Categories
World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day

Blog post by Dr Abisola Balogun-Katung, PHSI Research Associate
The theme for 2022 is ‘Education to Protect Tomorrow’. The campaign focuses on the need for better access to quality diabetes education for healthcare professionals and people with lived experience of diabetes as well as care for the latter. As diabetes management requires self-care, it is important for individuals and their families and friends affected by the condition to have a good understanding and up to date knowledge of it of it.

World Diabetes Day was created by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health organisation in 1991 as a response to growing concerns about the rise in diabetes and its danger to health. The event is marked annually on the 14th of November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who along with Charles Best discovered insulin in 1922.

‘Access to Diabetes Care’ is the 2021-2023 theme and ‘Education to Protect Tomorrow’ is the specific theme for 2022. Access and education go hand in hand because one of the most important ways to improve access to diabetes care is through increasing awareness about the condition. By raising awareness of diabetes, prevention, early detection, and effective treatment can be ensured.

 For World Diabetes Day, this year at PHSI, we are raising awareness with facts and figures about diabetes, shining a spotlight on the amazing research of PhD candidate Anna Boath and signposting you to educational resources on diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a lifelong chronic condition that causes an individual’s blood sugar level to become too high. The two main types of diabetes are: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

With Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks and destroys cells that produce insulin. Although it can affect adults too, this type of diabetes is the most common in children. With Type 2 diabetes on the other hand, the body fails to produce adequate insulin or the body’s cells do not reach to insulin. This type is more prevalent among adults aged over 40 although more younger people and children are getting diagnosed with the condition. During pregnancy, some women may be unable to produce adequate insulin to absorb the high levels of blood glucose produced by their body, leading to gestational diabetes.

Did you know? Diabetes Facts and Figures!

One out of 10 people GLOBALLY are affected by diabetes. In 2021, 537 million adults that is 1 in 10 adults were living with diabetes and these figures are expected to increase to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. Diabetes also affects children and there are over 1.2 million children and young people aged between 0-19 years globally living with type 1 diabetes. In 2021, there were 6.7 million deaths from diabetes. Just over 40% of diabetes cases remain undiagnosed with the majority of these being Type 2 diabetes.

Spotlight on Diabetes Research at Population Health Sciences Institute

Anna Boath, PhD candidate PHSI

Maternal Health by Anna Boath, PhD Candidate

I am currently a 4th year PhD student at Newcastle University researching health in pregnancy. Researching health in pregnancy particularly interested me as the health within pregnancy impacts the woman herself and can impact health of the child across their lifespan. Therefore, health throughout pregnancy affects every single person. Research in pregnancy is crucial to provide safe and effective care and treatments for women and their children, with research being carried out in a way that promotes access to all women.   

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy

My research has a focus on gestational diabetes, which is a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy and tends to resolve around 6 weeks after giving birth. Understanding and researching gestational diabetes is important as across the world the number of women developing gestational diabetes is rising. Also, women develop gestational diabetes are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. Conducting more research in the area means we can provide better care for women. 

In every pregnancy, the placenta causes a degree of insulin resistance; this means that during pregnancy all women don’t have as much ability to absorb sugar from their blood stream; however, this is a clever mechanism means more sugar goes to the baby and helps it to grow! In gestational diabetes, there is too much of this insulin resistance, which keeps blood sugar levels too high and for too long, which can have an impact on mum and baby.  

Interestingly, we still do not know the exact cause of gestational diabetes, but we do understand some of the risk factors. One of the risk factors that is thought to be important is an increased body mass index (BMI), which women have calculated when they have their first midwife appointment. BMI can be used to indicate weight status, with a higher BMI considered a higher risk for gestational diabetes. However, we know that using BMI on individuals doesn’t accurately reflect total body fat or how body fat is distributed. Using BMI alone also does not select all women who go on to develop gestational diabetes.  

My research looks at how we can use different measures of body fat and body fat distribution and how these might be better for selecting women that might benefit from extra care in pregnancy. Different measures we can use include waist circumference, which indicates how much body fat someone has around the centre of their body; this can be a good indicator of body fat that is associated with disease development.   

Being able to understand which women might develop gestational diabetes would along health care professionals to potentially offer care such as dietary and physical advice which may be able to prevent the development of gestational diabetes.  

Links to Educational Resources

  • Understanding Diabetes: This is a free online learning platform that provides information about diabetes, so that you are more confident in preventing or managing it: https://www.understandingdiabetes.org/
Categories
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

By Dr Vic McGowan, Research Fellow

Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University

“Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty”

Joseph Wresinski, founder ATD Fourth World

All Together in Dignity (ATD) Fourth World initiated the UN International day for Overcoming Poverty on the 17th October 1987 and five years later the UN officially designated this day as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP).  For over three decades people living in poverty across the globe have used this day as a platform to speak out about their lives and come together in solidarity. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the IDEP and provides an opportunity for everyone to recognise our shared responsibility to eradicate poverty and combat all forms of discrimination.

