Search

This study extends the doctoral education literature by examining how social support and social identification, as they apply to peers, supervisors, and the academic community, are related to mental wellbeing and psychological distress in doctoral students by using person-centred analysis to create social profiles. Doctoral students (N = 200) completed a cross-sectional survey including measures of perceived support, received support, social identification, mental wellbeing, and psychological distress. Adopting a person-centred analysis approach, we identified six distinct social profiles for mental wellbeing, and four social profiles for psychological distress. Further between-profile analysis indicated that the “high support-identification” profile was associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing and lowest levels of psychological distress. In comparison, the “low support-identification” profile reported significantly lower mental wellbeing and significantly higher psychological distress. Taken together, the findings demonstrate the value of person-centred analysis and offers new insights into the nuances of relationships between social support, social identification, mental wellbeing, and psychological distress. The theoretical and practical implications arising from this research are discussed.

This study extends the doctoral education literature by examining how social support and social identification, as they apply to peers, supervisors, and the academic community, are related to mental wellbeing and psychological distress in doctoral students by using person-centred analysis to create social profiles. Doctoral students (N = 200) completed a cross-sectional survey including measures of perceived support, received support, social identification, mental wellbeing, and psychological distress. Adopting a person-centred analysis approach, we identified six distinct social profiles for mental wellbeing, and four social profiles for psychological distress. Further between-profile analysis indicated that the “high support-identification” profile was associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing and lowest levels of psychological distress. In comparison, the “low support-identification” profile reported significantly lower mental wellbeing and significantly higher psychological distress. Taken together, the findings demonstrate the value of person-centred analysis and offers new insights into the nuances of relationships between social support, social identification, mental wellbeing, and psychological distress. The theoretical and practical implications arising from this research are discussed.

The Healthy Ageing Research Group (HARG) is a group of researchers within the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln. In September 2017 we were asked by Lincolnshire County Council to undertake an independent health needs assessment for people living with neurological conditions in the county. A health needs assessment is a way in reviewing the current resources available to meeting the needs of a specific population. This report is a summary of the work. Please email Thomas George for the full report (email: tgeorge@lincoln.ac.uk or phone: 01522 837496). The review looked at adults over the age of 18, and young adults moving into adult services. It covered a range of neurological conditions, including stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, among others. Lincolnshire County Council had previously undertaken a separate review looking at the needs of people with dementia, so dementia was not included within this study.

The nature of research education is very specific and distinct to that of taught degrees and has been criticised for being individualistic and focused on supervision practice. As a result research students commonly report feelings of isolation, lack of peer support and disconnect from their school or department. Typical research degrees, especially PhD’s, have no taught content and the course of study as well as the progress rates differ for each student which makes the application of tradition peer assisted learning (PAL) modes problematic. They do however have process-related commonalities, types of problems that are peculiar to the PhD process which present opportunities for PAL. A Peer assisted learning support scheme for PhD students (PALs for PhDs), in which communities of postgraduate research students and postdoctoral members of staff are built through action learning sets (ALS), was designed by a PhD student and a member of staff. PALs for PhDs is a novel conceptual framework for research education that is situated between supervision and cohort based models. This concept challenges the notion of ‘peers’ by narrowing the perceived gap between postgraduate research students and postdoctoral members of staff. Evaluation of a pilot study showed that PALs for PhDs helps students to make sense of their experience and construct their identities as research students. Peer support filled a gap relating to social and emotional support for the participants, created a sense of belonging motivated them to pro-actively address the challenges that they were facing. As a result of the successful pilot, the scheme is now being scaled up across the University. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of our adaptations of a traditional peer learning model to PhD students and explore the challenges associated with engaging and supporting this student group.

Doctoral students appear to be at high risk of experiencing poor mental health and psychological wellbeing. The early stage of doctoral study has been identified as a potential opportunity to implement early intervention and prevention strategies to tackle these issues. Therefore, it is important and timely to understand what is known about mental health and psychological wellbeing in the early stages of the doctoral journey. The aim of this study was to systematically review, synthesise, and appraise research that has examined mental health and psychological wellbeing in early-stage doctoral students. After conducting electronic searches on 10 databases and manual searches, data from 24 studies were included in the review and analysed through thematic synthesis. The review identified stress as a prominent concern for early-stage doctoral students. Although there was limited evidence regarding the effects of the transition to doctoral study on mental health and psychological wellbeing, the existing evidence appeared to suggest that the demands of early-stage doctoral study can be detrimental. The synthesis generated novel understanding of factors related to mental health and wellbeing in early-stage doctoral students. No mental health and/or psychological wellbeing intervention in early-stage doctoral students was identified. The review underscores the need for more high-quality research to advance understanding of early-stage doctoral student mental health and psychological wellbeing. Based on the factors related to mental health and psychological wellbeing in the review, this paper discusses the potential utility of an ecological systems perspective to understand mental health and psychological wellbeing in early-stage doctoral students.

PALs for PhDs offers support for PGRs relating to the social and emotional dimensions of studying for a PhD. This is something that is not always formally acknowledged. As a pedagogical approach it fits neatly between the apprenticeship model which dominates practice and the more formal cohort based programmes. Following further exploration PALs could offer an alternative approach to research education within the sector.

