Doing a Systematic Review: A Student's Guide

 Doing a Systematic Review: A Student's Guide

CATCH Research Associate, Gerlinde Pilkington, has chapters published in a systematic review book for students. 

This practical guide has been written by a team of experienced academics including CATCH member, Gerlinde Pilkington. The book covers every step of the systematic review process, from planning to dissemination and will help students to:

• Work with qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods data

• Understand the how-to of systematic reviews with a range of real-life examples and case studies

• Learn from students who have been in their shoes with FAQs taken from actual supervision meetings 

The book will not only support students to overcome common challenges and pitfalls, it will give them the knowledge and skills to produce an excellent review. 

Alongside updated examples and case studies, this 3rd edition includes two new chapters to help students write and register their review protocol and understand and synthesise data from correlational and experimental studies. 

The book is accompanied by an online guide for teaching, including videos, example documents, further reading, software recommendations and weblinks.

 

NIHR awards £42m to new centres to develop innovative technology solutions to improve healthcare

 NIHR Devices for Dignity MIC, hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, awarded £3m for pioneering HealthTech Research Centre to support people with long term health conditions 

The NIHR has awarded almost £42 million (£41,790,690) to establish 14 new centres across England that will drive life-changing research into health technologies.

From 1 April 2024, the 14 new NIHR HealthTech Research Centres (HRCs) will work with businesses to support the development of medical devices, diagnostics and digital technologies.

These technologies will enable people to:

• better monitor their health

• diagnose ill health sooner

• improve management of conditions including cancer, dementia, cardiovascular and respiratory disease

The HRCs will also work with companies to develop and test products to support rehabilitation and help those with social care needs to maintain their independence. They will work closely with carers, patients and users at all stages. 

Each HRC will be hosted by an NHS organisation in England, bringing industry, academia and the health and care system together. The HRCs will:

• drive innovation and efficiency

• bring new technologies to those who need them most

• support the health and care workforce to reduce workload

• help alleviate pressures on the health and care system

The HRCs will keep the UK at the forefront of research and the place companies want to come to in order to invest in the development of health technologies.

Please read more here and find a full list of the new HealthTech Research Centres here.

Professor Rebecca Palmer has been awarded a Fellowship to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

 Professor Rebecca Palmer has been awarded a Fellowship to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists for her outstanding contribution to the profession.

RCSLT Honours and Giving Voice Awards 2023

The RCSLT Awards are an opportunity to recognise the achievements of members and celebrate those who have supported and championed speech and language therapy and made a difference to the lives of service users.   The Honours awards recognise leaders at all levels within and outside the profession who have made outstanding contributions for the benefit of service users and the profession itself.  

The RCSLT  awards ceremony took place on 6 October 2023.

Read more here.

New publication: Effectiveness of Computer-Tailored Health Communication in Increasing Physical Activity in People With or at Risk of Long-term Conditions

New publication: Effectiveness of Computer-Tailored Health Communication in Increasing Physical Activity in People With or at Risk of Long-term Conditions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

CATCH member Longdan Hao and colleagues have a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Background:

Regular physical activity (PA) is beneficial for enhancing and sustaining both physical and mental well-being as well as for the management of preexisting conditions. Computer-tailored health communication (CTHC) has been shown to be effective in increasing PA and many other health behavior changes in the general population. However, individuals with or at risk of long-term conditions face unique barriers that may limit the applicability of CTHC interventions to this population. Few studies have focused on this cohort, providing limited evidence for the effectiveness of CTHC in promoting PA.

Objective:

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the effectiveness of CTHC in increasing PA in individuals with or at risk of long-term conditions.

