Browsing by Author "Bell, Katie"
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Item Metadata only Associations with disgust sensitivity, anxiety and levels of sensory processing(2016-03) Bell, Katie; Coulthard, Helen; Wildbur, D.The factors that may contribute to the emergence of self-disgust have not yet been established (Power, Overton & Simpson, 2015) however there is an increasing interest into the physiological and inherent contributors to the onset of disordered eating. It remains unclear whether sensory processing is associated with self-disgust within disordered eating, but it can be argued that understanding the motivation to change the subjective body experience within disordered eating is critical to understanding and altering the pathophysiology of this illness (Zucker et al., 2013).Item Open Access Benefits to University students through volunteering in a health context: A new model(Taylor and Francis, 2017-06-19) Williamson, I. R.; Wildbur, D. J.; Bell, Katie; Tanner, J.; Matthews, HannahIndividual interviews explored 50 British University students’ accounts of sustained volunteering within health settings and a model was developed using grounded theory. Phase one - 'Getting involved' outlines 'motives and catalysts' for students starting to volunteer wherein altruistic motives of compassion for others are juxtaposed with perceptions of enhanced employability. Phase two - 'Maintaining commitment' includes three components ('Making connections' 'Developing resilience' and 'Keeping the balance'), which represent important aspects of continuing volunteering participation. Phase three - 'Reaping the rewards' focuses on the benefits of volunteering including self-development. Our findings have implications for the training and support of student volunteersItem Open Access An exploration of the experience of using the TENA Pants product compared to usual continence products as perceived by carers of people with dementia in care homes(ESSITY UK Ltd, 2018) Knifton, Chris; Bell, Katie; Padley, Wendy; Brown, JayneAbstract: Incontinence is a common symptom experienced by many older people with dementia, with an increased prevalence noted in care home settings when compared to community dwellings. Incontinence may often be a reason for care home admission. Absorbent continence pads are a common form of intervention with this client group. However, disposable continence pants are becoming more common and TENA Pants are one such example. Research Aim: To understand what are the key product satisfaction indicators for absorbent continence pads; and in light of this review the experience of using the TENA Pants product compared to currently used continence products with people with dementia in care homes. Methods: A review of the literature was undertaken to identify factors reported to affect user experience of absorbent continence pads. These results led to the development of a pre and post carer intervention questionnaire that focused on user satisfaction, which together with a semi-structured interview, reviewed a 4 week user trial of the TENA pull-up pants. Findings: Overall, high satisfaction levels with the product were recorded suggesting this to be a suitable continence product for people with dementia residing in care homes. However, the qualitative data showed that satisfaction with the pads was greatest when used with people in the early and mid-stages of disease progression. Three key factors were found to account for the highest percentage of satisfaction and as such are likely to become key predictor variables for good quality and satisfaction when developing absorbent continence pads for this client group, as well as key points for product development and marketing. These were: • Absorbent pads are comfortable to wear when they are dry • Absorbent pads need to be designed so they can be easily fitted and removed • Absorbent pads need to control odour well • Considerations for further research in this area are also discussed.Item Open Access Healthcare for Older People Research in Leicestershire(University of Nottingham, 2019-04) Conroy, Simon; Brown, Jayne; Bell, Katie; Haunton, Victoria; Robinson, T. G.; Bannerjee, J.; Martin, G.; Regen, E.; Phelps, K; O'Kelly, K.; Kondova, D.; Williamson, I. R.; Wildbur, D.; Fallmann, Sarah; Chen, L.; Oldridge, Louise; Larkin, M.; Wilson, A.; Agarwal, S.; Bankart, J.; Subramaniam, H.; Raghavan, Raghu; Panerai, R.; Clague-Baker, Nicola; Chung, E.; Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-; Chen, F.; Triboan, Darpan; Psychoula, I.; Northcott, AndyAcademic geriatric medicine in Leicester . There has never been a better time to consider joining us. We have recently appointed a Professor in Geriatric Medicine, alongside Tom Robinson in stroke and Victoria Haunton, who has just joined as a Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine. We have fantastic opportunities to support students in their academic pursuits through a well-established intercalated BSc programme, and routes on through such as ACF posts, and a successful track-record in delivering higher degrees leading to ACL post. We collaborate strongly with Health Sciences, including academic primary care. See below for more detail on our existing academic set-up. Leicester Academy for the Study of Ageing We are also collaborating on a grander scale, through a joint academic venture focusing on ageing, the ‘Leicester Academy for the Study of Ageing’ (LASA), which involves the local health service providers (acute and community), De Montfort University; University of Leicester; Leicester City Council; Leicestershire County Council and Leicester Age UK. Professors Jayne Brown and Simon Conroy jointly Chair LASA and have recently been joined by two further Chairs, Professors Kay de Vries and Bertha Ochieng. Karen Harrison Dening has also recently been appointed an Honorary Chair. LASA aims to improve outcomes for older people and those that care for them that takes a person-centred, whole system perspective. Our research will take a global perspective, but will seek to maximise benefits for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, including building capacity. We are undertaking applied, translational, interdisciplinary research, focused on older people, which will deliver research outcomes that address domains from: physical/medical; functional ability, cognitive/psychological; social or environmental factors. LASA also seeks to support commissioners and providers alike for advice on how to improve care for older people, whether by research, education or service delivery. Examples of recent research projects include: ‘Local History Café’ project specifically undertaking an evaluation on loneliness and social isolation; ‘Better Visits’ project focused on improving visiting for family members of people with dementia resident in care homes; and a study on health issues for older LGBT people in Leicester. Clinical Geriatric Medicine in Leicester We have developed a service which recognises the complexity of managing frail older people at the interface (acute care, emergency care and links with community services). There are presently 17 consultant geriatricians supported by existing multidisciplinary teams, including the largest complement of Advance Nurse Practitioners in the country. Together we deliver Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older people with urgent care needs in acute and community settings. The acute and emergency frailty units – Leicester Royal Infirmary This development aims at delivering Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older people in the acute setting. Patients are screened for frailty in the Emergency Department and then undergo a multidisciplinary assessment including a consultant geriatrician, before being triaged to the most appropriate setting. This might include admission to in-patient care in the acute or community setting, intermediate care (residential or home based), or occasionally other specialist care (e.g. cardiorespiratory). Our new emergency department is the county’s first frail friendly build and includes fantastic facilities aimed at promoting early recovering and reducing the risk of hospital associated harms. There is also a daily liaison service jointly run with the psychogeriatricians (FOPAL); we have been examining geriatric outreach to oncology and surgery as part of an NIHR funded study. We are home to the Acute Frailty Network, and those interested in service developments at the national scale would be welcome to get involved. Orthogeriatrics There are now dedicated hip fracture wards and joint care with anaesthetists, orthopaedic surgeons and geriatricians. There are also consultants in metabolic bone disease that run clinics. Community work Community work will consist of reviewing patients in clinic who have been triaged to return to the community setting following an acute assessment described above. Additionally, primary care colleagues refer to outpatients for sub-acute reviews. You will work closely with local GPs with support from consultants to deliver post-acute, subacute, intermediate and rehabilitation care services. Stroke Medicine 24/7 thrombolysis and TIA services. The latter is considered one of the best in the UK and along with the high standard of vascular surgery locally means one of the best performances regarding carotid intervention.Item Metadata only It’s like the onion skins are stripped away; Caregiver accounts of supporting a long-term partner through cancer(2017-07) Bell, Katie; Williamson, I. R.; Wildbur, D.Purpose: To explore the experiences of caring for a long-term partner or spouse through cancer diagnosis, treatment and aftercare. Background: Although research around caregiving is becoming more theoretically advanced and nuanced, there continues to be a need for in-depth qualitative research into the experiences of caregiving in the context of different caregiver/care-recipient relationships and for different conditions - this is especially apt with cancer because of the serious side-effects of most treatments and possibility of metastasis. Methods: In-depth interviews were carried out in person with 8 long-term partners of an individual who was undergoing or who had recently completed treatment for cancer. Five participants were in opposite-sex relationships and three were in same-sex relationships. Their partners were experiencing a range of cancer types. Participants were interviewed in their homes, typically with their partner present. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: In this paper we explore some of the ways in which relationships change through cancer and its treatment with a focus on two related themes: "cancer has given us the bond" looks at how relationships evolve in the context of cancer threat with a particular focus on sexuality, spirituality and finding 'silver linings'. "we've had to be really inventive about what can we do together" explores the importance of maintaining or developing new shared everyday activities that reinforce intimacy and a sense of dyadic coping Conclusions: Methodological and ethical issues around interviewing couples and applications of the findings for interventions for the support of partners and couples are discussed.Item Metadata only The mediating effect of self-disgust on emotion regulation and eating disorder symptoms: A longitudinal perspective.(2017-03) Bell, Katie; Coulthard, Helen; Wildbur, D.1) Background There is a substantial body of literature supporting the view that disordered eating behaviour is broadly characterized by emotion dysregulation but little attention has been paid to the possible mediators that could explain this relationship. 2) Method Two hundred and fifty eight female participants, with a self-reported diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (n=156), bulimia nervosa (n=34) or no previous history of an eating disorder (n=68) took part in a questionnaire based longitudinal study, using measures of eating disorder symptoms as the outcome variables and scores of self-disgust (SD) and emotional regulation as the predictor variables. 3)Results SD was significantly, positively associated with all sub types of difficulties in emotion regulation and disordered eating behaviour, as well measures of anxiety and depression. In line with this, SD also predicted eating disorder symptomology after controlling for anxiety, depression and emotional regulation difficulties. SD was found to mediate the relationship between depression, non-acceptance of emotion responses and difficulties in controlling behaviours when upset and disordered eating behaviour. The differences in change scores compared to base line measures were also examined. 4) Discussion Difficulties in emotion regulation have already been established as a useful target for therapeutic intervention and therefore targeting and developing strategies to deal with SD explicitly may offer another strand of potential treatment for those with an eating disorder.Item Open Access Promoting students' psychological well-being through volunteering: What works and why?(2016-04) Bell, Katie; Williamson, I. R.; Wildbur, D. J.; Tanner, J.; Matthews, H.Objectives: The study adopted a qualitative approach to explore the motives and experiences of university student volunteers who engage in volunteering to understand how they manage and sustain their volunteering, and how volunteering affects their well-being. Design: The study utilised semi-structured interviews consisting of a series of open questions, permitting flexibility and in-depth discussion. . Methods: Participants were a purposive sample of 45 university student volunteers aged 18 years or over and studying at British universities. Participants were volunteering or had undertaken regular voluntary work relating to chronic illness, psychological difficulties or disability within the twelve months prior to the interview. Using grounded theory a three phase model was developed which comprises five themes capturing key elements of the development and maintenance of student volunteering. Results: Phase one - 'Getting involved' outlines the 'Motives and catalysts' for students starting to volunteer. Phase two - 'Maintaining commitment' includes three themes ('Making connections' 'Developing resilience' and 'Keeping the balance'), which represent important components of sustained volunteering participation. Phase three - 'Reaping the rewards' focuses on the benefits of volunteering identified by participants around self-development and employability. We discuss our findings in relation to how successful volunteering enhances key components of psychological well-being and facilitates ‘flourishing’ among student volunteers. Conclusions: The findings provide valuable insight into the initiation and maintenance of student volunteering. Further, they have implications for educational institutes such as universities involved in initiatives which include the training, mentoring and support of student volunteers, as well as promoting their well-being.Item Open Access The Role of Self-Disgust and Emotion Regulation within Recovering from an Eating Disorder: A Mixed Methods, Longitudinal Perspective(2019-07-19) Bell, Katie; Coulthard, Helen; Wildbur, D. J.1) Background There is a substantial body of literature supporting the view that disordered eating behaviour is broadly characterized by emotion dysregulation but little attention has been paid to the possible mediators that could explain this relationship. 