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The NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) is supporting 18 Primary Care research internships in the Summer of 2024. Two internships will be hosted by each of the SPCR’s nine member institutions. The aim of these internships is to encourage talented students to consider a career in academic primary care by gaining hands-on experience in primary care research. During the placement, students will join an established research team and gain skills in primary care focused research.  Internships are open to students from any degree course from any university in the UK.  

Applications for SPCR internships will be open on 26 February 2024 and will close at 13.00 on 28 March 2024.

How to apply

To apply, students should complete the following Microsoft form and submit by 1pm Thursday 28th March:

Internship Application Form

Students can only submit one application. Please note, if you apply for more than one project, only one will be submitted for consideration. 

Individual projects, hosted by member departments can be found below:

 

The rate paid to all interns will be the living wage of £12.00/hr or £13.15/hr for students living in London, or those who undertake a placement in London with a requirement to travel to the university campus. Other costs (such as conference attendance, travel etc) will not be covered. Placements are for a maximum of 140 hours across the agreed duration and working hours and will be paid in two instalments. 

Placements can start from 3 June 2024 and must be completed by 31 March 2025.  

Programmes will be tailored according to departmental and student interests, but may include research methods training, attendance at workshops and seminars, secondary data analysis, literature reviewing, etc., depending on availability and interest.  Successful applicants might also work towards the production and submission of a publication based on their work during this internship. Internships do not include clinical experience. 

At the end of the placement the intern will be required to submit a brief report detailing their experience. 

Internship recruitment timeline: 

Application window opens:   Monday 26th February 2024  
Application deadline:   1pm, Thursday 28th March 2024  
Successful applicants notified by the Directorate of outcome:  Tuesday 7th May 2024 
Placements can start from:  Monday 3rd June 2024 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Due to the volume of applications, it will not be possible to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
REPROVIDE The intern will be working on a randomised controlled trial called REPROVIDEThis is a (cost) effectiveness evaluation of a domestic abuse behaviour change programme which aims to reduce abuse amongst perpetrators for the benefit of their partners, ex partners and families.  
ISSDAPP Domestic Abuse Prevention Programmes (DAPPs) aim to help abusive people change their behaviour and to increase survivors’ safety and freedom from abuse. Programmes accredited by Respect, the national domestic abuse organisation which sets standards for DAPPs, carry out behaviour-change work with the abusive person, while current/ex-partners are offered support as part of an integrated service. Survivor-support work within accredited services manages risk, helps survivors have realistic expectations of their (ex-)partner’s behaviour-change and informs case management. Some survivor-support work occurs in organisations which are not accredited by Respect and we are not sure how safe this work is or what it entails.   
Telesafe To understand how GPs and other primary care clinicians provide, and patients respond to, safety-netting advice in telephone consultations and to provide an archive of telephone consultations in general practice for further use in research and training.  
Q-DaPS Qualitative Data Sharing and Preservation for primary care research (Q-DaPs). Researchers may collect different types of data to increase understanding of issues in relation to primary healthcare. Data may include audio or video recordings of interviews, focus groups (group discussions), and consultations between professionals and patients / service users, as well as written data, such as notes about research. These types of data are referred to as qualitative data. There is a growing mandate amongst funders and journals for this type of research data to be retained and made available for others to reuse. Qualitative data collection is resource and time-intensive and can over burden already stretched primary healthcare sites (such as general practice). Secondary analysis of existing data can make good use of public money and maximise the impact of research participants’ contributions as well as removing the burden of recruiting or collecting new data through healthcare providers.  

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Exploring the role of pharmacists in the care of people with asthma and other long-term conditions managed in primary care  In the UK, pharmacists working in community pharmacies and GP practices are increasingly involved in the care of patients with common long-term conditions, such as asthma. For example, they provide advice and education about medications, review medications, and growing numbers even prescribe common medications. Some also provide or refer people for services to reduce future health problems (e.g. vaccinations, smoking cessation, weight management).  
MAP Study

Developing co-production outputs for dissemination and impact of Mapping ADHD services in Primary care (MAP) study. The MAP study aimed to map current services and co-produce evidence-based guidance to improve primary care for young people aged 16-25 with ADHD. We have just completed a national survey and qualitative interviews of people with experience of managing ADHD in primary care (young people, their supporters, healthcare practitioners) to map services and we are currently carrying out co-production to create outputs.  

Screening for eating disorders in primary care.  Available data from 2017 suggest around 1.25 million people suffer from eating disorders in the UK. Of these, 41% suffer from either Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN). The number of people with EDs in the UK continues to rise. BED and BN are not regularly picked up when people attend primary care services (e.g. GP practices). According to NICE guidelines, screening tools are not recommended to be used as the sole method to determine whether or not people have an eating disorder. However, screening tools can be helpful to identify potential cases of eating disorders and to support the establishment of a diagnosis. However, it is unknown whether existing tools are suitable for BED/BN and whether they are effective. 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Supporting Fire and Rescue Service personnel to identify anxiety and depression in older adults.  Older adults (60+ years) are an under-served population in mental health care. Several risk factors for common mental health problems (anxiety and depression) are associated with ageing, including bereavement, social isolation and loneliness. Fewer than one-in-six older adults that experience symptoms of a mental health problem will consult a healthcare professional. Perceived stigma, lack of mental health awareness, prioritising physical health, and a reluctance to be seen to burden the NHS prevent older adults from seeking help. Early detection of mental health problems remains a key NHS priority; innovative solutions are needed to better enable engagement with NHS services by older adults.  
Systematic review of feasibility progression criteria in pilot and feasibility studies. 

There are many aspects of conducting a clinical trial that require careful consideration before funding is given for a large study. Therefore, researchers usually carry out smaller-scale (pilot and feasibility studies (PAFS)) to understand if a full-scale trial is worth doing and could be successfully conducted. It is important to consider pre-defined progression criteria for PAFS outcomes to inform on whether to progress or not to a main trial.  

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Advancing clinical skills in the community pharmacy workforce  Pharmacists are playing increasingly clinical roles in primary care and clinical pharmacy, including gaining and using an independent prescribing (IP) qualification. Clinical and IP services are being introduced in community pharmacy, particularly aimed at managing urgent, low acuity conditions, thus aiming to create capacity in general practice for the management of patients with more complex needs. It is important that pharmacists have the skills and confidence to offer such services, that patients are positive about being managed by pharmacists, and indeed that GPs are confident in this approach also. It is also important that the community pharmacy environment supports the offer of safe, quality services, and that these integrate with the wider primary care system. 
SAFER-DEM: Analysing interview data to help generate dementia friendly resources, for people leaving mental health hospitals  We have co-designed dementia friendly resources to facilitate the transition from mental health hospitals to community/primary care for people living with dementia and their carers. We have so far conducted multiple co-design workshops with patients, carers and professionals and have developed some draft materials. We are in the process of conducting ‘Think Aloud’ interviews with patients, carers and professionals to understand how to improve further the resources that we developed. We would like to offer an intern the opportunity to contribute to the analysis of this data, support its writing for publication as a peer reviewed article and generate a list of tangible changes that we should make to improve the resources 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Towards identifying the most relevant vocational rehabilitation (VR) outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). 

This project aims to conduct a nominal group technique (NGT) with people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to explore the most relevant outcomes for a vocational rehabilitation (VR) intervention. 

Digital Consultations: What educational resources would be helpful to undergraduate students? 

Digital Consultations have been used for some time but especially during and since the pandemic, in all specialities. Recent student research has revealed a dearth of educational materials to support the understanding and confidence of medical students. This project would be to work with colleagues from Primary Care education and start to describe and create relevant resources. Although nested within primary Care the learning is transferable across many specialities. 

