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June 2022 Research and Evidence Bulletin

Thank you for subscribing to the NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS) Research and Evidence Team bulletin. 

Research, evaluation, and evidence are vital to delivering sustainable healthcare improvements and better outcomes for the population we serve. Based in Newcastle, our Research and Evidence Team work with and on behalf of each CCG in North East and North Cumbria, North Yorkshire CCG, and Vale of York CCG. We support them to meet the statutory duty to promote research, and support the use of evidence in decision-making. We also work to deliver independent evaluation services for local, regional and national stakeholders.

Journey to Primary Care Research Conference

On 17th June 2022, NECS, in conjunction with Newcastle University, hosted the Journey to Primary Care Research Conference. This event brought together a wider range of clinicians and academics from across the region with an interest in primary care research. Dr Eugene Tang (Newcastle University) and Dr Shona Haining (NECS) opened the conference with some thoughts on the past two years, and closed with some reflections on the future of primary care research as we move formally into Integrated Care Systems. We are pleased to share a synopsis of each talk with relevant links (where available).

Plenary - 21st Century Dementia Care

Professor Dame Louise Robinson (Professor of Primary Care and Ageing, Newcastle University) delivered the plenary session talking about her experiences as an Academic GP and Professor of Primary Care and Ageing, and her work on the PriDem programme. Further information is available on the programme website here.

A holistic approach to managing an emerging risk cohort

Dr David Cummins, GP at Valens Primary Care Network in Northumberland, gave an overview of his research with patients with chronic conditions who are offered personalised care through population health management, see more here.

Research in care homes

Dr Robert Barker (GP in Corbridge and Researcher at Newcastle University) explained the challenges and rewards that researching in care homes has, and some real life examples of the impact that patients receive. He also discussed work on the NEWS score in care home, with his most recent publication here.

Evaluating the introduction of Nursing Associates in General Practice in the North East of England

Annie Topping (Executive Director of Nursing, Quality, and Patient Safety at Northumberland CCG) presented some the work she is undertaking for her doctorate on "Evaluating the introduction of Nursing Associates in General Practice in the North East of England". 

What pharmacy is adding to the primary care research agenda

Paul Davies, (Director of Pharmacy, North West North Tyneside Primary Care Network and Primary Care Engagement Lead, NIHR Clinical Research Network) discussed "What pharmacy is adding to the primary care research agenda" and invited some audience participation. Previous work from Paul, along with other pharmacy reports, are here.

Research priorities for Community Nursing

Louise Jones (Community Research Nurse, Northumbria Healthcare) presenting he work on "Research priorities for Community Nursing". She discussed the priority setting partnership as part of the James Lind Alliance Community Nursing. See more here.

Development of a primary care dental network: lessons for us all

Chris Vernazza (Clinical Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Dental School) shared his learning from developing a dental network across primary care in his presentation "Development of a primary care dental network: lessons for us all" - see more here.

Primary Care Research Strategy

Hilary Allan (Research Delivery Manager, LCRN North East and North Cumbria Core Team) gave an update on the "Primary Care Research Strategy". Read the full strategy here.

In at the Deep End: exploring research participation and undertaking primary care research in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation

Helen Riding (NECS), Alison Janes (NECS), Dr Sarah Sowden (Newcastle University), and 
Dr Josephine Wildman (Newcastle University) provided a overview of their NIHR NENC ARC funded project "In at the Deep End: exploring research participation and undertaking primary care research in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation". Find out more about the ARC here.

Research on Shared Medical Appointments in practices

Dr Fiona Graham (Newcastle University) presented an overview of work on "Group Consultations (Shared Medical Appointments) in General Practices", including recently published work with Helen Martin (NECS). Read the report here.

The importance of Medical Education Research and Communities of Practice

Dr Philip White (Holmside Medical Group) ran a workshop on "The importance of Medical Education Research and Communities of Practice". Phillip is part of the largest medical education community or practice in the country. 

NENC ICS Pharmacy Workforce Evaluation

The primary care pharmacy workforce has changed significantly over recent years owing to
a range of national health care policy developments. As a result, there have been changes
in employment models, leadership capacity, and career development. Due to the rapid
pace of change, a degree of inconsistency has emerged across the primary care pharmacy
workforce. NECS R&E Team were commissioned on behalf of the NENC ICS to undertake an evaluation of the current workforce across the system.

Research and Evidence Training

The Research and Evidence Team provide a range of training sessions to help people develop their understanding of using evidence and conducting service evaluations. These sessions are all delivered remotely using Microsoft Teams. Our currently available sessions are advertised and bookable on the NECS Learning Website.

Introduction to Research and Evidence

This session is aimed at staff who need to use evidence in their role, and need a working knowledge of the different types of evidence and research studies in order to appraise the evidence they find (e.g., when commissioning services, evaluating services). This session is an ideal precursor to “Finding Evidence” and “Appraising Evidence”.

Finding Evidence

If you want to know how and where to find evidence, this is the session for you. We will explain how to develop a search strategy and know where to access research papers. This session will have a practical focus on searching for relevant evidence.

Appraising Evidence

This is a workshop session giving people the tools and techniques to enable critical appraisal of evidence, to include both qualitative and quantitative research papers. It is equally aimed at staff needing to use evidence in their role, and those who are developing a research project. Attendees are welcome to bring evidence which they would like to appraise to the session.

Designing and Carrying out an Evaluation

This session will define what is meant by evaluation and the important role it has in a healthcare context. The steps needed to go through to design and complete an evaluation project will be discussed. Evaluations could range from evaluation of a small administrative change, such as telephone answering times at one GP surgery, to a new patient service and CCG policy. Practical tips, tools and resources will be shared as well as how the R&E Team can support you.

Questionnaire Development

This session is aimed at staff who may need to develop questionnaires as part of their role, and need a working knowledge of how to design, share and interpret evidence from a questionnaire. It is also suitable for those who may want to develop a research idea involving use of a questionnaire. It is a useful follow-up to the Research and Evidence Team’s ‘Designing and Carrying Out an Evaluation’ training session. The session will give people the opportunity to discuss their experience of delivering and/or completing questionnaires and ask questions.

Contact Us

We can support and advise on developing research projects and proposals, research governance, working collaboratively to support and deliver research, disseminating results, and using evidence in practice. We can also scope, develop, and deliver evaluation services to meet your requirements.