Women's health

Impact

Our research within the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care around the issue of women’s health is leading to changes in the way services are managed and delivered.

We help services understand how to improve support for women and girls. By collecting good-quality evidence, we can help these services apply for further funding to adapt and deliver appropriate support.

Projects

Women and Alcohol Project

The study identified women’s knowledge, beliefs and behaviours relating to alcohol consumption. It looked at what they thought could be done to prevent women reaching a point of experiencing serious harm and at identifying the drivers and barriers to providing good-quality prevention (pro-active) services for women over the age of 45 who drink to excess. This project was funded by Derbyshire clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and was delivered by Professor Annmarie Ruston and Dr Amelia Woodward.

Family Nurse Partnership

This study explored the long-term influence of an early intervention intensive home visiting programme for vulnerable teenage mothers. This is delivered to the NHS by a local community interest company Ripplez. Research nurse, Jessica Jackson, was involved in the second part of a wider study undertaken by the principal investigator Dr Amelia Woodward. They are now investigating a new service model Ripplez is implementing to the wider Universal Public Health 0-19 Children’s Services.

Tackling risk of sexual exploitation

Evaluation of educational interventions to tackle risk of sexual exploitation. This study involves working with Derbyshire Council and its partners who are delivering educational projects to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation of girls and young women in Derbyshire. The evaluation will run until March 2020 and will generate a large quantity of data. This project is being delivered by Dr Jamie Bird, Jessica Jackson and Dr Reza Safari.

Domestic violence

Transitional Stories of Domestic Violence. Using the arts to explore how women transition away from violence and abuse towards safety and security. This PhD study conducted by Dr Jamie Bird shows how everyday acts become symbolic of finding security, harmony and self-determination.

Me, Myself and I

A PhD project conducted by Dr Trisha Crocker that explored how the use of clay within art therapy can be used to allow women to explore issues related to body image and inter-personal relationships. This PhD was supervised by Dr Jamie Bird and Dr Jane Montague.

Art Therapy in Perinatal Care

A fully-funded PhD student is conducting research to measure the effectiveness of art therapy within a perinatal unit, which cares for women and their babies immediately before and after birth. Our study works with women who have experienced post-natal depression and psychosis. This project was devised in collaboration with the Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. The PhD is being supervised by Dr Jamie Bird and Kirsty McTaggart

Our team

Women’s health is a topic that is researched by: