Research interests
Understanding the experiences of people affected by cancer, life limiting illness and who are at the end of life; Nurse-led interventions for issues and problems confronted by patients with cancer and their families (in particular cancer-related fatigue); the contribution of nurses to achieving effective, patient-centred cancer, palliative and end of life care; mixed method evaluations of cancer and palliative care services; the emotional well-being of cancer, palliative and end of life care workforce; multi-disciplinary teamwork in cancer care.
We are working with Health Education England, the National Institute for Health Research (HEE/NIHR) and a number of other funders of Research Training Awards to determine the enablers and barriers to pursuing a research-related career amongst Healthcare Professionals (excluding doctors and dentists) using an Online Survey. This participant information sheet provides more details about the study.
Research group
Complex Healthcare Processes
Affiliate research group
Wessex CLAHRC Theme 6
Research project(s)
This study is an implementation study of best evidence, from previously conducted studies including reviews of randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses, about supporting family caregivers of individuals at the end of life.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer amongst men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Survival rates for prostate cancer are high. Men who have completed treatment for prostate cancer will typically attend regular, face-to-face reviews in the hospital clinic for up to 10 years. There is a need for alternative models of follow- up care: prostate cancer services are under increasing pressure due to numbers of men and a shortage of specialist nursing staff, and men report high levels of continuing unmet need in relation to their prostate cancer.
There are two objectives to this study. Firstly, the study is analysing free-text data from the national Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) to explore the reported quality of life of patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Secondly, we will compare the reported outcome measures of patients with CUP with patients who have metastatic cancer of a known primary.
Despite there being a good understanding of patient and carer concerns regarding opioid analgesia and related side effects, much less is known about the best ways of addressing these concerns. We aim to develop a support tool to improve the management of medications for pain relief, nausea constipation and drowsiness in patients with significant pain approaching the end of life within a theoretically informed behaviour change framework. The expected benefits of the Self-management Support Tool for patients will be improvements in symptom relief and increased confidence in managing medicines and related side effects by themselves, or jointly with their informal carer.
Wessex CLAHRC is partnership of providers, commissioners, patients, public, clinicians and researchers. It aims to put into practice what we learn from undertaking research. The focus is on improving the health of the people of Wessex and the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Through increasing engagement of stakeholders, Wessex CLAHRC aims to bring about a stepped change in integration of pathways of care for people with long-term conditions and reducing hospital admissions through more appropriate use of health care. The complexity theme focuses on improving the experience of patients, families and professionals by looking at ways of minimising complexity and maximising improvement in experience of for those affected by long term, life-limiting conditions.
Living with breast cancer can cause considerable suffering, and for many the fear of recurrence of the cancer can cause anxiety and depression that can last for a long time after the initial diagnosis. Mindfulness-based meditation can be helpful and involves learning a set of techniques that enable people to focus or live in the moment. The standard mindfulness course consists of 1 session a week for 8 weeks lasting between 1½ - 2½ hours, with an additional one day 6 hour retreat, with 45 minutes homework per day. This can be difficult for breast cancer patients to commit to if they are working, have children and if they are undergoing treatment. In this study we plan to find out from patients how we can adapt the course to suit them, and then design and develop it in partnership with patients and leading experts in the field of mindfulness.
In this study we aim to explore and understand the links between patients' experiences of care, staff motivation, affect and well-being.
Progress has been made towards the policy imperative of enabling patients to die in their preferred place of care. However, there has been to consideration of how this might apply in the context of those dying in critical care environments, including what those preferences might be, and practices to enable such preferences to be met.
This study is an international collaboration with Australian colleagues at Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. This study is testing the feasibility of a prospective, longitudinal matched control study to compare outcomes for patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) and patients with metastatic cancer with known primary.
Professor Alison RichardsonSouthampton General Hospital Mailpoint 11 Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD Room No. SAB/AA101 Tel: 02380798494 OR University of Southampton Health Sciences Building 67 Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ
Room Number: SGH/AA102/MP11