Social inequalities in health and oral health continue to present a major challenge to public health. Progress towards the development of interventions to reduce health inequalities is currently being hampered by an incomplete understanding of the causes of inequalities in health. This paper aims to provide oral health researchers with an overview of four current explanations for inequalities in oral health and to suggest further areas of research needed to advance our understanding of the causes of social inequalities in oral health.

Nineteen percent of people in England live in rural areas (LGA and PHE, 2017). Compared to urban populations, the rural population is older, and faces greater difficulties in accessing medical services. At the same time, healthcare teams in rural areas face particular challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, travelling between patients, and keeping specialised knowledge up-to-date. Drawing upon a recent health needs assessment for people living with long-term neurological conditions in a rural English county, and upon a broader review of the literature, this paper considers the challenges of rurality, and discusses potential solutions. Technological and community-based responses have often been suggested as responses to challenges of rurality. However, there is likely to be a need for up-front investment of resources and careful consideration of individual and community needs before these solutions can be applied to rural neurological care.

The Healthy Ageing Research Group (HARG) from the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln were commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council to undertake an independent health needs assessment for people living with neurological conditions in the county in September 2017. The purpose of this work is to establish the distribution of neurological conditions within the county; the level of service activity; gaps and limitations in service provision as well as examples of effective provision and good practice. The review focuses on adults over the age of 18, and young adults transitioning into adult services, with a range of neurological conditions, including stroke. The report does not include data on people with dementia.

Recent research in Europe (Levecque et al, 2017) and Australia (Barry et al, 2018) has drawn significant attention to the increased prevalence of psychological distress in PhD students. Psychological wellbeing in doctoral students can be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including the supervisory relationship, university processes, role conflict, isolation, feelings of inadequacy, and career uncertainty (e.g., Mackie & Bates, 2018; Waight & Giordano, 2018). Doctoral students who report lower psychological wellbeing are more likely to consider withdrawing from their studies (Hunter & Devine, 2016), thus highlighting the importance of developing understanding of the factors that contribute to psychological wellbeing in this population. The challenges that PhD students face have been captured in a typology, first proposed by Pyhalto et al (2012) and extended by Barry et al. (2018). This typology highlights six problem areas: (1) supervisory problems; (2) resource issues; (3) domain-specific knowledge; (4) general work processes; (5) external or personal challenges; and (6) project-related challenges. Although this work is useful in identifying sources of stress, it tells us little about: when these stressors occur in the PhD journey; how they change over the course of the PhD journey; or how students adapt and cope (or not) with them. This presentation will explore preliminary findings from a retrospective study using a novel combination of semi-structured interviews and an adapted life grid method (LGM). We will outline how psychological wellbeing fluctuates across the timespan of the PhD; the correlates of good and poor psychological wellbeing; key ‘pinch points’; and the self-help strategies that students in our study have used as coping mechanisms. The presentation will conclude with a critical review of the applicability of the above typology to a UK population, our plans for extending the research, and developing a preventative approach to promoting psy

Wealth of neurological conditions, over 600+, therefore not feasibly possible to review all. Progressive neurological conditions are one of the most prevalent categories of neurological conditions, due to the progressive deterioration in functioning (WHO, 2006).

In this workshop we will outline four key moral principles that underpin ethical practice and the University of Lincoln regulations. We will highlight the ethical issues that arise from desk based research, research with humans and research with animals and discuss how to demonstrate ‘good practice’ in each case. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in a ‘Postgraduate Conference Ethics Committee’ meeting, reviewing authentic applications for ethical approval and making recommendations for the researchers.

Research education is dominated by the individualistic ‘apprenticeship’ model in which doctoral students learn primarily from their supervisors (Kwiram, 2006). For many students this leads to a sense of isolation and loneliness and does not help prepare them for the largely collaborative world of academic research and peer review (Bond & Thompson, 1996). The current alternative to the apprenticeship model is the institutional approach of cohort based programmes. While cohorts can lead to enhanced social, personal and educational outcomes for students (Lei et al 2011) they are only successful where appropriate resources and administrative structures exist (Bista & Cox, 2014). This prohibits their adoption by less research intensive Universities. PALs for PhD’s is proposed as an alternative approach to research education, bringing together one-to-one supervision and peer assisted learning to create a community of practice without the need for administrative restructuring. The scheme uses action learning set methodology to create a structured learning environment in which PhD students can explore and find solutions to the problems they are facing with the support of their peers. Unlike the cohort approach and traditional Peer Assisted Study Skills (PASS) schemes favoured in Undergraduate education, PALs draws together students from different discipline backgrounds and different stages in their doctoral journey. This presentation will outline the model in more detail, describe the findings from two focus groups conducted to evaluate the student experience and share the scheme co-ordinators reflections on lessons learned from the project for those considering the implementation of peer support for research development within their own institutions.

