The Cross-border Healthcare Intervention Trials in Ireland Network (CHITIN) is a unique partnership between the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland and the Health Research Board in Ireland, who are working together to deliver 11 Healthcare Intervention Trials (HITs). The HITs will help to prevent and cure illness and promote improved health and well-being. The WISH project is just one of such interventions: a peer-led, school based brisk walking intervention for adolescent girls (aged 12-14) which challenges the issue of physical inactivity and aims to overcome barriers to participation.
Caitlin Fallis is a third year, Human Nutrition student at Ulster University. She was given the opportunity of a paid placement in the WISH project, as a Research Study Assistant.
Speaking about her decision to pursue a placement Caitlin explained: “There were limited sports activities offered at school that I found enjoyable and I was interested to learn more about why physical activity levels decline among female adolescents. I have a real interest for human nutrition and health promotion.”
Caitlin’s responsibilities included preparing resources for school visits; data collection, entry and cleansing; transcribing audio files; creating social media content; and attending walk leader training and walk visits. Caitlin credits written and oral communication; teamwork; time management; confidence development and problem solving amongst the skills acquired through the placement.
“There were so many highlights! Leading data collection sessions; delivering a talk to students at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology; completing an independent data cleaning task; attending meetings and conferences and spending time on the Magee Campus.
I also created educational videos on sports nutrition that were informative, concise and interactive. I’m so proud that they are being built into a learning platform for GCSE students in Northern Ireland.”
For further information on the CHITIN project click here https://research.hscni.net/chitin