UCL
All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary.
| Title of Project | Brief Summary |
| Supporting diagnostic decision making for mental health conditions in primary care: Scoping the development of a virtual patient tool for current and future primary care clinicians |
Mental health problems have been increasing in the UK, especially among young people, leading to more people seeking help from primary care. However, the presentation of mental health symptoms can be complex, posing diagnostic challenges for health professionals. Timely identification and support can prevent problems from escalating. Historically, research and training resources have been targeted towards primary care doctors. Now, primary care includes a range of clinicians such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and physician associates, all involved in diagnosing and supporting mental health concerns. There is a gap in training resources for these groups. This project aims to explore the diagnostic challenges faced by primary care clinicians in identifying and managing mental health problems. This will help us to develop a virtual patient training tool to support clinical reasoning and improve diagnostic accuracy. Depending on the student's interests, the project could involve a scoping or literature review on diagnostic challenges in mental health within primary care settings. Alternatively, the student could conduct qualitative interviews with primary care clinicians, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and physician associates, to gather insights into their diagnostic processes, challenges, and training needs; this would be subject to obtaining ethics approval. This project will also explore variations in challenges experienced by different professional groups and the role of multiprofessional training in addressing such challenges. The intern will receive training and support in conducting literature reviews, qualitative interviews, and thematic analysis. Regular supervision and guidance will be provided by the project team. |
| Mapping patient reported symptom tracking to the MDS-Unified Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and MDS-Non-Motor Symptom fluctuations scale in people with Parkinson’s disease |
The Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) is a widely used tool in clinical research and practice to assess the severity of Parkinson’s disease. The MDS-UPDRS has four parts that evaluate different aspects of Parkinson’s disease: Part I assesses non-motor aspects of experiences of daily living e.g., cognitive function, mood and behaviour; Part II assesses motor aspects of experiences of daily living e.g. eating, dressing and hygiene; Part II evaluates motor symptoms e.g. tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia (slow movement) and motor instability; and Part IV addresses complications related to Parkinson’s treatment e.g. dyskinesia (involuntary movement) and motor fluctuations (changes in motor performance). Parkinson’s disease commonly requires ongoing therapy, which can sometimes lead to complications. Part IV of the MDS-UPDRS evaluates the impact of medication on the patient’s symptoms and overall well-being. It provides a structured framework to assess the effectiveness of treatment and to identify any adverse effects that may be related to therapy. The MDS-Non-Motor Symptoms scale (MDS-NMS) is a scale specifically assessing the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and includes a Non-Motor Fluctuations subscale (MDS-NMF), assessing the fluctuations of non-motor symptoms in response to medication. As part of the Personalised Care for Parkinson’s disease (PD-Care) study we have developed a toolkit to facilitate people with Parkinson’s to self-manage their condition and symptoms. The toolkit consists of information sections on what Parkinson’s is, symptoms, treatment and practical advice to optimise well-being. The toolkit also contains personalised sections, which includes a ‘Tracker’ where people can record and monitor changes in their medication, activity and symptoms. Additionally, we have collected MDS-UPDRS and MDS-NMS data at three time points: baseline, 6-months (post-intervention) and 12-months (maintenance). In this internship, the student will map MDS-UPDRS Part IV and MDS-NMF data to digital analytic data from the toolkit ‘Tacker’ to determine the usefulness of the tracker for people experiencing symptom fluctuations. More information about the PD-Care study can be found here: https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-023-07700-7 and https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/research/research-departments/clinical-and-movement-neurosciences/personalised-care-people |