As the context of research education has changed, the demands placed on supervisors to ensure timely completions and quality outputs has increased. It is evident from early exploration that different approaches to supervisor development exist. Institutions largely develop their approaches in response to unique combinations of global, national and local drivers but it is unclear how and why supervisor development programmes are created from a pedagogical perspective and whether or not they work. This paper seeks to explore the rationale for the development of seven different supervisor programmes as a starting point for further investigation into ‘what works?’ It will focus on the development of two programmes, one at the University of Lincoln which is grounded in the principles and practices of pedagogies of partnership, and one at Brunel University London, which focuses on supervisor development as part of wider support for academics as they progress through the academic lifecycle.

This activity based workshop will provide staff and students with an opportunity to come together and discuss the concept of inspirational teaching. We will explore the differences between a ‘good’ teacher and an ‘inspirational’ one, and question whether teachers can learn to be inspirational.

This article is a book review. The book aims to outline the need for evidence based public health practice and to illustrate the work that has been done in the UK and around the world.

As part of a wide scale review of postgraduate research regulations and processes at the University of Lincoln, work began in 2014-15 to develop a new framework for the professional development of research supervisors. The aim of the framework is to build a culture of excellence in supervisory practice through emphasis on reflection, continued professional development (CPD) and building a community of supervisors. The framework provides support for new and experienced supervisors as we argue that excellence cannot be measured by the number of completions alone. This crude indicator ignores both the role of the student and the complexities of supervisory practice. The foundation of the framework is the Supervisor Development Programme (SDP), which is mandatory for all staff who supervise doctoral students or intend to do so in the future. The programme encourages participants to explore their own experiences of being supervised, the supervisory relationship and supporting students from induction to completion. It is constructed around Lee’s (2008) framework and grounded in a belief that supervision is a specialist form of teaching (McCallin & Nayer, 2012). Lee’s (2008) framework supports the idea that supervision must be responsive and flexible to the needs of individual students, characteristics which are seen by Nulty et al (2009) as hallmarks of supervisory excellence. The programme is built on by an annual requirement for CPD, specialist workshops, and forums for supervisors at a local level which are underpinned by the theory of Communities of Practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Supervisors access updated information on regulatory and process changes via the institutional virtual learning environment. This presentation will outline the components of the framework in further detail and open discussion around whether conceptualising supervision as a form of teaching and emphasising continued professional development can help achieve excellence in postgraduate supervis

This article is a book review

Over the past century, the UK has made significant progress in combating tuberculosis (TB) through improved health care and better preventative measures. However, it has now been identified as a new threat that needs concerted action. An important component in dealing with this threat is identifying and treating people with latent infection. This will prevent active disease and thwart the spread of tuberculosis infection. The aim of the study was to determine whether treatment concordance was affected by length of treatment regimen in the UK and to identify factors that may impact upon treatment completion. The audit was spread over a two-year period and looked at all patients on treatment for latent infection using the UK recommended regimens of either three months of dual therapy or six months using monotherapy. The results indicated that the 3-month regime had not improved concordance, as expected, with a slightly better completion rate in the 6-month group. However, the study did highlight a 'lost-to-follow-up' group of patients, who failed to present themselves following presumed completion.

This session showcases the approach of Peer Assisted Learning being piloted at the University of Lincoln. This new scheme for PhD students utilities the action learning set methodology.

Background: Family and friends are key providers of care for people living with a long-term neurological condition. Neurological conditions are a significant global contributor to disability and premature death. However, previous research suggests carers often struggle to access appropriate support at end of life. Aims: This review sought to synthesise qualitative studies discussing end-of-life and palliative issues for informal carers supporting people living with neurological conditions. Design: This was a meta-ethnographic synthesis of 38 qualitative studies discussing end-of-life and palliative issues for informal carers supporting people living with long-term neurological conditions. Data Sources: Qualitative articles published after January 2010 in English, addressing carers of people with long-term neurological conditions with regard to palliative care, end of life and/or bereavement. Papers were excluded if it was not possible to separately assess the views of carers. Quality appraisal was not undertaken, but consideration was given to research context. Results. Across the papers, five key themes were identified: the future (un)certainties in the progression of life-limiting neurological conditions; an information paradox of not receiving the right information at the right time; access to support; carers’ roles in decision making around end of life; and maintaining continuity while facing change and disruption in day-to-day living. Conclusions: Given the broad agreement on the challenges faced by carers of people living with long-term neurological conditions, future research should consider opportunities to improve information and support for this group, and the development and evaluation of practical models of service delivery.

The Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA) programme at the University of Lincoln is purposefully built on a foundation of inclusive pedagogy. Apprenticeships are highly regulated and while some practitioners in Higher Education can find this restrictive, we have observed that the learner-centric apprenticeship model of delivery offers something over and above previous undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes that we have worked on. Utilising the framework for belonging proposed by Blake, Capper and Jackson (2022) this presentation reflects on the Academic Professional Apprenticeship programme across the four foundational areas of connection, support, inclusion and autonomy to share our insights into the world of apprenticeships and identify the elements we feel have been most influential in building a sense of belonging and promoting student success. We conclude with a series of recommendations that can be applied to all Higher Education programmes.