Methods:

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effect of CTHC in increasing PA in people with or at risk of long-term conditions. Hedges g was used to calculate the mean effect size. The total effect size was pooled and weighted using inverse variance. When possible, potential moderator variables were synthesized, and their effectiveness was evaluated by subgroups analysis with Q test for between-group heterogeneity Qb. Potential moderator variables included behavior change theories and models providing the fundamental logic for CTHC design, behavior change techniques and tailoring strategies to compose messages, and computer algorithms to achieve tailoring. Several methods were used to examine potential publication bias in the results, including the funnel plot, Egger test, Begg test, fail-safe N test, and trim-and-fill method.

Results:

In total, 24 studies were included in the systematic review for qualitative analysis and 18 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Significant small to medium effect size values were found when comparing CTHC to general health information (Hedges g=0.16; P<.001) and to no information sent to participants (Hedges g=0.29; P<.001). Half of the included studies had a low to moderate risk of bias, and the remaining studies had a moderate to high risk of bias. Although the results of the meta-analysis indicated no evidence of publication bias, caution is required when drawing definitive conclusions due to the limited number of studies in each subgroup (N≤10). Message-tailoring strategies, implementation strategies, behavior change theories and models, and behaviour change techniques were synthesized from the 24 studies. No strong evidence was found from subgroup analyses on the effectiveness of using particular behaviour change theories and models or from using particular message-tailoring and implementation strategies.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that CTHC is effective in increasing PA for people with or at risk of long-term conditions, with significant small to medium effects compared with general health information or no information. Further studies are needed to guide design decisions for maximizing the effectiveness of CTHC.

Please read the full review here

CATCH member, Dr Kate Fryer, receives Faculty Early Career Research Prize

 CATCH member, Dr Kate Fryer, receives Faculty Early Career Research Prize for outstanding contribution to the Faculty

The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health appreciates the outstanding contributions that contract research staff make to the Faculty. The remit of this prize is to reward outstanding contributions as an early career researcher in any of the four categories: Leadership, Research, Teaching and Wider Participation. 

Dr Kate Fryer developed a valuable PPI resource for the University of Sheffield as manager of the Deep End Research Alliance project. The impact of her work is national and very inspiring. 

Quote from Kate “The Deep End Research Alliance is an amazing team to be a part of, and it is a great honour to receive this prize in recognition of my leadership within the team. I'm excited to continue developing my career in inclusive research with supportive colleagues.”  

Congratulations to Dr Kate Fryer!

Please see more here.

EMERGENCE Social Robotics Workshop and EMERGENCE Telepresence Robotics Workshop

 EMERGENCE Social Robotics Workshop and EMERGENCE Telepresence Robotics Workshop 

About this event - Social Robotics Workshop 

The EPSRC NetworkPlus EMERGENCE will run a workshop from the University of Hertfordshire’s main campus in Hatfield, on September 15th, between 10AM and 4PM. 

 

The objective of the EMERGENCE network is to drive world-class advances in healthcare robotics research and development to support people living with frailty within communities in the UK. 

 

The workshop is part of a series of workshops designed to understand how health and social care professionals can benefit from using assistive robotics on their own terms. Empowering health and social care professionals through digital technologies has long been a goal in health and care policy. As governments invest in post-pandemic digital transformation, ensuring workers are empowered and not excluded by technology is more urgent than ever. 

 

The focus of the workshop will be social robotic technology. 

 

Please read more and register here

About this event - Telepresence Robotics Workshop 

The EPSRC NetworkPlus EMERGENCE will run a workshop from the University of Nottingham Jubilee campus, on October 13th, between 10AM and 4PM. 

 

The objective of the EMERGENCE network is to drive world-class advances in healthcare robotics research and development to support people living with frailty within communities in the UK. 

 

The workshop is part of a series of workshops designed to understand how health and social care professionals can benefit from using assistive robotics on their own terms. Empowering health and social care professionals through digital technologies has long been a goal in health and care policy. As governments invest in post-pandemic digital transformation, ensuring workers are empowered and not excluded by technology is more urgent than ever. 

 

The focus of the workshop will be telepresence robotic technology. 

