The Social Care Research EngagENt (SCREEN) project’s aim is to develop and sustain research interest, research engagement, and research activity for all Social Care and Social Work staff at MPFT.
SCREEN Project Team
- Project Management and Academic lead: Dr Paul Campbell (Senior Research Associate, R&I Dept MPFT)
- Project Senior Research Assistant: Dr Gulshan Tajuria (Senior Research Assistant, R&I Dept MPFT)
- Project Senior Practitioner Lead: Karen Nixon (Principal Social Worker, Social Work Learning Academy Lead, MPFT)
- Project Senior Practitioner Lead: Sam Hornby (Principal Social Worker, Social Work Learning Academy Lead, MPFT)
- Project Senior Practitioner Lead: Pauline Bonner (Deputy Director Social Care, Dean of Social Work Learning Academy MPFT)
- SCREEN Research Champion: Stacey Wilde (Social Worker, Practice Educator, MPFT)
- Project Oversight: Ruth Lambley-Burke (Head of R&I Dept, Senior Manager Medical Directorate, MPFT)
SCREEN Academics
- Professor Gary Spolander (Professor Social Work, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen)
- Dr Rachel Naylor (Lecturer Social Work, Keele University)
- Dr Cath Holmstrom (Head of Social Work, Keele University)
- Dr Laura Pritchard-Jones (Senior Lecturer and Programme Director MA Safeguarding Adults, School of Law, Keele University)
- Professor Christian Mallen (Head of Medical School, Keele University, Head NIHR School for Primary Care Research)
- Professor Toby Helliwell (Professor of General Practice and Primary Care lead in Global Health, Honorary Professor of General Practice MPFT)
The SCREEN project has a number of achievements and successes since its inception in 2020, these include;
- A large survey of social care staff at MPFT to assess research interest and research engagement. This survey was led by many members of the SCREEN team and results of this survey were published in the British Journal of Social Work which is the leading academic social work journal in the UK.
- Principal Social Worker Karen and other members of the SCREEN team were involved in a collaborative research project with the Q-Covid team from Keele University investigating the impact of Covid 19 on social work practice. Karen Nixon featured as an author on a paper from this work published within the British Journal of Social Work. This paper has attracted worldwide interest and has been picked up by numerous news outlets (Altmetric – Exploring the Impact of the First Wave of COVID-19 on Social Work Practice: A Qualitative Study in England, UK).
- SCREEN Research Champion Stacey Wilde was successful in securing a prestigious NIHR School for Social Care Research Career Development Fellowship. The Fellowship gives Stacey dedicated time, support, and structure to develop here research interests and plan for a future research career that runs in parallel to her social work practice.
Hear more about Stacey’s experience of SCREEN in the video below:
- SCREEN Research Champion Stacey Wilde and SCREEN Lead Practitioner Karen Nixon have set up a dedicated forum for social care and social work practitioners to discuss research. This forum called RIPPLE (Research In Practice Peer Learning Exchange) has successfully engaged the wider body of social care staff at MPFT and will continue to do so in the future.
- The SCREEN Team have hosted two large online conference events to promote the work of SCREEN and champion research activity within social care at MPFT. These events were very successful with over 170 people attending, many of them social care and social work professionals at MPFT. Notable attendees and speakers included Professor Robin Miller (Department for Social Work and Social Care University of Birmingham, and Senior Fellow for the NIHR School for Social Care Research) and Professor Geraldine McDonald (NIHR National Social Care Lead and Professor of Social Work at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol). More events are planned for the future.
- Many of our social care and social work staff at MPFT have taken advantage of the STARS: Supporting The Advancement of Research Skills programme at MPFT. The STARS programme aims to support staff to enhance their knowledge, awareness and confidence in research. The wide variety of workshops and bite-size seminars will equip staff with the skills required to put research into practice at work, to give them confidence to engage with research across the Trust and support staff to take a front seat to drive the direction of future research.
- Think Ahead Students- the SCREEN team offered support to the social work students within the Trust embarking on the year 2 MA dissertation Programme with Middlesex University. The support was intended to aid the students working on their dissertation at different stages such as developing research questions; methodology; writing and publishing; and staying organised while doing the dissertation. The team was contacted by two students from Cohort1 for support who later successfully submitted their dissertations. The team was also contacted by a few students from Cohort2 for initial guidance at the start, they will be supported as and when needed.
The local route will signpost you to where you can find information about research training programmes, within the Trust and local Clinical Research Network; also where you can find further information to support your own research ideas.
You will also find links to the trust Research and Innovation Department and the Social Work Learning Academy who are happy to field any queries for those interested in research.
The national route links to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Fellowship Programmes which support individuals on their trajectory to becoming future leaders in NIHR research.
The NIHR are currently piloting a programme of fellowship schemes and short placement awards to support individuals based within local authority settings to develop as health or social care researchers whilst retaining their existing employment and salary.
The objects in the flow chart link out to webpages, please click them for further information.
Social Care Research Career PathwaySCREEN have produced a helpful document to guide on “What is Social Care”, the provision of Adult Social Care Services at MPFT and the complementary provision of Council Social Care services within Staffordshire County Council, as well as inclusion of a range of links to both regional and national organisations for social care practice and research.
If you are interested in contacting the SCREEN team please email Dr Gulshan Tajuria (Gulshan.
