Our 7th Annual Research Conference inspires more people to get involved in research

On Wednesday 22 May, attendees came together to share and learn from a broad range of research done through and with our Trust. Research impacts everyone’s lives and within the area of health and social care the value of research is truly life enhancing.

The event was held at the Mercure Grange Park hotel in Willerby, with many additional guests attending remotely from across the country. Attendees could also browse the stalls dedicated to a range of research opportunities to learn more about them and take part.

Research is an integral part of our commitment to our core values of Caring, Learning and Growing. By offering opportunity and support to learn more about the needs of patients, we can develop a caring and dynamic workforce.

The conference was opened by our Chief Executive, Michele Moran, and began with a poignant tribute to Wendy Mitchell, who had dedicated so much of her life to research, particularly related to her own lived experience of early onset dementia.

The first speaker was Dr Soraya Mayet, our Director of Medical Education, who shared her work on addictions research, in particular the study of how heroin addicts could be supported with regular controlled substances. The outcomes of her work in this field highlighted the positive effects of meeting the needs of these patients, which in turn allowed them to regain much of their own lives, putting them on a better path towards their futures.

Research into children’s mental health and wellbeing has never been more relevant, with young people facing worryingly high rates of difficulties. Dr Hannah Armitt provided an overview of how nature can be utilised therapeutically in children’s mental health, highlighting that fewer than 1 in 10 children now play regularly in ‘wild’ spaces. This free and underutilised resource can positively support mental health. One element of this research focussed on supporting young people, including those diagnosed with ADHD, through the use of co-produced nature-based interventions

Continuing with research into young people, but this time to support a clinical condition. Lisa Davies, along with her son Evan, gave their account of how research had changed their lives. Evan was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, which stripped away his ability to play sports and enjoy a physical childhood. However, thanks to a biological immunotherapy trial, Evan is now able to get back to playing football and is in medicated remission from the disease. He has even been awarded the BBC Young Reporter of the Year for sharing his story on BBC Newsround. Lisa said, “Without doubt, our lives have been changed by clinical research.”

Physical exercise can have a profound and positive effect on mental health, which was highlighted by much of Lisa and Evan’s story. The conference then went on to hear how people suffering with psychosis find it harder to access physical exercise and how research looked to break down those barriers. Dr Rowan Diamond, Research Clinical Psychologist, shared her research in a field normally explored by practitioners working with the physical body, such as physiotherapists, yet her work drew on a psychologist’s perspective. Findings of this research have formed a checklist template which can now be used in clinical practice to identify the origins of obstacles and support patients to find a way of introducing physical exercise into their recovery.

Each of our three GP practices are research active as we believe this helps organisations positively develop primary care. A presentation delivered by Marion Opoku-Fofie (Deputy Chief Pharmacist), Esther Sanni (Principal Clinical Pharmacist) and Maggie Bean (Locality Matron) shared how we are involving a significant number of our patients in research studies. Making us the second highest recruiting Mental Health Trust in Yorkshire and Humber, with approximately 1,000 patients signed up to take part in primary care research between 2023 and 2024.

Louise Shelley, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, then went on to share the opportunity for research within the Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) field of work. She highlighted the need for collaboration between academic researchers and clinicians, and how they work symbiotically. Louise delivered a strong message of how other AHPs can get involved in research to develop themselves and the care they can provide their patients.

Later, attendees were introduced to an artificial intelligence tool designed to speed up dementia diagnoses for patients. CognoSpeak can step in to evaluate the indicators of dementia through a person’s speech, reducing waiting times for these patients. Dr Dan Blackburn and Caitlin Illingworth from University of Sheffield had identified an increased demand on memory clinic services along with a very basic test that could be performed by GPs, which lacked accessibility. They also highlighted issues connecting with those for whom English is not their first language. CognoSpeak is currently building a bank of speech samples from a range of dialects and accents and hopes to increase the accessibility and accuracy of the software.

Speakers from Imperial College London joined the conference remotely to discuss the prevalence of loneliness and domestic violence in society. Research into the areas around the UK where loneliness is concentrated in pockets can be seen using the heat map they are creating. With loneliness being cited as reducing life expectancy as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, this research into where loneliness exists and how to address it is vital. The heat map they presented is how research work will continue to highlight this need.

Bringing research into the forefront of the nursing workforce will provide an excellent grounding in ensuring the continuation of learning for post-graduates. Dr Haley Jackson shared how through the University of Hull, student nurses are afforded the opportunity to undertake a split clinical and research placement within our Trust as part of their studies. It was noted that by creating an interest in research at the start of someone’s career, we can dramatically increase their openness to going further with research opportunities.

The final research project was shared by Dr Elizabeth Darwell on the topic of managing risk in CAMHS services. Sharing her qualitative analysis of how risk is perceived by patients, their parents and the clinicians who work with them, Dr Darwell highlighted how in many cases fear was more intolerable than risk itself. The learnings from this piece of research discuss how risk and safety can co-exist and do not inevitably cancel the other out.

Our 7th Annual Research Conference combined a platform for sharing current research projects and their scope, with an underlying call to action to encourage more people to support and take part in research through health care.

To learn more about our fantastic Research Team and how you could get involved in research, visit their website page here.