2) Method Three hundred and fifteen female participants, with a self-reported diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (n=155), bulimia nervosa (n=97) or no previous history of an eating disorder (n=63) took part in a questionnaire based longitudinal study, using measures of eating disorder symptoms as the outcome variables and scores of self-disgust (SD) and difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) as the predictor variables. Out of this sample, twelve were also interviewed to learn more about their lived experiences of recovery and how SD may have impacted on this. 3) Results SD was significantly, positively associated with all sub types of difficulties in emotion regulation and disordered eating behaviour, as well measures of anxiety and depression. In line with this, SD also predicted eating disorder symptomology after controlling for anxiety, depression and emotional regulation difficulties. Key themes from the interviews are also discussed. 4) Discussion Difficulties in emotion regulation have already been established as a useful target for therapeutic intervention and therefore targeting and developing strategies to deal with SD explicitly may offer another strand of potential treatment for those with an eating disorder.Item Open Access The Role of Self-Disgust within Disordered Eating Behaviour(De Montfort University, 2019-07) Bell, KatieSelf-disgust has already been implicated within eating psychopathology (Moncrieff-Boyd & Nunn, 2014; Bell et al., 2017; Palmeria et al., 2017) and investigating this emotion may offer more of an understanding of the factors that contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of disordered eating behaviour. Therefore, the research aimed to examine the role of self-disgust within disordered eating behaviour and argues that this emotion can impact on all stages of an eating disorder. This research employed a simple, exploratory sequential mixed-design. The first phase (Phase 1) of data collection involved a large on-line questionnaire-based study, whereby 584 participants completed measures of emotional, coping and sensory factors including self-disgust. This battery of questionnaires was completed at baseline and then 12 months later. Findings from Phase 1 indicated that those with an eating disorder experience significantly higher levels of self-disgust compared to those who have never suffered from disordered eating behaviour. Self-disgust was associated with several sensory processing patterns as well as anxiety, depression and disgust-sensitivity. Self-disgust was significantly associated with several difficulties in emotion regulation strategies and disordered eating behaviour. Self-disgust mediated the relationship between specific emotion regulation strategies and disordered eating behaviour, but this relationship was not consistent over time. Finally, although self-disgust did not predict changes in disordered eating behaviour, the relationship between these two variables did persist over 12-months. The second phase (Phase 2) of data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 12 participants who had taken part in the previous phase and who had technically recovered. Findings from Phase 2 suggest that self-disgust is something that continues to affect a person's eating behaviour, even after clinical recovery and in turn may act as a trigger back into the cycle of disordered eating behaviour. Specifically, four superordinate themes "The Volume of the Voice" "Trapped in a body you do not want" "Disgust as a trigger" and "If I am not the eating disorder what am I?" are discussed. The findings have both academic and clinical relevance and provide compelling evidence that self-disgust is implicated within disordered eating behaviour and is an emotion that continues to affect a person even following recovery.Item Open Access Self-disgust within eating disordered groups: Associations with anxiety, disgust sensitivity and sensory processing.(Wiley, 2017-06-20) Bell, Katie; Coulthard, Helen; Wildbur, D. J.This study aimed to assess the relationship between self-disgust and sensory processing within eating psychopathology. Five hundred and ninety one women with a self-reported diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or who had no previous history of an eating disorder completed a battery of on-line questionnaires measuring disgust, emotion and sensory variables. Those with an eating disorder reported significantly higher rates of self-disgust than those with no history of disordered eating. In groups of women with self-reported bulimia, self-disgust was associated with sensation avoidance and sensation seeking. Within the group with anorexia nervosa, self-disgust was associated with low registration and sensation seeking. This report is the first to examine the expression of the emotion self-disgust within eating psychopathology and examine associations of this factor with sensory processing. The emotion self-disgust needs to be further examined to understand its possible role in the onset and maintenance of disordered eating.Item Open Access Successful partnerships with third sector organisations to enhance the student experience: A partnership evaluation(2014-12-23) Bell, Katie; Tanner, Judith; Rutty, Jane; Astley-Pepper, Maxine; Hall, RichardThere is limited research surrounding academic partnerships and more research is needed to educate universities, and the private, public and third sectors about the benefits and limitations of such partnerships. The aim of this study was to outline the unique partnership between Macmillan Cancer Support and De Montfort University and to evaluate the progress of this partnership. A qualitative approach was employed which involved interviews with nine members of the partnership’s steering group. