-Analysis, Wei Liang, Haicheng Huang, Hongsheng Dai, Yinghui Wei

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Traditional meta-analysis assumes that the effect sizes estimated in individual studies follow a Gaussian distribution. However, this distributional assumption is not always satisfied in practice, leading to potentially biased results. In the situation when the number of studies, denoted as K, is large, the cumulative Gaussian approximation errors from each study could make the final estimation unreliable. In the situation when K is small, it is not realistic to assume the random effect follows Gaussian distribution. In this paper, we present a novel empirical likelihood method for combining confidence intervals under the meta-analysis framework. This method is free of the …

Reinforcement Learning-Based Time-Slotted Protocol: A Reinforcement Learning Approach For Optimizing Long-Range Network Scalability, Nuha Alhattab, Fatma Bouabdallah, Enas F. Khairullah, Aishah Aseeri

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing communication by connecting everyday objects to the Internet, enabling data exchange and automation. Low-Power Wide-Area networks (LPWANs) provide a wireless communication solution optimized for long-range, low-power IoT devices. LoRa is a prominent LPWAN technology; its ability to provide long-range, low-power wireless connectivity makes it ideal for IoT applications that cover large areas or where battery life is critical. Despite its advantages, LoRa uses a random access mode, which makes it susceptible to increased collisions as the network expands. In addition, the scalability of LoRa is affected by the distribution of its transmission parameters. …

Understanding Infection, Viral Exacerbation And Respiratory Symptoms At Admission-Longitudinal (Universal) Study: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study Protocol, Universal Study Group, Tommaso Morelli, Martha Purcell, Pedro Rodrigues, Charles Roberts, Olivia Cox, Paul H. Lee, Kerensa Thorne, Alexander Allen, Angelica Cazaly, Jacqueline Nuttall, James Raftery, Gareth Griffiths, Andrew Cook, Nicola White, Neil J. Greening, Matthew Pavitt, James Myerson, Stefan J. Marciniak, Cyrus Daneshvar, Michael G. Crooks, Philip Mitchelmore, James D. Chalmers, Salman Siddiqui, Karl J. Staples, Tristan William Clark, Anna Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Emma Tilt

Peninsula Medical School

Background Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and hospital admission worldwide. However, the management of most viral infection-associated diseases remains primarily supportive. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for a deeper understanding of RVIs to improve patient outcomes and develop effective treatment strategies. The Understanding Infection, Viral Exacerbation and Respiratory Symptoms at Admission-Longitudinal Study is an observational study which addresses this need by investigating the heterogeneity of RVIs in hospitalised adults, aiming to identify clinical and biological predictors of adverse outcomes. This study aims to bridge critical knowledge gaps in the clinical course …

The Future Of Citizen Science For Marine Litter Research, Kayleigh Wyles, Matthew Peacock

Faculty of Health Datasets

citizen science professional's perceptions towards citizen approach for marine litter research (n = 56, qualitative data)

Intergenerational Codesign Of Immersive Technology For A Heritage Site And Underwater Vr Experience, Marius Varga, Oksana Hagen, Rory Baxter, Alejandro Veliz Reyes, Ray Jones, Amir Aly, Dena Bazazian, Gaudl Swen

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The development of immersive Extended Reality (XR) applications tailored for older adults remains a significant challenge, even amidst rapid technological advancements. Neglecting to account for the specific needs and requirements of endusers in the design process can result in reduced adoption rates or a total lack of engagement. We present findings and recommendations for building immersive experiences for older adults by exploring the similarities and differences encountered during the development of two immersive XR applications, with a specific focus on cultural heritage and underwater telepresence. The application development followed a monthly, iterative approach, integrating rapid prototyping for a total of …

An Investigation Of Violence Sustained By Nursing And Midwifery Students, Kevin Hambridge, Mohamed Eid, Cansel Kocakabak, Matt Carey, Francis Thompson

