Bristol

Open Science advocates for open access to research, including data that has been generated or captured through a trial. In the UK there has been a movement toward adopting open science with increasing expectation amongst funders and publishers of health and social care research that data be made available for re-use. We are currently preparing a dataset collected through the IMPPP trial so that it can be used by other researchers for secondary analysis.

Improving Medicines use in People with Polypharmacy in Primary Care – The IMPPP trial

The Improving Medicines use in People with Polypharmacy in Primary Care (IMPPP) cluster randomised trial evaluated a complex medication review intervention against usual care. The intervention included a clinical informatics tool to identify patients aged 18+, receiving ≥5 long-term medications and with potentially inappropriate prescribing. Training was provided to clinicians to support delivery of a four-stage medication review (i.e. a pharmacist case-note review, interprofessional collaborative discussion between the pharmacist and a general practitioner, a review with patient, and follow-up where clinically indicated). Alongside this an integrated process evaluation was also conducted.

With participant consent, the trial team collected different types of data, including data from electronic health records, training evaluation forms, patient participant questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with clinicians and patients and audio-recordings of medication reviews.

Student project:
You will be supported by Dr Caddick and Dr McCahon to prepare a data deposit of IMPPP trial data for the University of Bristol Research Data Repository. This will include discussion of ethical considerations, how to contextualise a research dataset with useful metadata and develop guides to enable use of a secondary research dataset.

This is an opportunity for an ambitious undergraduate student looking for hands-on experience in cutting-edge applied research. The intern will be able to embed themselves with an active, multi-disciplinary research group of 20 people (Centre for Applied Excellence in Skin and Allergy Research, CAESAR) tackling real-world challenges. CAESAR sits within the Centre for Academic Primary Care and focuses on improving the diagnosis and treatment of common skin and allergy problems in primary care, with a particular emphasis on childhood eczema and food allergies. Directed by Professor Matthew Ridd, CAESAR wis supported by a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Professorship, aiming to address practical questions relevant to patients and healthcare providers.

The intern will join a multidisciplinary team and observe and involve themselves in the following on-going programmes of research:

• Transforming Outcomes for Paediatric Allergy in Primary Care (TOPIC): seeks to enhance care for children with eczema and food allergies by investigating effective and safe use of treatments like emollients and topical corticosteroids, evaluating the impact of primary care eczema clinics, identifying research priorities for paediatric food allergies and exploring the impact of early introduction of food allergens.
• Trial of Food Allergy (IgE) Tests for Eczema Relief (TIGER): aims to determine whether food allergy test-guided dietary advice can improve disease control in children with eczema.
• AmiTriptyline for the Prevention of Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (ATHENA): is evaluating if early administration of amitriptyline can prevent long-term pain following shingles.

Background:

The general practice estate comprises a huge variety of different types of building across England. It is estimated that around 22% buildings that are currently in use were built before the founding of the NHS in 1948. The physical infrastructure of general practice is a growing concern for many bodies, including NHS England and the Royal College of General Practitioners [RCGP]. In 2023 a survey to Royal College of General Practice members revealed that 2 in 5 felt that their premises were not fit for purpose, citing structural issues like mould, leaks and drafts and 88% reported insufficient consulting rooms. Despite calls to invest in infrastructure, the buildings of general practice are under-researched and very little is understood about the ways in which these physical spaces shape and affect the care that is delivered within them

Development work:

We have received development funding to inform our work investigating the buildings and interior spaces of general practice. We will hold a series of workshops with staff and patients who use these buildings to jointly identify research priorities and co-develop questions for our future work. We will engage with Deep-End practices and practices in rural locations to explore questions of inequality and whether these are reinforced through physical spaces and buildings.  

The student intern will work with us to design and deliver patient and public involvement (PPI) and stakeholder workshops, to attend workshops (where possible), to contribute to writing up notes and reports and designing future research in this area.