 

Please read more and register here

EMERGENCE Trailblazers Online Webinar

 EMERGENCE Trailblazers Online Webinar

The EMERGENCE Healthcare Technologies Network+ will hold a webinar on Tuesday 12th September 2023 featuring a number of key speakers to complement the themes of our trailblazer projects funded by the first Robotics for Frailty Challenge funding call. Each trailblazer project team will present the challenges, opportunities, aims and objectives of their projects along with an update of their progress to date. 

The webinar will also include opportunities for networking with other attendees to allow for further in-depth exploration of our trailblazer themes. 

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

• Professor. Roy Sandbach OBE, Newcastle University

• Professor. Filippo Cavallo, University of Florence, Italy

• Philippa Hemmings, UKRI

Please find out more here and register

Mobile Technology and delegated work in specialist community services: the EnComPass Integration project

 Mobile Technology and delegated work in specialist community services: the EnComPass Integration project

The NIHR published an NIHR Evidence Collection on Digital technology in the NHS: reducing staff pressures, improving care.

This features CATCH research paper titled "Mobile technology and delegated work in specialist community services: the EnComPaSS Integration project."

Using new technologies in the NHS could bring multiple benefits. They could save healthcare professionals’ time, increase the number of people a skilled professional can support, and enable more sustainable workforce models. At the same time, they can promote safer and more personalised care. The latest Collection brings together NIHR research demonstrating how digital technology can improve care while reducing the demands on staff. 

Please read more here.

Incorporating VoIce acTivated communication aids into Everyday communication

 INVITE study will be presented in a lightning talk at the Communication Matters conference in Leeds, 10-12th September 2023

The Communication Matters International AAC Conference is the UK's leading annual AAC event, with a diverse programme of presentations, posters, plenaries and an exhibition held over two and a half days.

The conference provides a unique forum to meet and exchange information with representatives from all disciplines associated with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), including AAC users, parents, personal assistants, professionals and suppliers of AAC equipment. Communication Matters encourages and supports AAC users to attend.

This year's conference will be held at the University of Leeds, a prestigious 'world class' conference venue. Integral to the conference will be the supplier exhibition in Parkinson Court, with a cafe and lounge area for delegates. Residential accommodation will be in the Storm Jameson Court hall of residence (or close by), which is at the centre of the pedestrianised campus and a short distance from the seminar rooms, dining room and exhibition. The transport links to Leeds are very good, with a nearby airport and train station.

The conference will open on Sunday 10th Sept at 13.00 for registration. The last session on Tuesday 12th Sept will be at approximately 15.30. The conference aims to welcome over 400 attendees, which will include 80+ presentations, a very popular exhibition of the UK's leading suppliers of AAC products, social events and more. 

Please find out more here.

New publication: A qualitative study exploring the effect of communicating with partially intelligible speech

 New publication: A qualitative study exploring the effect of communicating with partially intelligible speech

CATCH members and colleagues have a paper published in the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Journal.

Few studies have investigated how individuals with partially intelligible speech choose to communicate, including how, when, and why they might use a speech-generating device (SGD). 

This study aimed to add to the literature by exploring how this group of individuals use different communication strategies. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 10 participants with partially intelligible speech with the aim of investigating participants’ perceptions of modes of communication and communication strategies. Transcripts were analyzed using Framework Analysis to investigate the role of SGDs alongside other communication strategies. Factors that influence why, when, and how a person chooses to communicate were identified and these were interpreted as an explanatory model of communication with partially intelligible speech. Participants described how they made the decision whether to attempt to communicate at all and then which communication method to use. Decision-making was influenced by the importance of the message, how much time is available, past experience, and the communication partner. Each communication attempt adds to an individuals’ experience of communicating and influences subsequent decisions. 

This study suggests that individuals with partially intelligible speech are at risk of reduced communication environments and networks and that current SGDs may not be designed in a way that recognizes their particular needs. 

Please read the full paper here.