Fiona Smith

Integrated research informing teaching practice

Currently, I am in involved in an evaluation of  Blood and body fluid spills intervention, which mitigates the risk of fhe the spread of infection in the healthcare setting. The National Infection Prevention and Control Manual provides guidance on how to deal with these spills. While many studies have been done on how well they disinfect, few if any studies have been done on their relative ease of use.(pending publication)

Over the past nine years I have worked on evaluating health interventions, for example: the Healing Shift Enquiry; decision making between patients and neurologists; heart failure and treatment burden; cancer care follow-up and e-health and the role of boundaries.  More recently, I was involved with the WEll Enhanced Learning (WEL) programme at the Centre for Integrative Care in Glasgow. This group-based intervention aimed to show patients with chronic diseases how to self-manage aspects of their care.  A particular focus was placed on the effect of nutrition, mindfulness and self-compassion on reducing obesity and concurrent blood glucose levels. Pilot biological measures on our particular cohort showed that nearly 50% of participants were actual or suspicious pre-diabetic. Interestingly, at nine months post WEL, blood glucose measures of half of respondents who had been pre-diabetic were reduced. Although encouraging these results proved difficult to maintain over time, perhaps due to the addictive element of refined foods.

Over the last ten years, I have received qualitative training at the Universities of Glasgow, Oxford and Edinburgh Napier. This training has provided me with a strong foundation from which to practice qualitative research. Most of the research that I have been involved with as a past research fellow has been qualitative in nature. Therefore, I have experience of Grounded Theory and Framework Analysis as analytical tools.

This research experiences and training inform my roles as module coordinator (undergraduate lecturer with the Health and Life Sciences) and more latterly as module coordintaor (postgraduate lecturer with ithe Division of Nursing and Midwifery at Lanarkshire).

I have a Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (SFHEA), PhD and a Masters of Public Health including a Bachelor of Health Science (Hons) degree – first Class. My PhD was a qualitative study and explored survivorship cancer care from the perspectives of oncologists, Clinical Nurse Specialists and General Practitioners.