School of Nursing and Midwifery

BACKGROUND: Many laws exist that protect healthcare personnel from violence within the workplace. Evidence suggests that violence towards nursing students continues and remains unreported. These incidents have been proven to have psychological effects. AIMS: The aim of the study was to identify the extent, type and impact of violence and aggression sustained by nursing and midwifery students. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was employed in a UK university to investigate the violence and aggression experienced by 369 preregistration nursing and midwifery students. FINDINGS: More than half (n=202; 54.7%) of students reported sustaining violence or aggression during their current academic year. …

A Cnn Compression Methodology For Layer-Wise Rank Selection Considering Inter-Layer Interactions, Milad Kokhazadeh, Georgios Keramidas, Vasilios Kelefouras, Iakovos Stamoulis

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) achievestate-of-the-art performance across various application domainsbut are often resource-intensive, limiting their use on resourceconstrained devices. Low-rank factorization (LRF) has emerged asa promising technique to reduce the computational complexity andmemory footprint of CNNs, enabling efficient deployment withoutsignificant performance loss. However, challenges still remainin optimizing the rank selection problem, balancing memoryreduction and accuracy, and integrating LRF into the trainingprocess of CNNs. In this paper, a novel and generic methodologyfor layer-wise rank selection is presented, considering inter-layerinteractions. Our approach is compatible with any decompositionmethod and does not require additional retraining. The proposedmethodology is evaluated in thirteen widely-used, CNN models,significantly …

Another Gap On The Rota: A Scoping Review Of Attrition From Specialty Training In Secondary Care, Hannah Gillespie, Megan E.L. Brown, Nicola Brennan, Bryan Burford, Gillian Vance

Peninsula Medical School

Background The healthcare workforce is in crisis. Despite a competitive selection process, a substantial number of doctors leave specialty training (ST) programmes prematurely. This attrition causes increased costs for the National Health Service, exacerbates workforce shortages and threatens quality and safety of care. It also increases pressure on trainees who remain, further compounding the risk of attrition. There is an urgent need to understand why doctors leave ST in order to find ways to maintain the training pipeline from ST to consultant. Objectives We aimed to understand what is known about why doctors choose to leave ST programmes in secondary …

“We're Not One-Box Issue People”: Intersectional Perspectives On Lgbtq+ Mental Health In Schools: A Uk Qualitative Study With Students, Staff And Training Providers, Charlotte Woodhead, Amy Morgan, Ibrahim Sabra, Sara Sabra, Lukasz Konieczka, Gemma Knowles, Emily Cunningham, Juliet Dryud, Liberty Elliott, Lauren Ige, Angela Mascolo, E. Singh, Katharine Rimes

School of Psychology

Abstract There is limited intersectionality-informed, contextually diverse qualitative research on school experiences of LGBTQ+ students and links to mental health. Focusing on racialized, ethnic minority and religious/faith groups, this coproduced UK study examines how: 1) sexual and/or gender diverse students with intersecting minoritized identities experience school; 2) school environments could better support their mental health; and 3) what shapes school inclusion initiatives. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with 22 staff members, 32 students (13–19 years), and nine LGBTQ+ school inclusion training providers. The sample was diverse across gender and sexual identity, race/ethnicity, religion and context. Data were analysed …

‘Livewell With Dementia? An Evaluation Of A Pilot Post-Diagnostic Psychoeducation Group For People Diagnosed With Dementia’, Helen Idusohan-Moizer, Oliver T. Neale, Jonathan Moizer, Nicole Quinn

School of Psychology

Background: This pilot study reports the evaluation of 30 post-diagnostic, five-week structured psychoeducational intervention groups for people recently diagnosed with dementia, facilitated across Livewell CIC, Plymouth, UK.Method: Two-hundred-and-thirteen individuals were recruited using a convenience sampling methodology. A total of 167 participants (Females N=86, 51.50%, mean age 78.72, ± 8.70; Males N=81, 48.50%, mean age 78.20, ±8.21, overall mean age = 78.47, ±8.45) attended at least one session. Eighty participants completed the programme over a 12-month period.Results: Pre- and post-baseline questionnaires were analysed descriptively. Weekly sessions were analysed using an exploratory qualitative descriptive research design. Post-group evaluation revealed that the group …

