Published on: 20 March 2025
The MPFT STARS: Supporting The Advancement of Research Skills Programme is designed to support health and social care professionals who are new to research or looking to enhance and develop their existing research knowledge. STARS aims to build confidence and provide the skills to turn ideas into real-world impact. A fantastic example of this is the recent publication, Giving Up the Guidelines: A Qualitative Evaluation of Disrupted Prescribing of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) in a Rural UK County During and Following the COVID-19 Pandemic (doi: 10.3390/ijerph21121605). This exciting study was put together by Dr Tim Lewington (Research Associate, MPFT), Deanne Burch (Programme Lead for the Hep C U Later programme, MPFT), and Dr Georges Petitjean (Clinical Director of Inclusion Drugs and Alcohol Treatment Services, MPFT).
For Deanne and Georges, STARS was the perfect starting point. The programme gave them the essential training and support they needed to bring their research idea to life. They worked closely with Dr Tim Lewington from the MPFT Research & Innovation (R&I) team, learning how to design a strong qualitative study, analyse their findings, and navigate the path to publication. With the support of the R&I team, they produced a peer-reviewed paper that sheds light on the challenges faced by practitioners prescribing opioid substitution therapy during the pandemic. Looking back on her journey, Deanne Burch shared:
My research journey started with some inspiring (STARS) training from the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Research & Innovation Team and a conversation with Dr Georges Petitjean – asking the question ‘what was it like for practitioner prescribing OST during the pandemic?’. In all honesty, it was difficult to fit research in around my day-to-day role. However, it was a wholeheartedly worthwhile venture, and we benefitted from the unwavering support of Research Associate Tim Lewington and Danny Hames, the Head of Inclusion. Developing research as a practitioner is extremely important for our collective learning and service improvement across the drug treatment sector. I would recommend that anyone interested in doing research, even if they’ve never done it before, to reach out to colleagues and teams who can support them – make a start on your research journey today.
With the help of the STARS Programme and support from the R&I team, Deanne and Georges developed the confidence and skills they needed to carry out their research and contribute valuable insights to their field. Their experience shows how practitioner-led research can make a real difference in health and social care.
The team behind STARS have also developed a free 8-week online FutureLearn Course for those starting out in Health and Social Care research. The course can be accessed here: Starting out in Health and Social Care Research: https://