Poverty is not inevitable, it is a result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and most marginalised people in our societies. Poverty is not hidden, we can see the effects of it in the variations in health outcomes and life expectancy between the most deprived and affluent communities within towns, cities, and across the globe. In England, for example, healthy life expectancy varies by up to 21.5 years for women and 15.8 years for men between the most and least deprived local authority areas. England is not alone. These health inequalities between the rich and the poor exist globally. Wherever there are inequalities in opportunities and income there are people living in poverty who will not live as long as their affluent neighbours.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare these inequalities and highlighted how we are not in this together. Our recent review found extensive evidence of inequalities in COVID-19 mortality rates.  At every level of geography – neighbourhood, town, city, region – people living in poverty had higher rates of COVID-19 deaths than their more affluent neighbours across the globe. The pandemic has been an unequal experience with higher mortality rates in the most deprived places and communities (McGowan & Bambra, The Lancet Public Health in press).

My research focuses on examining regional inequalities in health, highlighting the root causes of poverty, and advocating for those with lived experiences of marginalisation to ensure they are included in decision-making processes and developing solutions to eradicating the structural drivers of inequality and poverty. I developed the Equal England Public Network to create a space for members of the public to share lived experiences of poverty and influence research/practice to reduce health and social inequalities. Our public partners co-develop research to tackle the root causes of poverty and have influenced national decision-making on actions to improve health post-pandemic. 

Thrive Teesside Event: International Day to End Poverty

To commemorate the International Day to End Poverty I attended an event hosted by Thrive Teesside, an award-winning organisation that aims to implement a legal duty to put the voice and experience of socio-economic disadvantage at the heart of policy making and local decision making.  The event showcased good practice in participatory approaches to local decision making and highlight how the value of lived experiences can develop local responses to mitigate the impact of poverty.

The event highlighted how tackling poverty requires collaborative action. It was encouraging to see members of the local council, grass roots community organisations, the local mayor, academics, and members of the public coming together to hear about the lived experience of poverty and engage in discussions about developing solutions to poverty as well as immediate actions people are taking at the local level to ameliorate the effects of the current cost of living crisis.

www.poverty2solutions.org

Thrive Teesside work on a local level providing one-to-one support to those with immediate needs but they also work on a national level to raise voices of those often unheard with APLE (Addressing Poverty with Lived Experience). They work collaboratively as Poverty 2 Solutions with ATD Fourth World and Dole Animators to use their expertise to propose solutions to some of the biggest issues that lock people in poverty across the UK and recently produced a short film to advocate for the need to implement a legal duty to put the voice and experience of socio-economic disadvantage at the heart of policy making.  Their Listen Up to Level Up film makes visible the real issues surrounding poverty which aims to create discussions, mobilise and motivate people, it highlights how the insight of lived experiences of poverty is essential to creating fairer policies.

To mark the 30th anniversary of IDEP we should reflect on how we can make our research more participatory, develop connections with our local communities and harness the skills, expertise and insight within them to develop research agendas that focus on the root causes of poverty and co-develop more effective solutions for change.

Categories
Black History Month

Black History Month

Dr Abisola Balogun-Katung Research Associate PHSI

Black history Month (BHM) was first celebrated 35 years ago in the UK in October 1987 to recognise African contributions to cultural, economic, and political life in the UK. To celebrate the study of Black life and history in 2022 ARC funded PhD student Ania Couchinho, along with Research Associates Abisola Balogun- Katung and Fiona Graham have decided to focus on the important research, organisations and events across the UK that focus on the improvement of healthcare for Black people.

Support Black Health Organisations

FiveXMore

Five X More is dedicated to supporting mothers with its campaigning work and recommendations. It focuses on empowering Black women to make informed choices and advocate for themselves throughout their pregnancies and after childbirth.

Sickle Cell Society

As a disease that disproportionately affects Black individuals, the Sickle Cell Society has been working alongside health care professionals, parents, and people living with sickle cell to raise awareness of the disorder. The Society’s aim is to support those living with sickle cell, empowering them to achieve their full potential.

The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network

BAATN are the UK’s largest independent organisation to specialise in working psychologically, informed by an understanding of intersectionality, with people who identify as Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean. Our primary focus and area of expertise is to support people from these heritages. However, we are open to other People of Colour who are affected by oppression due to the colour of their skin and global white power.

The Black Men’s Health UK

This fantastic organisation focuses on health matters which adversely affect Black men as a social group. This includes AIDs, hypertension and diabetes.

Black Minds Matter UK

Black Minds Matter UK is a fully registered charity operating in the UK; connecting Black individuals and families with free mental health services- by professional Black therapists to support their mental health. Our vision is to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all Black people in the U.K., removing the stigma and remodelling the services to be relevant for the Black community.

Workshops, Events & Networking Opportunities

Networks for Black researchers

CoDE Early Career Researcher (ECR) Race Network

Black Women’s Health & Wellbeing Research Network

Caribbean and African Health Network

NHS BME Network

African Health Policy Network

Black Health Forum

Black people & Healthcare Workshops & Events

#BlackBoyJoyGone

BFI Doc Society funded hybrid documentary by and for black men on mental health, sexual trauma and finding strength through brotherhood.