Scoping review of smart technologies to support the rehabilitation journey of children and young people following traumatic injury.  Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children and young people (CYP) in the UK. The opening of paediatric major trauma centres (MTCs) has increased survival rates, however it means more CYP are living with the lasting effects of injury, often requiring long-term rehabilitation. Injuries (neurotrauma, spinal trauma, thoracic trauma etc.) can cause complex and long-lasting effects including physical, cognitive, emotional, social and behavioural problems.  
Occupational Therapists and Clinical Psychologists supporting patients together:  Exploring inter-professional relationships in community rehabilitation support 

The intern would be working as part of the research team on the ROWTATE trial helping people back to work after serious injury. Patients in the trial have been supported by both occupational therapists and clinical psychologists. We are looking for an intern to help us explore the ways these two professions have worked together to support patients back to work.  

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
COSMIC

COSMIC (COgnitive behavioural therapy for people with Severe Mental illness and obesity targeting Insomnia Care) 

People with severe mental illness (SMI), which includes chronic diagnosis such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, face a 15-year shortened life expectancy than the general population, largely due to cardiovascular disease. This alarming statistic is potentially attributed to the detrimental impact of excess weight on cardiovascular health, leading to premature mortality. In recognition of this issue, the COSMIC study has been initiated with the primary goal of addressing the challenge of excess weight within the SMI population. 

Primary Care Evidence Synthesis 

Successful students will be invited to select and join from a number of exciting on-going systematic reviews about primary care workforce and learning. We have a strong, established and collaborative ‘Evidence Synthesis’ team working across SPCR sites, with whom the students will be encouraged to network and submit publications (conference and paper). The majority of our reviews use realist methodology, and support will be available for the student to learn about this method and how to engage with patient co-applicants and stakeholders. Current potential review projects include ‘Continuity in General Practice’; ‘Impact of Allied Healthcare Professional Work and Learning for General Practice’; ‘Supporting Equitable Patient Care through General Practice workforce design and organisation’. 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Understanding engagement with respiratory online health communities (OHCs) and sentiment and behaviour changes associated with engagement.  

The NIHR-funded ADHOC Study aims to establish whether promoting engagement with an asthma OHC is effective in helping asthma patients to self-manage their condition (https://www.qmul.ac.uk/adhoc/). The internship project will involve analysing posts and threads from respiratory OHCs, including the Asthma + Lung UK (ALUK) Asthma OHC (https://healthunlocked.com/asthmalunguk-asthma) to explore how users engage and interact, using qualitative thematic analysis and machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) techniques.

Using machine-learning living evidence maps of what works to address inequalities in primary care to produce an evidence brief  

We have decades of research describing the problem of inequalities, but considerably less examining what to do about them. 

We have recently established the Health Equity Evidence Centre, which uses machine learning software to create living evidence maps of what works to address inequalities in primary care. In turn, we use these living evidence maps to create evidence briefs aimed at GPs, Primary Care Networks, Integrated Care Boards, and NHS England. 

This internship would involve exploring our living evidence maps, identifying a topic of interest to the student (e.g., mental health, cardiovascular disease, screening), and writing an evidence brief (see examples on the website). The evidence brief would then be published on the website and shared across the NHS. 

Enhancing self-management in primary care for people experiencing socioeconomic deprivation with multiple long-term conditions.  The occurrence of Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs) is on the rise, particularly among deprived populations. Recent research lead by Megan Armstrong indicated that people experiencing socioeconomic deprivation (PESD) with MLTCs face barriers to proactive self-management due to financial constraints, health literacy barriers, inadequate support networks and challenges in primary care (Self-management of Multiple Health Conditions in People Experiencing Socioeconomic Deprivation | UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology - UCL – University College London)
Investing in Children’s Future: A systematic Review Investigating on the Effectiveness of Universal Free School Meals Schemes  Free school meal (FSM) provision has historically been introduced in times of stark inequalities and food insecurity for philanthropical reasons and to foster learning. More recently, FSM has re-emerged as a policy handle to influence diet quality, food skills, dietary inequalities, obesity and obesity-related healthcare needs in children, and in the life course.  
Improving knowledge of cancer risk in patients with multiple, recurrent symptoms  Most cancer patients are diagnosed after they present with symptoms in the UK. Knowledge of cancer risk in patients with lower-risk symptoms is lacking. Understanding cancer risk in patients with multiple or recurrent symptoms may help clinicians identify patients at higher than average risk of cancer. This project seeks to synthesise the evidence on cancer risk in patients with symptoms that occur with other symptoms, or multiple times.  
Computerised clinical decision support systems for the detection of disease in primary care  In the UK, primary care acts as the first point of contact for patients, thus holding a crucial gatekeeping role for diagnosis and referral. Early diagnosis is crucial for timely intervention and management of a variety of chronic conditions. Clinical decision support (CDS) tools have been developed to help primary care physicians differentiate between several possible serious conditions that need immediate further investigation and treatment, and more benign conditions. For example, QCancer (https://www.qcancer.org/) assesses the risk of a patient currently having cancer based on a variety of symptoms. Despite potential benefits, these tools are often not fully implemented in primary care settings and thus the effectiveness of CDS tools is limited. Barriers in primary care settings could include a lack of integration into existing workflows, technical issues, a lack of training or mistrust towards tools, and the wider context of the healthcare system. 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Experiences and views of young people with food allergy at risk of anaphylaxis: a qualitative interview study 

