Bridging the gap between research evidence and its implementation in public health practice: case studies of embedded research model.

AIM: To investigate the potential of embedded research in bridging the gap between research evidence and its implementation in public health practice. METHODS: Using a case study methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 embedded researchers, 9 public health practitioners, and 4 other stakeholders (2 teachers and 2 students) across four case study sites. Sites and individuals were purposively selected. Sites included two local authorities, one secondary school, and one sports organisation. Thematic data analysis was adopted to analyse the qualitative data. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (1) building and maintaining relationships, (2) working with stakeholders, (3) informing practice, and (4) critical reflection. CONCLUSIONS: Embedded researchers build and maintain relationships with practitioners and other stakeholders to produce research. Evidence from the co-produced research informs future practice and research to improve service and delivery rendered to the public. Thus, embedded researchers use their role to bridge the research evidence - implementation gap in public health practice.

You clapped, you cheered, but did anybody hear? A mixed-methods systematic review of dementia homecare workers' training and psychosocial needs.

The homecare sector's high turnover rate is linked to poor working conditions and a lack of person-centered practice. Limited research exists on the training and psychosocial needs of homecare workers caring for people living with dementia (PLWD). This systematic review explored these needs and identified 285 studies, of which seven studies met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis identified four themes: "training and education challenges and facilitators;" "social isolation and the importance of peer support;" "emotional attachments and distress experienced by homecare workers;" and "working with families and its emotional impact on homecare workers." This review highlights the unmet educational and psychosocial needs of homecare workers and the negative impacts these unmet needs have. To improve person-centered practice in homecare, workers require dementia-specific training, and concurrent emotional and peer support, alongside support managing relationships with clients' families. Future research is required to implement an intervention to meet these needs.

Finding meaning and purpose: a framework for the self-management of neurological conditions.

PURPOSE: Self-management has been proposed as the way forward in improving health outcomes for people with neurological conditions; yet the experience and meaning of self-management for people with neurological conditions has rarely been focused on specifically. The current study addressed the question, what is the experience of self-managing a neurological condition? A secondary aim was to examine the feasibility of exploring self-management across neurological conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was adopted, which recognised service users as the experts on their conditions. Data-prompted interviews, using scrapbooks, were conducted with eight people with various neurological conditions, residing in the north-east of England. RESULTS: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) identified two key themes. Theme one, "meaning and purpose," identified achieving meaning and purpose in life as central to the self-management experience. It comprised five sub-themes (what is important to me; me and my condition; embracing my body; connecting with others; taking charge) which represented areas that could influence finding meaning and purpose. Theme two, "finding the new normal," emphasised the centrality of reflection in an ongoing self-management process. CONCLUSIONS: The findings form the basis of a proposed framework for the self-management of neurological conditions which could inform practice and be developed into a self-management tool.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONSelf-management is an ongoing process requiring continuous reflection.A positive psychology approach to self-management can support people to find meaning and purpose in life.This framework could be adapted into a self-management tool for people with neurological conditions.This self-management framework can be applied across neurological conditions.

Negotiating the boundaries of the medical model: Experiences of people with epilepsy.

People with epilepsy (PWE) continually report dissatisfaction with the support they receive, particularly in regard to their psychological wellbeing. With its focus on optimal seizure control, epilepsy treatment is entrenched in the medical model of illness, despite growing evidence of the broader psychosocial impact of the condition. This study aimed to explore how PWE experience healthcare in the context of their lives. Semistructured interviews were conducted with thirty-nine adults with epilepsy from across the UK. An adapted version of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted, and three superordinate themes were identified. Firstly, "negotiating the space between health and illness" identified how participants rejected the illness identity and struggled with a treatment regime, which reminded them of the longevity of their condition. Secondly, "tensions in adopting a biomedical perspective" considered how medical professionals overlooked the negative side effects medication had on participants' lives, in favor of optimal seizure control. Thirdly, "the need for broader support" highlighted the additional psychosocial support PWE require. The findings indicate the need to incorporate person-centered, psychological services within the care pathway for PWE, as well as training for health professionals to recognize the broader impact of epilepsy beyond seizure management.

Epilepsy, identity, and the experience of the body.

Living with a chronic condition can challenge a person's identity, yet there is a paucity of research exploring this experience for people with epilepsy and particularly for those diagnosed in adulthood. Consequently, through an interpretative phenomenological approach, the current study aimed to explore what the experience of adult-onset epilepsy meant for a person's identity. Thirty-nine people with adult-onset epilepsy from across the UK took part in up to two semi-structured interviews. A modified form of interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted and identified three themes: 1) disarming the impact of seizures considered strategies used to control seizure occurrence and regain a sense of control over the body; 2) distinguishing the self from the body highlighted participants' attempts to separate their sense of self from the unpredictability of their bodies; 3) separating epilepsy from themselves demonstrated how participants externalized epilepsy from themselves in order to reject it as part of their identity. The findings highlighted that living with adult-onset epilepsy can challenge a person's sense of self and trust in their body, resulting in the adoption of various strategies to manage the threat to their identity. As such, practitioners must pay attention to the impact that adult-onset epilepsy can have on a person's identity and faith in their body.

The experience of living with adult-onset epilepsy.

The incidence and prevalence of adults diagnosed with epilepsy is higher compared to those diagnosed in childhood, yet the experience of living with adult-onset epilepsy has rarely been examined. Hence, the current study took a phenomenological approach to examining the experience of living with epilepsy following diagnosis in adulthood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 people from across the UK, diagnosed with epilepsy between the ages of eighteen and sixty, at two points in time, six months apart. Phenomenological analysis identified three central themes: the unpredictability of seizure occurrence; the ripple effect; and re-evaluating the future. Despite the accepted consensus in the epilepsy literature that living and coping with epilepsy becomes more difficult the older a person is diagnosed, the current findings indicated that this is inadequate. Rather, it is more suitable to consider that those living with adult-onset epilepsy have a specific experience of the condition and particular support needs, given that they once lived their lives as people without epilepsy.