Oxford

We welcome an intern to work across our exciting programme of work focussed on exploring relationships between clinical communication and health behaviour change.

How healthcare professionals communicate can significantly impact patient outcomes. In this project we invite an intern to work with our team to analyse recordings of real consultations between healthcare professionals and patients, and link these to patient outcome data. Focussing on conversations about health behaviour change (eg diet, and physical activity) they will work with our team to explore which aspects of communication might support specific outcomes.

This will include contributing to our NIHR funded project ‘Understanding the role of Healthy Weight Coaches in the weight management system’: https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR205227 And THIS Institute Funded ‘Understanding and improving primary care prevention advice for people who experience multiple long-term conditions and socioeconomic deprivation”: https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/dr-charlotte-albury/ 

Personal Development and Training

• We would like to support our intern to conduct high-quality research which they can submit to an academic conference, communicating the work they have done. We expect this will result in a poster or oral presentation. We have an excellent track record in supporting students to do this successfully.
• Should the student intern which to do so we will also support them to write a blog for academic or lay audiences communicating their research (for example: https://rolsi.net/2023/11/09/guest-blog-an-undergraduate-enjoys-a-ca-internship/).
• The student intern will be actively supported to develop skills to carry out systematic reviews and qualitative research in the context of health behaviours, through attendance at formal training and training within our team.

Successful students will be invited to select and participate in several ongoing systematic reviews on primary care workforce and learning (https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/research/groups-and-centres/workforce-and-learning-research-group). We have a strong, established, and collaborative ‘Evidence Synthesis’ team working across SPCR sites, with whom the student will be encouraged to network and submit publications (conferences and papers). The majority of our reviews use a realist approach, and support will be available for students to learn about this method and how to engage with patient co-applicants and stakeholders. Upcoming projects include ‘a partnership for workforce sustainability in under-served areas’, ‘compound pressures (e.g. climate change, migration, and winter pressures) on the organisation and delivery of UK general practice, and ‘continuity in general practice’.

Depending on the start date of the student’s internship, they will participate in a variety of review stages. Examples include searches, double screening, data extraction and synthesis, and interpretation of policy documents and debate articles. Students will also be invited to attend regular meetings with patient and public co-applicants and key stakeholders, where they will develop their communication skills and help ensure that our research can inform clinical practice and policy. They will be encouraged to co-author submissions for publication.

For further information, please contact Professor Sophie Park or Dr Emily Owen-Boukra.

Emily.owenboukra@phc.ox.ac.uk

Flor.deakin@phc.ox.ac.uk