Category: Research

Getting involved in research for the first time: reflecting on my student choice project in academic primary care

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Alejandra Bonwick

 

 

by Alejandra Bonwick, Second Year Undergraduate Medical Student, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

“If you devote yourself to being the best practitioner you can be, you will improve the lives of thousands of patients in your working lifetime.

If you teach students and young doctors, you will help to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients.

If, through research, you change the way we all practise, you will help to improve the lives of millions.”

Paul Freeling

High quality research is a cornerstone of our healthcare system: it ensures that evidence-based medicine underpins patient care. We are surrounded by it from the moment we start medical school, yet academic general practice is often more invisible than research in secondary care. Academic GPs are scattered across the country in smaller practices, rather than being concentrated in the hospitals where we spend the majority of placement … Read more

Voice of the Voiceless: How we co-produced materials to help reduce stigma for people receiving opioid substitution therapy in pharmacies

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By Dr Vicky Carlisle, Research Fellow, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Voice of the Voiceless is a collaboration between people who receive opioid substitution therapy (OST) for opioid dependence, University of Bristol academics (Dr Vicky Carlisle, Dr Adam Holland, Dr Jenny Scott), Bristol City Council (Ashley Ward), Bristol Drugs Project (Lydia Plant, Lianna Telfer), Developing Health & Independence (Nick Booth), and Harm Reduction Mothers2Mothers (Anna Millington). In 2024 we worked together with a graphic designer to co-produce a booklet that aims to: reduce stigma for people who receive opioid substitution treatment; empower them in their interactions in pharmacies; and foster mutual compassion and respect between pharmacy staff and people who receive OST.

Why stigma and why pharmacies?

OST (with methadone or buprenorphine) is prescribed for opioid dependence. Broadly, the aim is to provide individuals with stability  and relief from withdrawal symptoms, and to reduce reliance … Read more

The importance of patient and public involvement and engagement in research – a PhD researcher’s journey of discovery

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By Anna Pathmanathan, PhD student, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Hello, my name is Anna Pathmanathan and I am a Third year PhD researcher at the University of Bristol. I am part of the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) team and I’m investigating health differences between different ethnic groups, relating to antibiotic resistance and respiratory health concerns.

I am currently conducting big data analysis of healthcare records and interviewing health care practitioners and patients, as part of my work.

What did you know and how did you feel about patient and public involvement and engagement when you started your PhD?

Before starting my PhD, I had no experience of engaging or involving the public in research. I had very little research experience at all, so it was all new to me.

When I realised I needed to involve the public in my … Read more

Learning from each other: Insights from a public co-applicant collaboration in primary care research

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Dr Charlotte ArcherIn this blog, Louise Ting and Charlotte Archer share their reflections on working together as a public co-applicant and principal investigator on a research study looking at the benefits and challenges of remote consulting for anxiety and depression in primary care. A public co-applicant is an individual with lived experience of the condition being researched who is involved in the development of a research funding application. If the research is funded, they also have some responsibility as part of the team for the management and/or delivery of the study.

The study that Louise and Charlotte delivered together involved interviewing 21 patients and 20 practitioners (GPs, nurses, pharmacists) from GP practices in Bristol and the surrounding area. The aim was to understand when alternative platforms for consultations, such as telephone calls, are acceptable, effective and preferable to in-person appointments for people seeking support with anxiety and depression. You can read about … Read more

How team science is helping to detect dangerous drugs and save lives

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By Dr Jenny Scott, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

In 2019, while working at the University of Bath, I had a conversation with Professor Chris Pudney that would spark an idea that is now saving lives. We met at a research “sandpit” – an event designed to bring together researchers from different fields to explore new ideas. We started talking about the growing dangers faced by people who use drugs, especially in an unregulated and increasingly toxic drug market.

That conversation led to the formation of Team Harm Reduction – a group of scientists, clinicians, and researchers working together to tackle drug-related harm. By combining expertise in chemistry, artificial intelligence, mathematics, pharmacy, and intervention development, alongside my own experience in substance use services, we set out to create tools that could detect harmful substances quickly and accurately.