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction and young people with food allergy are at particularly high risk. Approximately 20 people die in the UK each year from anaphylaxis but many more suffer substantial impact on their quality of life, including through the burden of avoiding allergens and fear of anaphylaxis. Self-management avoids avoiding trigger foods, carrying an adrenaline auto-injector and being confident in when/how to use this. For young people there can be particular challenges as they transition from parental management of allergy to self-management and independence. 

Factors affecting uptake of long-acting reversible contraception in low to middle income countries: A systematic review of qualitative studies 

This will be an update of a systematic review which we will then submit for publication.  

Background: Unintended pregnancy is a serious health concern in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), because it increases risks of maternal and perinatal mortality. Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is the most effective form of contraception but its use in LMICs remains low, despite multiple interventions to increase uptake. 

AIM Intervention Development - Developing an intervention (based on clustering and AI) to help with social care needs for people with multiple long-term conditions  Around 1 in 4 people are living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) having complex health and social care needs. Integrating care to more holistically manage both health and social needs could improve outcomes for people living with MLTC. However, given the number of people with MLTC and the increasing strain on health and social care resources, population wide approaches to identifying and addressing social care may not be appropriate. Stratified approaches whereby groups of people with similar health and social care needs are clustered together may permit identification of those who have the greatest need and highest risk of poor outcome. Interventions aimed at treating and preventing worse outcomes by clusters could be a more efficient and cost-effective way of delivering integrated health and social care. To our knowledge, no previous studies have used cluster-based interventions to engage people living with MLTC and professionals in considering social care needs.  
Development of a digital intervention to support parents/carers of children with ADHD and sleep problems  Up to 70% of children with ADHD experience sleep problems. The commonest, chronic insomnia, can impact physiological and psychological domains, worsen ADHD symptoms and affect the family. Behavioural sleep interventions are effective and recommended by expert consensus as the first approach. However, there is limited support for use of behavioural interventions in clinical practice, so a pharmacological approach (melatonin) is often prescribed.  
Improving data quality for Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Review (MPDSR) in Low-and Middle-Income Countries 

This will be an update of a systematic review which we will then submit for publication.  

Rationale: Data challenges affect the quality of death reviews and outputs from the process. Our team has already done extensive work to develop tools to guide the documentation of care and the process of MPDSR but they need to be translated, adapted and optimised to local contexts.  