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that a partnership between a university and a third sector charity can have mutual benefits for all those involved, particularly for students and those affected by cancer. Furthermore, the module to develop volunteering among families affected cancer, created through this partnership is now being considered by other universities as a way of providing holistic and non-traditional lecture based learning experiences. Recommendations are made for future partnerships between third sector charities and universities.Item Open Access Towards LGBTQ-affirmative cancer care and support: Barriers and opportunities(2018-08-24) Williamson, I. R.; Fish, Julie; Wildbur, D.; Bell, Katie; Padley, Wendy; Brown, JayneBackground: Survey data suggest that LGBT people report lower levels of satisfaction with healthcare for cancer than heterosexuals. This presentation summarises findings from recent qualitative research to understand the experiences of British LGBT people with cancer and their long-term partners. Methods: Participants were recruited through 5 oncology units at British hospitals, 2 cancer support charities and through media campaigns. In-depth interviews typically lasting between 45 and 75 minutes were carried out with 31 cancer patients who identified as lesbian (N=13), gay (N=14), bisexual (N= 3) and queer (N=1) and 9 long-term partners of cancer patients who identified as lesbian (N= 5), gay (N= 2) and trans* (N=2). Data were analysed through thematic analysis. Findings: Three themes are presented: Understanding the Motives, Meanings and ‘Mechanics’ of Disclosure explores how decisions around whether to ‘come out’ as LGBTQ are influenced by several factors including anticipated stigma, perceived moral or political ‘obligation’ and the manner of healthcare professionals. Creating and Communicating LGBTQ-Affirmative Spaces outlines anxieties faced by LGBTQ patients in interactions with staff and patients in clinical spaces such as waiting-rooms and hospital wards and the desire for more explicit evidencing of an anti-discriminatory culture. Finally Seeking LGBTQ-tailored Information and Support shows how current cancer support typically fails to meet psychosocial and psychosexual needs of LGBTQ patients. Discussion: The findings can be used to influence policy and practice by statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure that effective oncology treatment is accompanied by an holistic understanding of the needs and concerns of LGBTQ patientsItem Open Access Understanding disgust-based food rejection in picky and non-picky eaters: Willingness to touch and taste familiar foods with changes(Elsevier, 2021-11-10) Coulthard, Helen; Abdullahi, Najma; Bell, Katie; Noon, E.The tendency to feel disgusted is associated with picky eating, however, no research has so far examined how this association translates into the evaluation of foods. 232 participants were recruited through the Prolific Academic crowdsourcing research tool: 127 picky eaters and 105 non-picky eaters. Online questionnaires about picky eating, disgust sensitivity, tactile sensitivity, and anxiety were completed. Participants were presented with 16 images of familiar foods (bread, chocolate, strawberries, pizza,) and rated their willingness to touch and taste the foods. The images were either an original image (e.g. plain bread), an edible change (e.g. bread with seeds), a contamination change (e.g. bread with a bite mark) or a degraded/spoil change (e.g. bread with mould). Across the whole sample, participants were more willing to say they would touch the food than taste it, and they were least likely to want to touch or taste food with signs of spoil or rot. Disgust sensitivity mediated the relationship between willingness to taste the original food and foods with both edible changes and signs of contamination or spoil. After controlling for willingness to touch and taste the original familiar food, picky eaters were less willing to touch and taste any food with a change compared to non-picky eaters. These findings indicate that picky eaters may perceive safe edible changes to food in a similar way to inedible changes, and for them any tactile contact with changed food is aversive. Further research is needed on strategies to lessen any maladaptive disgust responses in relation to changes to familiar, edible foods.