Navigating The Complexities Of End-Stage Kidney Disease (Eskd) From Risk Factors To Outcome: Insights From The Uk Biobank Cohort, Debasish Kar, Richard Byng, Aziz Sheikh, Mintu Nath, Bedowra Zabeen, Shubharthi Kar, Shakila Banu, Habibur Rahman, Navid Khan, Durjoy Acharjee, Shafiqul Islam, Victoria Allgar, Jose Ordonez-Mena, Aya El-Wazir, Soon Song, Ashish Verma, Umesh Kadam, Simon De Lusignan

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: The global prevalence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is increasing despite optimal management of traditional risk factors such as hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. This study examines the influence of cardiorenal risk factors, socioeconomic status, and ethnic and cardiovascular comorbidities on ESKD outcomes in the general population.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study analysed data from 502,408 UK Biobank study participants recruited between 2006 and 2010. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to assess risk factors for ESKD, with results presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

RESULTS: A total of 1191 (0.2%) of the study participants …

Encountering Coasts: The Contested Geographies Of Young People's Coastal Citizenship[S], Mark Holton

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This paper examines the contested geographies of young people's citizenship practices and performances in marine and coastal environments. This is important in developing original knowledge of how encounters with new and different coastal places, practices, people, morals and ethics can affect young people's citizenship practices and performances and how young people relate meaningfully with[in] coastal environments. Using a novel digital scrapbooking technique and qualitative interviews, conducted with 22 young adults aged 18–30 in Plymouth, UK, this paper examines how and why young people's everyday engagements and encounters with coastal environments can shape their understandings of environmental and social care. In …

How Many Ways Are There To Measure A Tree? – An Experiment In Cross-Disciplinarity, Kate Pahl, Samyia Ambreen, Khawla Badwan, Simon Carr, David Cooper, Elizabeth Curtis, Ian Davenport, Abigail Hackett, Peter Kraftl, Peter Lawrence, Emily Lines, David CườNg Nguyễn, Caitlin Nunn, Steve Pool, Jennifer Rowntree, Ed Schofield, Johan Siebers, Jo Vergunst

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

This article takes a transdisciplinary approach to a relatively simple-sounding task – tree measuring. It asks the question, ‘How many ways are there to measure a tree?’, in order to provoke a discussion of our different ways of knowing. It attempts to engage a reader in thinking about disciplines and what they do. It does so by sharing insights from a project in which diverse scholars, practitioners and children came together for the common purpose of producing engaged knowledge. The experience of reading the article should prompt questions about whose knowledge counts and why, and the value of university research …

Working Within A Perfect Storm: The Current Uk Care Crisis In Community Neurorehabilitation, Alyson Norman

School of Psychology

It will not have escaped the notice of our readers that there is a crisis in social care in the UK. This is not just because of a failure of integration between health services and community care provision, but because of the effects of COVID, and because of a shortage of care workers which the British media has widely reported as becoming more acute due to the UK leaving the European Union. The effects of this shortage will have been experienced by anyone involved in catastrophic injury litigation who will have heard case managers routinely reporting problems in recruiting care …

A Micro-Computed Tomographic Evaluation Of Root Canal Morphology Of Mandibular First Molars In A Black South African Subpopulation, Casper Jonker, Federico Foschi, Ericka Noelle L’Abbé, Anna Catherina Oettlé

Peninsula Dental School

Abstract: Background: This study evaluates the root canal anatomy (main and accessory canals) of mandibular first molars in Black South Africans using micro-computed tomography. The effect of sex, arch side, and age are also investigated. Methods: The number of root canals in each tooth and individual roots (including an observation of the middle-mesial and middle-distal canals), the number of accessory canals, accessory canal type, root canal thirds, and the prevalence of apical deltas were recorded. A chi-squared test of association (p < 0.05) was used to report on variables (sex, arch sides, and age). Results: In most teeth, either three (55.81%) or four canalled (24.42%) configurations were present. The middle-mesial canal was found in 18.6% of teeth (males and females), with a higher prevalence among females (23.68%). The middle-distal canal was found in 3.49% of teeth. Chamber canals were identified in 4.7% of teeth. Accessory canals most likely located in the apical third were found in approximately 84.9% and 86.1% of mesial roots and distal roots, respectively. Apical deltas were identified in 15.12% of mesial and 20.93% of distal roots. Conclusions: Root canal anatomy in this population is diverse and includesdifferences in arch sides between the sexes.

