Research improves professional practice and benefits HSC service users. People expect the services they receive to be informed by high quality research. Health and Social Care (HSC) needs a core of active, skilled researchers who can advance our knowledge about illness, how the human body and mind work, and how we can better prevent and treat disease.
The HSC R&D Fellowships support excellent, early career professionals to understand how to undertake research in health or social care environments.
Three new research Fellowships, which will lead to a PhD, have been awarded in 2017.
These three successful research fellows all working within well-established health and social care research centres in Northern Ireland, have presented high quality research proposals, the results of which, will be used to improve future health and social services in Northern Ireland. The fellows also have the opportunity to undertake an intensive and bespoke training programme to develop their expertise as HSC researchers.
The use of early pregnancy HbA1c in predicting excessive foetal growth in women at risk of glucose intolerance
Dr Robert D’Arcy will undertake a clinical study to look a way of reducing excessive foetal weight gain during pregnancy. We know that excessive foetal weight can result in complications during pregnancy, and predicts an increased future risk of diabetes and obesity in the offspring. In particular Dr DiArcy is interested to see whether screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the first trimester would allow more timely diagnosis and more effective intervention for women.
Petechiae in Children (PIC) Study – Defining a clinical decision rule for the management of non-blanching rashes in children including the role of rapid point of care testing for procalcitonin and neisseria meningitides DNA
Dr Thomas Waterfield’s research study aims to develop a clinical decision tool that can better identify cases of meningococcal disease (MD) in children who present to hospital with a temperature and a non-blanching rash. This will provide doctors with more confidence about proceeding with treatment or deciding to safely discharge the child home. His project will involve a large clinical study in children and make use of a rapid bedside test (called LAMP-MD) for diagnosing MD which has been developed in Belfast.
Improving engagement with Cardiac Rehabilitation using innovative approaches developed through Experience Based Co-Design
We know that if a patient undertakes a program of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) following a heart attack, then this can be effective in preventing further heart attacks and improving long-term health. But often people who have had a heart attack choose not to engage with the CR programme. Mrs Gemma Caughers will carry out research to understand why many people do not engage with CR and then aim to develop new ways of providing CR using the feedback from staff, patients and the public.
