Using research evidence to work creatively with people with lived experience of domestic abuse

Posted on August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by capcbristol

By Dr Natalia Lewis, Senior Reseach Fellow in Primary Care and Cat Papastavrou Brooks, Research Associate, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, and Dr Noreen Hopewell-Kelly, Research Fellow, NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre

The coMforT study

The coMforT study, funded by NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, developed and tested a trauma-specific mindfulness course for women who had experienced domestic abuse and post-traumatic stress. The study, led by Dr Natalia Lewis, worked with an advisory group of six women with lived experience of domestic abuse who engaged in planning, delivering, analysing and disseminating study findings.

Developing a theatre piece about the impact of involvement in research

Once the coMforT study finished, two of the public contributors involved in it went on to co-produce a play called ‘Hard Evidence’ with support from researchers and the director of acta, a … Read more

Treatment decision-making in advanced kidney disease: an international collaborative workshop on future directions

Posted on July 11, 2023 by capcbristol

By Dr Lucy Selman, Associate Professor in Palliative and End of Life Care, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

On Thursday 8 June 2023, an expert meeting was held at the University of Bristol, on treatment decision-making in advanced kidney disease. The meeting brought together renal and palliative care clinicians and researchers specialising in the area from across the UK with colleagues from Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with two guests from Boston coming to Bristol to attend in person.

The aim of the event was to share research and clinical practice models related to treatment decision-making in advanced kidney disease – an area in which the partnering teams have complementary expertise.

The event was led by Dr Lucy Selman, Associate Professor of Palliative and End-of-Life Care at the University of Bristol in collaboration with Professor James Tulsky, Professor of Medicine at … Read more

Festival of Teaching 2023

Posted on April 26, 2023April 27, 2023 by capcbristol

By Dr Simon Thornton, GP Engagement Lead, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol (left) and Professor Trevor Thompson, GP and Head of Primary Care Teaching, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol (right)

For the last two years the teaching arm of the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) have been doing something a little different when it comes to Continuing Professional Development (CPD): a Teaching Festival, a day of activities that aims to celebrate and entertain as well inform and train.

This year our destination was Clevedon Hall, a stone’s throw from the marine lake on the shore at Clevedon. On display throughout the day was a collection of artwork produced by our medical students as well as photography by a local GP, Dr Jon Rees. The grounds are an absolute delight as was our programme of … Read more

Creating a community network to tackle inequities in end-of-life care and bereavement support

Posted on January 26, 2023January 27, 2023 by capcbristol

By Lucy Selman, Associate Professor of Palliative and End of Life Care, Palliative and End of Life Care Research Group and Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Serious illness and bereavement affect us all, but our experiences of them are not equal. People living in the poorest areas of the UK are less likely to get the care and support they need if they become seriously ill or a loved one dies. They are also more likely to be socially isolated and lonely – which can be made even worse by serious illness or bereavement.

The Weston-super-Mare community network for health inequities is a new collaborative research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by the University of Bristol, which aims to tackle these issues, focusing on Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in the South West that is socioeconomically … Read more

‘Our First Year Heard’ – curating the experiences of first-year medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on December 8, 2021 by capcbristol

By Louis Davenport, Medical Student, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

My name is Louis Davenport, and I am a second-year medical student at the University of Bristol. I am the organiser of ‘Our First Year Heard’, a student art collection showcasing the effects of COVID-19 on first-year medical students.

The seed of the idea came from an extremely intense, one might say uncomfortable, experience that I had in the dissection room in my first year at medical school. While I am not particularly artistic myself, I made use of poetry to help process the experience and wrote several drafts of what would become What’s in front of you. From there I thought, why not collect the experiences of first-year medical students who might similarly wish to share them with other medical students and the wider public? Capturing the unique experiences of people who … Read more

How can involvement in research support survivors of domestic abuse?

Posted on November 25, 2021 by capcbristol

by Will Hunter, Communications Executive, National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC)

Hard Evidence is a theatre piece written and performed by Shass Blake and Alison Prince. It follows the story of two friends, Jan and Christine, who both have experience of domestic abuse, but are at different points in their journey to finding support. It shines light on how involvement in research influenced their individual journeys and empowered them to start helping others.

Alison and Shass met whilst taking part in the COMforT study. COMforT developed and pilot tested a trauma-specific mindfulness course for women with experience of domestic abuse and post-traumatic stress. The study, led by Dr Natalia Lewis, worked with an advisory group of six women with lived experience of domestic abuse who supported to plan, deliver, analyse, and disseminate study findings.

The play was the brainchild of … Read more

Meet the stars of Hard Evidence – a new production about public involvement in research

Posted on October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 by capcbristol

by Will Hunter, Communications Executive, National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC)

Hard Evidence, a new production developed through collaboration between public contributors to research, academics and creatives from acta community theatre in Bedminster, Bristol, highlights how getting involved with research can empower women who have experienced domestic abuse to support others in a similar situation.

Will Hunter, Communications Executive at the National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC), caught up with Shass Blake and Alison Prince who wrote the script with Ingrid Jones (acta) and will perform in the production in November. They came to the project after being involved in the CoMForT study, led by Dr Natalia Lewis at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, which developed and pilot tested a trauma-specific mindfulness course for women with experience of domestic abuse and post-traumatic stress.

Thanks … Read more

Conference reflections from a basement

Posted on July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 by capcbristol

by Dr Rupert Payne, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Primary Health Care, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Dr Rupert Payne reflects on the highlights of the two-day Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) Annual Scientific Meeting, which was held virtually this year from 30 June to 1 July. This blog was first published on the SAPC website.

Another year, another conference! The last time I attended a SAPC conference was the regional South-West one that we hosted in Bristol – about a week before the first lockdown kicked in, and normality abruptly ended. Indeed, I suspect it was actually the last big face-to-face meeting many of us attended. This time, Leeds beckoned. But rather than jumping on the train to the “grim north”, I descended the stairs to my rather grimmer basement (yes, my wife has kicked me out the dining room), for … Read more

Taking part in a Fun Palace – what we did and was it worth it?

Posted on November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 by capcbristol

by Dr Mairead Murphy
Senior Research Associate
and
Dr Cindy Mann
Senior Research Associate
Centre for Academic Primary Care

The Living Well Fun Palace

Fun Palaces are annual, UK-wide, science, art and culture events run within community spaces. The ethos of the annual events is that rather than simply sharing information, they should fully engage communities in arts and science and they can be run by researchers, professionals or members of the public. For researchers, they offer an opportunity for a reciprocal exchange with members of the public to share and inform research.

We were invited by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute to take part in a ‘Living Well’ Fun Palace at Bristol Central Library, on the weekend of 6/7 October. The theme this year was ‘Patterns’ and the aim was to bring researchers and communities together in the same space to share ideas about health and wellbeing in a … Read more

‘Medical education with a global perspective’

Posted on August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 by capcbristol

A first-time view of the Association for the Study of Medical Education Conference

by Dr Juliet Brown
Teaching Fellow in Primary Care
Centre for Academic Primary Care

Conferences are a microcosm of collaboration, critique and niche scholarship, which can sometimes seem a world away from ‘real life’. Yet I always come away from them feeling enthused, energised, and with a new sense of purpose.

This year I attended the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) annual conference for the first time, and I’m happy to say, it lived up to expectations.

I was one of a team of five, along with others from the wider Bristol Medical School (and Academies). With so many sessions to choose from, we deployed ourselves at different plenary, parallel and poster sessions. The theme was ‘Medical Education with a Global Perspective’.

It was great to hear and learn from international … Read more