“Combined With Homelessness, It’S Just A Nightmare”: A Qualitative Study Exploring How People Experiencing Homelessness Perceive Mental Health And Mental Health Services, Simone Stedmon, Pete Keohane

School of Psychology

People experiencing chronic homelessness (PECH) have relatively poor mental health. Whilst trauma and psychologically informed services are becoming more commonplace and demonstrate positive outcomes, they are still underutilised by PECH. Furthermore, little is known about how PECH understand their own mental health. This qualitative study explores PECH’s perceptions of mental health, mental health services, and any perceived barriers or facilitators to access. Eleven PECH participated in semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to make sense of the transcripts, and five overarching group experiential themes were created: ‘Origins of Mental Health’, ‘Understanding of Mental Health Difficulties’, ‘Experiences of Help-Seeking and …

A Common Terminology To Unify Research And Conservation Of Coralline Algae And The Habitats They Create, Victor L Jardim, Jacques Grall, M.  Beatriz Barros-Barreto, Anaëlle Bizien, Thomas Benoit, Juan C Braga, Juliet Brodie, Thomas Burel, Andrea Cabrito, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Patrick Gagnon, Jason M Hall-Spencer, Mathieu Helias, Paulo Antunes Horta, Siddhi Joshi, Nick A Kamenos, Regina Kolzenburg, Erik C Krieger, Erwann Legrand, Tessa M Page, Viviana Peña, Federica Ragazzola, Lina M Rasmusson, Francesco Rendina, Nadine Schubert, João Silva, Frederico T  S Tâmega, Adeline Tauran, Heidi L Burdett

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Linguistic uncertainty is a prime source of uncertainty pervading ecology and conservation. Coralline algae are a widespread and diverse group of calcifying red macroalgae that underpin coastal ecosystem function and service provision. Recent increasing interest in coralline algae in the scientific literature has revealed a diverse but confusing terminology at organism to habitat scales. Coralline algal research and conservation are international and multidisciplinary, so there are geographic and disciplinary imbalances in research and conservation efforts. To reach consensus and reduce uncertainty, we propose a unified terminology. We review trends in cultural and scientific use of coralline algal terms and propose …

Evaluating The Impact Of School-Based Rebound Therapy On Chest Health In Children And Young People With Neurodisability And Respiratory Issues: A Series Of Single Case Studies, Rachel Knight Lozano, Harriet Shannon, Kayleigh Bell, Julia Melluish, Christopher Morris, Rachel Rapson, Jonathan Marsden

School of Health Professions

PurposeTo evaluate feasibility and impact of an individualised rebound therapy programme on chest health in children with complex neurodisability.Methods and materialsA single-case ABA design was conducted over 18 weeks with five children aged 5–15 years with complex neurodisability. Intervention involved twice weekly rebound therapy for six consecutive weeks in school. Summary outcomes included parent/carer-reported chest health, quality-of-life and clinician-observed motor ability. Serial weekly outcomes included chest health observations, usual care changes, adherence and adverse events. Parents completed a semi-structured interview after follow-up. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsWithin-case and across-case findings indicated improvement …

The Bionics Bus For Neurology And Neuropsychiatry: Concept Development And Validation, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Healthcare delivery in the United Kingdom is increasingly becoming a challenging issue where demand is regularly outstripping availability. This is particularly a challenge in neurology and neuropsychiatry, where delays in diagnosis and treatment are leading to worse health and social outcomes. The Darzi report, which focused on three key tenants, has been hailed as the future blueprint for National Health Service (NHS) sustainability and high-quality care delivery. These three tenants are moving from analogue to digital approaches, focusing on prevention and wellbeing, and supporting diagnosis and treatment in communities instead of hospitals. Technological interventions are relevant at all stages of …