22 Nov 2022
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Research Sandpit helps refine ideas into concrete plans
This November we held our first Research Sandpit event which provided structured networking opportunities and extended discussion time between researchers and partners to turn good ideas into research funding proposals.
We brought together a cross sector community of practitioners, and active researchers across disciplines together with potential service users of research outcomes. Our collaborative partners included the NIHR Clinical Research Network, Research Design Service, Research Innovation Team, Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board Research and Evaluation team and members of the public who work with UEA Citizens Academy.
The Research Sandpit provides a method to drive lateral thinking and radical approaches to address research challenges and foster innovation and creativity in research design as well as peer review to develop the quality of projects. We received seven applications for project support:
- Improving communication between clinicians in the ambulance service and primary care to inform the development of an innovative digital communication technology so that people needing urgent and emergency care receive skilled treatment and support in the best setting for their needs.
- Using a diagnostic tool called CHART to assess patients with irregular heart beats to access treatments that will help to restore a normal heart rhythm and reduce the need to have lots of separate tests by different hospital departments.
- Understanding the factors that affect Norfolk residents’ engagement with and use of digital technology that might enhance health and wellbeing so that priorities can be identified about how to make improvements in terms of equipment supply, access, cost, skills and confidence.
- To establish a digital innovation hub to improve the management of long term conditions for people living in Norfolk and their carers as well as informing the kinds of health and care services needed to offer support based on what matters to people.
- An exploration of the factors that help council staff achieve a work/life balance through a hybrid model of working to ensure that work environment, equipment and wellbeing are optimised for the benefit of all.
- Looking at the efficacy of using the Vona du Toit model of creative ability as a framework to support standardised assessment and diagnosis of people with autism.
A seventh project was so well developed it was immediately fast tracked for research funding.
7. Measuring the impact of low fluid intake, dehydration and heat stress on the health and wellbeing of practitioners who have to wear PPE at work and whether this impacts the quality of decision making and the care patients receive.
Feedback from the project applicants indicated that it provided a unique opportunity:
The members of the public who joined the event had the opportunity to review the projects with Prof Caitlin Notley Director of the Citizens Academy ahead of the event to choose which idea was of most interest to them.
We had a wealth of positive comments and ideas and solutions for how to make improvements in the future which will help us to plan the next Sandpit .
So if you have a project idea that you want to develop into a funding proposal for research and would like to apply for our next event on Friday 28 April, 2023 - please save the date in your calendar and out for our advertisement. Follow us on social media to be first in the know @UEAHSCP, or sign up to our mailing list.
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