Email d.newbury-birch@tees.ac.uk to book a place and/or go on the email list.
What is a Randomised Controlled Trial and why should I be involved in one? 16th January 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Professor Simon Coulton from the University of Kent will explain what a randomised controlled trial is, why they are important and how Local Authorities can engage with them. |
How many is enough? An exploration of determining numbers for surveys and qualitative work: 20th January 2025, 12.00-12.45 | In this session, Dr Lee Copping will explain the importance of determining the right number of participants for surveys, including basic methods for calculation and the concept of power analysis. Dr Alex Kyriakopoulos will cover sample size in qualitative research, the specific needs of different methods, and the balancing depth and breadth of data. The session is designed to provide practical guidance for non-experts. |
What is a process evaluation and why are they important? 23rd January 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Nadine Hendrie from the University of Kent has conducted several process evaluations. She will talk us through what these are and why are they important using some real examples. |
What is the difference between brief advice and brief interventions? 29th January 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch from Teesside University will look at what brief advice is and what brief interventions are for behaviour change using alcohol as an example. How can we use them? Who can do them? Are they difficult? |
What do we know about Health Technology Assessments: 5th February 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Dr John Downey from the University of Plymouth will present this session. HTAs are used to provide evidence-based advice to support policy making that is equitable and efficient. The health system has scarce resources and HTAs provide a systematic process to appraise the best available evidence for a specific health technology/treatment and provide a multidimensional overview of impact in comparison to alternative options |
Social Network Mapping in Local Government: 7th February 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | This requested session will cover the basics of Social Network Mapping and innovative ways it can apply wide array of contexts within local government. Alex-Jade Delahunty will showcase how the method is being applied within City of Doncaster Council to monitor performance of the local HDRC. |
Adopting a trauma-informed approach to research: 12th February 2025, 12.00-12.45 | In this talk Dr Nikki Carthy from Teesside University will cover the principles of trauma-informed care and how this applies to designing and conducting research. She will also discuss some ethical issues to consider when designing trauma-informed research. |
Amplifying voices: participatory research with people with long term neurological conditions: 18th February 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Katherine Jackson has worked with people with long term neurological conditions and as a senior lecturer so has experience in academia and practice. She will discuss her PhD research of participatory research with people with long term neurological conditions and implications for practice for Local Authority staff. |
Brief alcohol and drug interventions in the criminal justice system: 20th February 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | This session was a request from one of our LA partners and will follow on from the session on the 29th of January. Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch will look at the evidence for brief interventions for alcohol and drug interventions in the criminal justice system and will look at the tools and tips she has learned from 20 years of research in this field. |
Using creative writing in practice and research: 5th March 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | Dr Sophie Nicholls from Teesside University will introduce you to some ways of using creative and reflective writing techniques in your own practice to support your wellbeing and professional development; as well as ways that you can use creative writing in co-creating, evaluating and sharing your research. |
Embedding experimentation in local government decision-making: 19th March 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | In this session, Dr Natalie Butcher (Teesside University) following on from the sessions on RCTs will introduce you to experimental research methods, including the pitfalls and challenges that must be considered when conducting experimental research. This session will demonstrate how controlled experiments can be used to inform and enhance local-government decision-making. |
Does imposter syndrome ever leave you in academia? 27th March 12.00-12.45 | In this session Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch will discuss her journey to become a Professor as a working class girl in the 1980s when going to University was not seen as something her family or friends did. What are the things we need to consider when doing academic studies? What is imposter syndrome and how (and if) we ever get over it and what are the things you need to consider when wanting to do academic studies when working full time. |
Health in All Policies: 1st April, 12.00-12.45 | A Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach systematically considers the health implications of decisions across whole organisations, recognises synergies in working and mitigates harmful health impacts to improve population health and health equity. A Health in All Policies approach acknowledges that organisations and systems are dealing with a range of conflicting priorities and that health is not always the main focus for departments outside of Public Health. However, many of the determinants that shape health are due to social, environmental and economic factors are outside the direct influence of Public Health’s work and policies. Therefore, action is necessary across all sectors/departments to significantly impact population health. We will discuss how we have embedded a HiAP approach in Leicestershire and the opportunities it has created. |
How can I analyse the lived experiences of participants: Insights from a research case study. 4th April, 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Dr Tarela Ike of Teesside University will focus on a qualitative approach to analyse lived experiences of participants using case study of families affected by incarceration. She has conducted research in both the UK and Nigeria and will share her experiences. |
Ensuring racial and ethnic equity in research (and the difference between them): 16th April 2025, 12:00-12.45 | In this session, Dr Andy Divers will discuss how to make sure that research is both accessible and equitable for everyone taking part, no matter their background. He will discuss some of the things you may need to think about and will share experiences from his own research to demonstrate how to design a fair and equitable project for all. |
An introduction to health literacy. 7th May 2025, 12.00-12.45 | Samantha Belfrage is the Research Development Lead at HDRC Portsmouth and a PhD student at the University of Winchester. She will use her learning to help us define health literacy (individual and organisational); Understand how health literacy can reduce health inequalities Learn practical tools to support communication to all. |
Research Case Study: What is the qualitative evidence for Buvidal in the UK. 14TH May 2024, 12.00-12.45 | As part of our embedded research projects with Hartlepool Council we carried out research on Buprenorphine subcutaneous extended-release depot injection (BUP-ER), otherwise known via its tradename: Buvidal (Camarus). It is a partial opioid agonist/antagonist used as a pharmacological intervention in opioid substitution treatments (OST). Due to its mode of delivery, service user’s may also be affected my additional psychosocial factors. We carried out two studies – one around understanding the effectiveness of BUP-ER within a drug and alcohol service for opioid dependent service users, with a specific interest in its psychosocial impacts alongside its use as an OST. This study undertook a qualitative investigation, conducting 15 semi-structures interviews to gain insight from service users and service staff. And a systematic review of qualitative literature. Matthew Dobson and Melissa Pinder will present the findings of these two studies. |
Understanding Community: Inclusive and Collaborative Approaches, 29th May 2025 | Professor Azadeh Fatehrad from Teesside University will,focus on the diverse dynamics of migrant and refugee communities, offering tools to navigate cultural nuances, address integration challenges, and design inclusive, collaborative policies. |
How can I judge the quality of a quantitative study? 3rd June 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | There is increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice and data driven decision making in professional practice. It is essential for professionals to be able to critically analyse the evidence they base their decisions on. However it can be challenging to judge the quality of a quantitative study. Dr Lawrence Nnyanzi will focus on critical appraisal of quantitative studies with a view to build capacity of professionals to identify the limitations and strengths of a study and judge overall validity and reliability. |
How can I judge the quality of a qualitative study? 5th June 2025, 12.00 – 12.45 | There is increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice in professional practice. It is essential for professionals to be able to critically analyse the evidence they base their decisions on. However, it can be challenging to judge the quality of a qualitative study. Dr Lawrence Nnyanzi focus on critical appraisal of qualitative studies with a view to build capacity of professionals to identify the limitations and strengths and to judge overall trustworthiness. |