Training for Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Review (MPDSR) in Low-and Middle-Income Countries  Effective implementation of MPDSR requires a range of capabilities for different stakeholders. It is unclear to what extent existing MPDSR training packages are effective at building these capabilities. There is a need to evaluate effectiveness for influencing behavioural determinants of MPDSR implementation, and then improve existing materials or develop new materials where these do not yet exist. 
Qualitative Data Sharing and Preservation for primary care research (Q-DaPs)  Q-DaPS is funded by the School for Primary Care Research, the team comprises a group of primary care researchers, who work predominantly with qualitative data. The project is jointly led by Professor Fiona Stevenson (UCL) and Professor Geraldine Leydon (Southampton), with Dr Barbara Caddick (Bristol) as lead co-investigator and Dr Karen Lloyd (UCL) as Senior Research Associate. The wider team includes colleagues from the University of Oxford, Keele University, University of Southampton, University of Exeter, University of Bristol, and Aston University, as well as two public collaborators. 
Scoping review of the literature on couples-focused interventions for chronic conditions   Low back pain is one of the most common and costly conditions that GPs see in practice. It remains the leading cause of years lived with disability globally and the burden is due to increase as the population expands and ages. Low back pain can have a significant impact on the quality of life of individuals and their families. Partners can be integral to how people living with low back pain manage their condition, providing vital practical, emotional, and social support. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that interventions targeted at couples can achieve greater benefits in self-management of long-term conditions than those targeted at individuals alone. However, there is a lack of research exploring the partners’ perspective and the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of couples-focused interventions for low back pain in a UK context.   
Experiences of ureteric stents  Ureteric stents and catheters are deployed clinically as temporary measures to restore urinary drainage, in patients with kidney stones, external ureteric compression from tumours or strictures. Prevalence of these increases with age. The real costs of stent-associated complications are difficult to quantify. However, the use of ureteric stents has increased secondary to a rise in renal stone disease and the wide variety of oncological treatments available for patients, who often need stents for urinary drainage. >80% of these patients have stent-related symptoms, issues with pain and quality of life (QoL), need time off work and suffer with UTIs. 

All queries regarding the SPCR internship programme should be sent by email to spcr@keele.ac.uk and will be directed as necessary. 

Title of Project Brief Summary
Evaluating the fidelity of a supporter-facilitated self-management intervention for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD-Care) 

This internship will involve contributing to the process evaluation of the PD-Care study, a multisite clinical trial aimed at enabling personalised care for community-living people with Parkinson’s (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/research/research-departments/clinical-and-movement-neurosciences/personalised-care-people). The PD-Care intervention, referred to as the toolkit, is being tested through a randomised controlled trial, delivered monthly over 4-6 months by trained supporters. We are currently exploring the intervention fidelity (i.e., whether the intervention has been delivered as intended), following MRC process evaluation guidance. 

Patient and carer experiences of involvement in remote primary care CONSULTations for Medical Education: A mixed methods study (‘CONSULT ME’)  The CONSULT ME study is a mixed-methods study that aims to understand the perspective of patients and carers about student-led remote GP consultations. The study objectives include: (1) a short survey with adults (18 years and over) with experience of being invited to speak to a medical student over the telephone, and (2) semi-structured follow-up interviews to understand patient and carer experiences in more depth. This is a multi-site study led by collaborators at four Medical Schools (UCL, QMUL, University of Leeds and Keele University). The study has received funding from the SPCR and will begin 1st July 2024.  
How do self-reported experiences compare to intentions and actual behaviours within a behaviour change intervention for older people with mild cognitive impairment?  The internship project will be nested within the process evaluation of a recently completed national Randomised Clinical Trial. Triangulation is being completed to explore how participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) engaged with a behaviour change intervention, which Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) worked well for them and identify areas for improvement in intervention delivery. This project will explore how participants self-reported experience of the intervention and goal setting intentions corresponded with actual behaviours in audio-recorded intervention sessions. Eight participants have been identified for in depth case studies.  
Understanding the mental health and wellbeing needs within primary care of family carers of people living with dementia from a South Asian background.  Family carers are an underserved group and caring responsibilities within South-Asian communities can be largely internalised with help sought from friends and families instead of health and social care services. However, due to the stigmas attached to dementia, South-Asian carers may not ask for support within their kinship networks resulting in specific mental health and wellbeing challenges. The project aims to identify and understand within primary care, the wellbeing and mental health needs of family carers of people living with dementia from a South Asian background in relation to their religion and culture. The project will also explore the facilitators, and barriers to accessing carer support within primary care and identify how support can be improved and developed to better support South Asian family carers. This project focuses specifically on the Pakistani and Bangladeshi community.