How to evaluate your work around public health

On 16 September 2015, NIHR SPHR researchers at ScHARR, University of Sheffield teamed up with Doncaster Council to host an interactive workshop on evaluating strategies, policies or interventions aimed at improving the health and well-being of the population.
The workshop was attended by a broad range of participants from local authorities and NHS Foundation trusts to community organisations and charities. The format of the workshop allowed for the generation of some very valuable feedback. 
The event was heavily oversubscribed with attendees travelling from across Yorkshire and the North West. Due to the very positive response and demand for places, the NIHR SPHR team at ScHARR plan to hold another two workshops in 2016. Similar workshops have been held by NIHR SPHR members in London, Cambridge, Bristol, and Exeter and others are planned for the coming year. Details will be announced on the NIHR SPHR website.

Day Two of the Canadian Association on Aging conference (CAG)

Hello, THAW PhD student Jake Andrews again, highlighting more points of interest from the CAG conference (cag2015.ca).

Impact is becoming a buzzword, with the Research Excellence Framework (REF) putting a lot of emphasis on it, and researchers working to demonstrate the practical worth of their research. On the second day of the CAG conference, Professor Thomas Scharf ofNUI Galway gave a keynote speech on the social impacts of ageing research.

In his speech, Professor Scharf discussed the increasing importance of impact, suggesting that researchers in the field of ageing should aim to make a difference, and believe that their work can make a difference. He highlighted some concrete examples of impact and how these might be produced. One case from his own work showed how research had led to a change in government policy, clear evidence of the impact of research. He also described how doing research develops the skills of the research team, thereby producing highly skilled people. The impact of this was highlighted by the fact that a member of his research team had gone on to work in the cabinet office. He showed also how impact could be made at a more grassroots level by researchers taking part in public events and engaging with broadcast media. He argued that in the field of ageing, this can lead to the challenging of long-held perceptions of ageing, within the community.

Professor Scharf concluded by admitting that impact was not easy to achieve, and that it must be underpinned by scientific excellence. His final point was that researchers are well placed to define their own impact ‘narrative’, and tell the world why and how their own work is impactful.

Written by Jacob Andrews, THAW PhD student

'Real World' Evaluation: Ten Key Principles for Evaluating Complex Health and Social Interventions 2 day course: Fridays 8th AND 15th January 2016

This course is primarily focused on evaluations in complex 'real-world' situations, in which the evaluator has limited control over the intervention or context, and traditional experimental methods are inappropriate.

Who will benefit from the course:

Anyone with an interest in evaluation especially those who feel that there is a need to address issues of complexity which have been overlooked in traditional methods of evaluation:

• Academics and Researchers
• Health and Social Care Practitioners and Managers
• Public Health Practitioners (NHS, Local Authority and not-for-profit organisations)
• Health and Social Care Commissioners
• Post Graduate Students
• Evaluators with experience of Traditional Experimental evaluation methodologies who want to develop an understanding of new ways of evaluation
• Implementers of technological innovations (including private sector)

It is led by Dr Nasrin Nasr and Dr Steve Ariss

Full details at: Real World Evaluation

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/realworldevaluation

https://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit

‘Real-World’ Evaluation: Ten Key Principles for Evaluating Complex Health and Social Interventions 2 day course: Fridays, 8th AND 15th January 2016

Dr Steve Ariss and Dr Nasrin Nasr are running a two-day short course for the third year:

‘Real-World’ Evaluation: Ten Key Principles for Evaluating Complex Health and Social Interventions on Fridays, 8th AND 15th January 2016.

The course is primarily focused on evaluations in complex ‘real-world’ situations, in which the evaluator has limited control over the intervention or context, and traditional experimental methods are inappropriate. It aims to introduce ten key principles for evaluation of complex interventions and how to apply these in health and social care settings. The course will mix theory and practice, and give broad perspectives drawing on the participants’ own work and evaluation needs. Participants will be introduced to complex situations, complex interventions and innovative evaluation methodologies, including theory-driven approaches. Time between the workshops will provide an opportunity for structured, self-directed study to reflect on experiences and begin to design an evaluation proposal that is in line with the nature of their practice.

Who will benefit from the course?

Anyone with an interest in evaluation especially those who feel that there is a need to address issues of complexity which have been overlooked in traditional methods of evaluation:

·         Academics & Researchers

·         Health and social care practitioners and managers

·         Public health practitioners (NHS, Local Authority & not-for profit organisations)

·         Health and social care Commissioners

·         Post graduate students

·         Evaluators with experience of Traditional Experimental evaluation methodologies who want to develop an

·         understanding of new ways of evaluation

·         Implementers of technological innovations (including private sector)

Expected outcomes:

By the end of this programme participants will be able to:

·         Identify differences between simple, complicated and complex interventions;

·         Describe ten key principles for evaluating complex interventions;

·         Discuss the strength and limitations of various approaches for evaluating complex interventions

·         Develop theories to guide evaluation

·         Plan the application of methods for theory-driven evaluation

·         Appreciate the key issues for data analysis and presentation of findings

Further Information      

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Short Course Unit scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk or by telephone + 44 (0)114 222 2968. 

