Many NMAHPs working across Oxford Health are leading their own research studies or are involved in supporting research for patient benefit.

Two colleagues from our R&D team share reflections on their role in research at OHFT.

Debbie Moll talks about her role as a  Research Speech and Language Therapist: You Tube

Janet Perez Gonzalez talks about her role as a Research Nurse Associate: You Tube

Doctoral pathway – Several NMAHPs have been sponsored by the Trust to do Professional Doctorates and PhD’s and have produced research studies that are relevant to their areas of clinical practice. It is an aspiration of the Trust that the new knowledge these studies elicit can contribute to and shape clinical practice.

Details of these studies can be found in the ORKA library.

Masters – The Trust runs an MSc modular pathway available to all post graduate staff.

You can find guidance online regarding Masters and Doctorate

The Oxford Health Library- Knowledge and Library Hub provides further information about Open Athens accounts, critical appraisal and support with running Critically Appraised Topic groups.

Are you an ACP with a research pillar as part of your role? You may find the resources below helpful.

• Find out more about the Research ACP role:

Research roles for nurses and midwives | NIHR

• National Framework for Multi-Professional Advanced Clinical Practice

• Sign up to the NHS England ACP newsletter:

News, views & getting involved | NHS England | Workforce, training and education (hee.nhs.uk)

• Creating a research poster

Bitesize training – Creating a Poster-20240520_120421-Meeting Recording.mp4 (sharepoint.com)

• Explore support and information tailored to different health and care professions: Support by profession

Principal Investigators (PIs)

A PI is a person responsible for the conduct of a research study at a site.

Would you like to be responsible for overseeing a research study within Oxford Health ?As a research active trust, Oxford Health supports on average close to 100 studies at any given time.  Each study requires a PI to be responsible for the conduct of the study.

We would like to hear from you if you would like to become a PI, training will be available for those who do not have experience of this role.

Please follow this link to complete the expression of interest form, once completed you will be contacted with further information.

Please email PIinterest@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk to find out more.

You can learn more about becoming a Principal Investigator, the role and responsibilities at OHFT here.

Associate PI programmes

The Associate PI Scheme is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for healthcare professionals starting their research career.

People who would not normally have the opportunity to take part in clinical research in their day-to-day role have the chance to experience what it means to work on and deliver a NIHR portfolio trial under the mentorship of an enthusiastic Local PI.

Participating healthcare professionals receive formal recognition of engagement in NIHR Portfolio research studies through the certification of Associate PI status, endorsed by the NIHR and Royal Colleges.

New NIHR Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme 

Are you a research nurse or midwife looking to advance your career? The new NIHR Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme (PIPP) aims to equip research nurses and midwives with the necessary theoretical knowledge, leadership skills and practical experience to become a principal investigator responsible for conducting research at a site. Applications for the first cohort close on 30 September. To find out more about the programme and the application process visit our website.

NIHR PI Essentials Training

You can register at NIHR Learn and search for the PI Essentials Training course.  This course is to offer support to PIs, new, potential and experienced.  This aims of this course are to:

• Understand PIs responsibilities in leading the conduct of a research study
• Recognise what makes an effective PI
• Know how to access support
• Understand and reflect on the skills and behaviours required to be an effective PI

NIHR Senior Research Leader Programme

• The NIHR has launched a Senior Research Leader Programme for nurses and midwives. It will build on the success of the 70@70 Senior Nurse and Midwife Leaders programme which concluded in March 2022.  This is an annual application for nurses and midwives to have 0.4FTE dedicated to research capacity building.
• Your path in research  Learn about simple steps, and opportunities where you can incorporate research into your career and help you to build your career around areas you are passionate about, and make a real difference to patients, service users, carers and the public.

Florence Nightingale Foundation

The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) supports nurses and midwives to improve care and save lives. As a UK-based charity, established almost 90 years ago, we are now expanding to reach one million nurses and midwives by 2027. Experience shows us the transformation that is possible when FNF enable nurses and midwives to connect, lead, and influence healthcare.

The FNF has a number of training and development opportunities open to nurses on a regular basis.

All information about these opportunities can be found on the FNF website. Please check regularly.

The Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research (OxInAHR) is a multidisciplinary community of applied health researchers dedicated to producing world-class research which improves service delivery, patient care and population health and wellbeing. This is achieved by:

• leading and collaborating on (inter)nationally funded research projects
• developing nursing, midwifery and allied health research capacity and capability
• delivering our Applied Health Research Doctoral Training Programme(s)
• supporting the integration of research into taught programmes.

Visit: Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research at Oxford Brookes University to find out more about their research centres and how you can  get involved.

Share your Clinical Question

Calling all Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Health Scientists, Pharmacists and Psychologists (NMAHPPs)

At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), we often identify important clinical questions that can be investigated through research to improve practice and patient outcomes.

