Four new grants awarded for practice research
The trust
The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust was established in July
1999 as an independent research charity with a broad objective
to promote
and develop the field of pharmacy practice research. Its trustees
are drawn from among senior health policy makers, leading academics,
industrialists and retailers.
Through its “Medicines and people” programme, the
trust, as an independent research charity, aims to promote research
that
will enable policy makers, manufacturers, prescribers and others
to better understand the people and the contexts in which they
use and take medicines.
Further information about the trust is available from Beth Allen
(tel 020 7572 2466; e-mail beth.allen@rpsgb.org). |
The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust, an independent research charity founded by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, has announced the award of four pharmacy research grants for 2005, with a total value of £49,670.
The awards go to Ranjita Dhital, from the Substance Misuse Service at
Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Jennifer Scott,
of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of Bath,
Louise Hughes, from the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University,
and Denise Taylor, of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at
the University of Bath.
Miss Dhital will receive a Sir Hugh Linstead fellowship of £31,500
to carry out an evaluation of an alcohol screening service in community
pharmacy. She said: “This study will explore how community pharmacists
are able to identify and offer help to individuals with alcohol related
problems, with whom they are in daily contact. An evaluation of
the pharmacy customer volunteers’ and participating pharmacists’ perceptions
of
being involved in the service and their own experiences will be explored
using qualitative analysis. Currently no established alcohol services
exists in community pharmacies and therefore further research is needed.”
Dr Scott will receive a Sir High Linstead fellowship of £5,000
to conduct research on why pharmacy-based needle exchange is failing
to expand in response to increasing need and how this problem can be
overcome. She said: “Blood-borne viruses are a major public health
concern. Community pharmacists have the potential to play a significant
role but evidence suggests that their level of involvement is not enough.
This study will move research on pharmacy-based needle exchange into
the qualitative arena and begin to find answers to the development of
these services.”
Dr Hughes will receive a Hugh Linstead Fellowship of £5,000 to
explore the role of the Welsh language in community pharmacy service
provision in Wales. She said: “The availability of opportunities
to use the Welsh language within community pharmacies is not yet known
but is of key importance when considering the needs and expectations
of Welsh language speakers since a common language is vital to any successful
consultation. This study will provide information on this subject in
order to assess the present situation in community pharmacies in Wales.”
Miss Taylor will receive the 2005 Galen award of £8,170 to conduct
a study on patient and carer perspectives of living
with antidementia medicines. She said: “This is the second phase
of a three-phase study designed to establish the actual effect that the
prescribing of antidementia agents may have on people’s lives.”
The purpose of the practice research awards is to develop pharmacy practice
research capacity and to provide the information necessary to underpin
future decisions on policy, practice and service development.
There are two types of award — the Galen award, funded by a bequest
by Rowland Henry Williams, and the Sir High Linstead fellowship, funded
by a grant from the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust. Each year, one
or more Galen awards are made to a total value of £10,000 and one
or more Sir Hugh Linstead fellowships are awarded to a total value of £40,000
to support research relating to community pharmacy.
Sue Ambler, trust director, said: “Trustees and panel members welcomed
the high quality of the awards applications. They recognised that the
quality this year reflected the increasing level of competitiveness in
practice research — a trend that has been detected over the past
five years.”
Details of the application process for the 2006 Practice Research Awards
will be announced in January 2006. Further information on the 2005 awards
or previous research funded through the practice research awards scheme
can be obtained from Beth Allen, Acting Research Manager (tel 020 7572
2466; e-mail beth.allen@rpsgb.org). Further details of the awards are
also available from the practice
research section of the Society’s
website.
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal