As part of our interdisciplinary work in the Sports Engineering Research Group we help run the parkrun Research Board at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. One of our parkrun PhD students, Allison Dunne, reflects back on her experience of presenting at the recent Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems International Research Conference in Dublin.
Driving change and building a healthier world are goals which many of us in the world of sports engineering research aspire to achieve. These were the themes for the recent Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems International Research Conference in Dublin, where I was delighted to present my latest PhD research results.
As part of my qualitative study into mental wellbeing and parkrun I asked middle aged men about their understanding of the term mental wellbeing. I found that although the men had heard the term in the media or from friends and family, their interpretation of it didn’t always match the way that mental wellbeing is defined in research. This information is useful for social prescribers, researchers and health promotion practitioners. I was also able to use this to explain clearly what mental wellbeing means when talking to the men who took part in the rest of my research project. Watch this space for additional results coming later this year.
The conference had a heavy focus on nursing research (unsurprisingly, given the hosts) but there were many presentations which were of interest to those of us from other disciplines. I’ve listed three speakers here, each with a link to a key paper for further reading.
Three key opinion leaders
Professor Susan Michie, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, UK.
The behaviour change wheel: a new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Michie et al (2011) 10.1186/1748-5908-6-42
Professor Laurence Moore, Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Scotland.
A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions: update of Medical Research Council guidance. Skivington et al (2021) https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2061
Professor Calvin Moorley, Professor of Diversity & Social Justice, Nursing Department, London South Bank University, UK.
Equity and diversity in healthcare and nurse education. Moorely and West (2022) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ebnurs-2022-103570
Three take-home messages
- Be brave when designing research. Consider using novel methods such as PhotoVoice, Co-Design or Participatory Action Research.
- Remember equity and diversity when working in research, healthcare or academia. How can we advocate for people from all backgrounds?
- Use polls in presentations to increase attention and make the audience feel valued. Tools like Menti.com or pollev.com were easy ways to capture audience opinions and ideas.
Should I attend this conference?
If you are interested in health systems, healthcare professional education or healthcare staff wellbeing this conference will be of interest to you.
If you would like to know more here is a link to the conference information and abstract booklet: https://www.ucd.ie/nmhs/newsandevents/snmhsinternationalresearchconference/
To learn more about Allison’s work check out her first paper on parkrun and mental wellbeing can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13072, or follow her on Twitter here.
Engineering Sport 