Some examples include:

• What is the effectiveness of Botulinum Toxin Injections compared to serial casting on function and quality of life in children with lower limb spasticity due to cerebral palsy?
• What is the extent of shoulder dysfunction in patients with temporomandibular disorders?
• Is the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (FDA) or the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (ASSIDS) a better outcome measure to use in patients with dysarthria post-stroke?
• How can we reduce the waiting times for pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

At Oxford Brookes University (OBU), we have the academic expertise to help answer these important questions through collaborative research projects. These projects can be supported through undergraduate, postgraduate or staff projects across an interdisciplinary environment and supervised by experienced world-leading researchers.

Being aware of the research needs of staff working within clinical settings will benefit both OH and OBU as

• Students will get the opportunity to do research on a topic that will help address a clinical need;
• Clinicians will benefit from the research output, be it a proposal, a literature review or a completed research project on a topic of need;
• Collaborations can be formed where students and clinicians work together to answer clinical questions, bridging the research-practice gap and;
• Changes to practice can be enabled to the benefit of patients and staff and to ensure the optimisation of wider clinical care pathways.

We’d therefore like to invite all NMAHPPs to complete this form and share their clinical questions with us. Please submit your clinical questions regardless of whether they will be best answered via a research project, a service evaluation, or an audit.

What happens after you submit your clinical question or topic? The potential research topics will be presented to students at OBU, who will then explore whether a gap in the literature exists, whether it is a feasible topic to investigate and whether it sparks their interest. If your topic is chosen, and if you have indicated on the form that you are happy to be involved or contacted, they will be in touch with you to start the collaborative journey.

Share your clinical question or potential research topic by completing this online form: Share your research topic.

or paste this URL into your browser: https://brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bHG9CtuWOvbaj8q

Please visit the NIHR OH BRC events page

We aim to evaluate the organisational research readiness of OHFT annually by mapping research support structures and activities on the Self-assessment of Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT). This project forms part of the larger Research Interest, Engagement, Capacity and Capability Project

Help us build research capacity

We are “mapping” the research support structures and activities for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, health scientists, pharmacists and psychologists (NMAHPs) within Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT).

NHS England commissioned the development of a tool called the Self-Assessment of Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT), and the OHFT Board of Directors endorsed this project within the trust. The SORT will make us aware of any research support structures and activities that we may not have known about, as well as identifying any gaps in research activity for NMAHPs where improvements can be made.

The SORT has 44 statements and can be completed anonymously. Please help us by completing it.  We will use the information to determine where more research support is needed.

Click on this link to complete the SORT.

Professor Cathy Henshall  – NMAHP Research Lead for Oxford Health

catherine.henshall@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Catherine Henshall is based in Oxford, UK and is a Professor of Nursing at Oxford Brookes University and Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professional (NMAHP) Research Lead at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. She is also Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Research interests include NMAHP workforce development, cancer survivorship, self-management, community, and mental health. Catherine’s clinical background is in oncology nursing.

Dr Lucy Speakman – Research Training and Development Secondee for Oxford Health

lucy.speakman@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

I am a Community Respiratory and Home Oxygen Nurse, also currently seconded to Research and Development to embed the Research Pillar of Nursing in teams across the Trust. My recently completed Professional Doctorate study considered the experiences of community respiratory nurses supporting people with breathlessness. Using hermeneutic phenomenology, this research revealed that while bearing witness to distress (as breathlessness) is indeed a challenging aspect of care; when the antecedents of space to process, teamwork and connection with patients are in place, it is an opportunity for fulfilment for nurses. I am keen to disseminate these research findings as they are relevant to nursing management, education, clinical practice and for further research.

Jemima Littlejohns – Research Training and Development Manager (NMAHPs) Oxford Health

jemima.littlejohns@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

I am a mental health nurse working in Research and Development, supporting the research training and development of colleagues in the trust, with a particular focus on NMAHPs. I have worked extensively as a research nurse over the years in neurology and neurodegeneration, and have recently co-led primary research into dementia and communication difficulties. My clinical background is in Perinatal mental health.

Benita Olivier (Phd)- Professor of Rehabilitation, Co-Director: Centre for Healthy Living Research,  Oxford Brookes

benita.olivier@brookes.ac.uk

Benita Olivier holds a dual appointment as Professor of Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University and clinical-academic at the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, where she builds research capacity and capability among health professionals. She co-directs the Centre for Healthy Living Research at the Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research (OxInAHR). Benita also spearheads the Wits Cricket Research Hub for Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation in South Africa, focusing on injury risk reduction in sports, particularly cricket.

Benita completed a PhD on the topic of cricket fast bowling bio-mechanics and injury prevention. She holds an MSc in Physiotherapy and another in Movement Analysis. As an academic author and postgraduate supervisor, she champions postgraduate success, having founded the Research Masterminds Success Academy and the Research Masterminds YouTube channel.