Further details and online booking can be found here:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit

‘Real-World’ Evaluation: Ten Key Principles for Evaluating Complex Health and Social Interventions 2 day course: Fridays, 8th AND 15th January 2016

Dr Steve Ariss and Dr Nasrin Nasr are running a two-day short course for the third year:

‘Real-World’ Evaluation: Ten Key Principles for Evaluating Complex Health and Social Interventions on Fridays, 8th AND 15th January 2016.

The course is primarily focused on evaluations in complex ‘real-world’ situations, in which the evaluator has limited control over the intervention or context, and traditional experimental methods are inappropriate. It aims to introduce ten key principles for evaluation of complex interventions and how to apply these in health and social care settings. The course will mix theory and practice, and give broad perspectives drawing on the participants’ own work and evaluation needs. Participants will be introduced to complex situations, complex interventions and innovative evaluation methodologies, including theory-driven approaches. Time between the workshops will provide an opportunity for structured, self-directed study to reflect on experiences and begin to design an evaluation proposal that is in line with the nature of their practice.

Who will benefit from the course?

Anyone with an interest in evaluation especially those who feel that there is a need to address issues of complexity which have been overlooked in traditional methods of evaluation:

·         Academics & Researchers

·         Health and social care practitioners and managers

·         Public health practitioners (NHS, Local Authority & not-for profit organisations)

·         Health and social care Commissioners

·         Post graduate students

·         Evaluators with experience of Traditional Experimental evaluation methodologies who want to develop an

·         understanding of new ways of evaluation

·         Implementers of technological innovations (including private sector)

Expected outcomes:

By the end of this programme participants will be able to:

·         Identify differences between simple, complicated and complex interventions;

·         Describe ten key principles for evaluating complex interventions;

·         Discuss the strength and limitations of various approaches for evaluating complex interventions

·         Develop theories to guide evaluation

·         Plan the application of methods for theory-driven evaluation

·         Appreciate the key issues for data analysis and presentation of findings

Further Information      

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Short Course Unit scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk or by telephone + 44 (0)114 222 2968. 

Further details and online booking can be found here:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit

MA Dementia Studies

Full time and Part time course options available

Start: September 2015

Where? University of Sheffield, The School of Nursing and Midwifery

Who? Aimed at health and social care professionals, voluntary sector practitioners and those who wish to develop an academic career focusing on dementia and dementia care. Applicants should already have a first degree or 120 credits at degree level or be able to demonstrate their ability to study at this level. It is not essential to have previous experience working with or caring for a dementia population.

How? Apply or find out more by clicking here.

Funding: You may self fund or you may be eligible for funding, find out by visiting the funding page.

 

Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Short Course

Overview

The aim of this three day course is to provide participants with an introduction to methods for conducting systematic reviews in health care. Sessions will be delivered by ScHARR staff experienced in systematic review methods and health technology assessment. The course will be interactive and practical, with delivery of sessions based on lectures and individual and small group practical exercises.

Who will benefit from this course?

The course is suitable for researchers who require an introduction to methods for conducting systematic 
reviews in health care, and professionals who need to develop the ability to interpret and asses the quality of systematic reviews. The course is also suitable for:

• Clinicians wanting to undertake their own systematic review
• PhD Students with a significant review component to their thesis
• Members of academic systematic review teams
• Pharmaceutical companies and consultancies requiring an understanding of review methods

No previous knowledge of systematic reviews or meta-analysis is assumed.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants should be able to:

• Identify the key stages of the systematic review process
• Define a review question and understand how to develop a review protocol
• Describe methods for identifying sources of evidence for systematic reviews
• Develop a search strategy to identify relevant studies for a specific review question and understand how to conduct a literature search
• Apply inclusion criteria to identify relevant studies
• Undertake critical appraisal of evidence using standardised quality checklists
• Develop a data extraction form and extract relevant outcomes from reported studies
• Select appropriate methods of evidence synthesis and be able to describe and summarise key results
• Be familiar with statistical methods for analysis of quantitative data
• Explore the use of meta-analysis in data synthesis using computer software
• Understand potential sources of heterogeneity between included studies
• Be familiar with good practice in reporting of systematic reviews
• Critically appraise a systematic review

For further information or to enrol please visit the website here.