A crisis that

… Read more

Top tips for planning an interest holder engagement event

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Dr Alice Harper

 

 

by Dr Alice Harper, ST3 Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol.

Engagement with individuals who hold a direct interest in your findings is an important aspect of research. This process has been known as ‘stakeholder’ engagement but academics have recently critiqued the use of this language and encouraged more inclusive alternative terms. I have chosen to use the term ‘interest holder’ here.

I was recently involved in organising a local engagement event for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded Supporting People to live wELL with multiple long-term health conditions (SPELL) study. I invited members of the public with lived experience, representatives from local and national health and care charities, healthcare professionals working in local general practices, and representatives from the local integrated care board, to spend the afternoon with the SPELL study research … Read more

International Women’s Day 2025 – Succeeding as a female academic: Q&A with Professor Katrina Turner

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Professor Katrina Turner

Katrina Turner is Professor of Primary Care Research, Head of the Centre for Academic Primary Care and Head of Section for Applied Health Research at Bristol Medical School. In this Q&A, she reflects on what it takes to succeed as a female academic and shares insights from her own personal journey to professorship at one of the world’s leading Universities.

It would be great if you could start by saying a bit about what you do and what attracted you to working in academia.

I’m a primary care scientist with expertise in qualitative research methods. I’ve got particular expertise in intervention development and integrating qualitative studies within randomised controlled trials to improve their design and delivery, and to aid the interpretation of trial findings. Most of my research has been in the area of primary care mental health.

I never really had a plan to become an academic. … Read more

The importance of an inclusive study design – the HepCAPP Study

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Dr Kirsty Roberts

 

 

by Dr Kirsty Roberts, Senior Lecturer in Trials Methodology and Deputy Research Director EDI, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Background

HepCAPP (Hepatitis C Case-finding in Primary Care Pilot) was a pilot oral swab Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) screening study which was funded by NHS England in 2019 and completed in 2023. The study invited over 98,000 people aged 40-64 registered at selected GP practices to take part. 12,216 (12.4%) consented and returned their sample to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for testing.

The study participants found the approach to testing acceptable and the uptake was better than expected. However, the study also confirmed that those identified could have been found through lower-cost targeted screening. Therefore, we recommended that oral swab HCV screening shouldn’t be rolled out in the NHS.

Were there any groups of people or communities under-represented?

The study found … Read more

Why do GPs prescribe benzodiazepines in young adults with anxiety?

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Dr Charlotte Archer

 

 

 

By Dr Charlotte Archer, Research Fellow in Primary Care Mental Health, Centre for Academic Mental Health and Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Why did we do the research?

Benzodiazepines like Valium can be used to help manage the symptoms of anxiety. Research has found that the number of new prescriptions of benzodiazepines for patients with anxiety decreased between 2003 and 2018. It is likely that this is because there are some concerns in the medical community about prescribing benzodiazepines, such as dependency. However, although numbers have declined overall, rates of prescribing actually increased in young adults (those aged 18-34) from 2008 onwards.

Further, the clinical guidelines for the management of anxiety state benzodiazepines should only be used on a short-terms basis, around two to four weeks. Despite this, in 2017, just under half of the prescriptions for benzodiazepines were issued for … Read more

Co-production, equality, diversity & inclusion at the NIHR School for Primary Care Research Trainee Event 2024

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Kirsten Nothnagel

 

 

 

by Kerstin Nothnagel, Postgraduate researcher and PhD student, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

This month, I had the privilege of attending the National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Primary Care Research (NIHR SPCR) Trainee event in Manchester, where I connected and collaborated with fellow SPCR researchers. The event was more than just an academic gathering—it was an inspiring opportunity to share insights and reflect on our work as a community.

A highlight of the event was the Co-Production, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (CEDI) session, led by Patrick Nyikavaranda. This session was particularly significant for a few reasons. The purpose was to dive deep into understanding how our diverse experiences and backgrounds shape our research, with the aim of fostering a more inclusive research environment. In today’s globalized world, belonging is a crucial element. As researchers, the … Read more