Date:Tuesday 25th October 2022

Location: Manchester

Black Women in Health Conference

This event aims to connect, inspire, educate, empower and celebrate black female healthcare professionals on becoming authentic impactful change makers and making positive impact.

Date:Saturday 15th October 2022

Location: Manchester

Nursing Narratives ‘Exposed’ Film Screening and Q & A

This is a special School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health screening of ‘Exposed’ a documentary about the experiences of racism of nurses and mid-wives before, during and after the pandemic.

Date: Friday 21st October 2022

Location: Coventry

BHM at Newcastle University & around Newcastle

PHSI EDI BHM Book Club 2022

Check out Abisola and Ania’s fantastic collection of books on Black History Month and support Black businesses and booksellers.

BHM Lecture: Why history matters by Professor Hakim Adi

In this lecture, Professor Adi shares his own experience of Black History Month. He reflects on the struggles, over the last 40 years, to combat eurocentrism and develop what is often termed ‘Black British History’, and discusses his new book, African and Caribbean in Britain: A History.

Date: Thursday 27th October 2022

Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building

Moving beyond the record with Rastafari

How can oral histories be used to develop more affirmative practices? This lecture explores the role of ‘self’ in relation to power and research knowledge(s). Focusing on how orality is approached within the context of Rastafari methodologies, Gray will draw on her personal and intellectual reflections from reasoning and documenting a history of the Rastafari community in Britain to suggest alternative routes to engage with life histories.

Date: Thursday 24th November 2022

Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building

100 Books by Black Authors

At the city library will find a 100 Books by Black Authors display on Level 3 of City Library and smaller displays in some branches.

Date: October 2022

Location: Newcastle City Library

Listen to this Story! An Exhibition about children’s books and Black Britain

This exhibition will celebrate the work of key Black British children’s authors, illustrators, and editors as well as exploring how Black people and communities have been represented within the pages of stories for children. It will include illustrations, archives, and books from the collections of Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books and Newcastle University Special Collections. The exhibition will take place across two sites, on L3 of City Library and the ground floor of Newcastle University Library.

Date: Thursday 6th October till Wednesday 30th November 2022

Location: Newcastle City Library

BlackHistoryMonth.Org 2022 Listings

An array of workshops, events and trainings opportunities within and around the Newcastle area collated by the Black History Month online organisation.

Date: Varied

Location: Varied

BHM Eventbrite 2022 Listings

An array of workshops, events and trainings opportunities within and around the Newcastle area collated by Eventbrite.

Date: Varied

Location: Varied

BHM Workshops & Events

BlackHistoryMonth.Org 2022 Listings

An array of workshops, events and trainings opportunities collated by the Black History Month online organisation.

Date: Varied

Location: Varied

Black History Month: Understanding the Past to Shape the Future

This talk will focus on four key things:

  • Spotlighting and celebrating Black architects who paved the way.
  • Discussing the impact and legacies of these individuals that often go unacknowledged.
  • Exploring how the erasure of these individuals is still impacting the architectural profession today.
  • Understanding how we can continue to move forward following the BLM advocacy of 2020.

Date: Wednesday 26th October 2022

Location: Zoom

Durham University Black History Month Keynote Event 2022

Organised by the University’s BAME Network and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit, our keynote event will feature Prof Hakim Adi, who will speak about our Black History Month theme for 2022, Time for Change: Action Not Words.

Date: Wednesday 19th October 2022

Location: Online

Black History Month Event: Thinking Outside the Box

Minority Ethnic Group and Allies Network (MEGA) are excited to hold ‘Thinking Outside The Box – Cultivating The Shift’. Our showcase event as part of Black History Month 2022 event will be held in person, as well as live streamed. Guest speakers include: Rianna Scipio, the UK’s first black weather presenter, and now International Authenticity and Relationship Consultant.

Ballaz in The Middle, two ex-professional NFL football players, Discussion will be centred around equality diversity and inclusion, whilst raising the awareness of important topics such as; good mental health, wellbeing, resilience, mentoring and outreach

Date: Friday 14th October 2022

Location: Online

Black History Month: Do our children need more Black history lessons?

What must change for Black pupils to feel they fully belong in our education system and wider society? How can we teach pupils the full story of how modern Britain was created? Joseph Harker, the Guardian’s senior editor for diversity and development, chairs our panel of speakers, which includes Jeffrey Boakye, former schoolteacher and author of I Heard What You Said; Lavinya Stennett, founder and chief executive of The Black Curriculum; and Desta Haile, deputy director of the Royal African Society.

Date: Monday 24th October 2022

Location: Online (paid event)

Categories
Black History Month Book Club

Book Club: Black History Month 2022

By Dr Abisola Balogun-Katung & PhD student Ania Barros Mendes Couchinho

This months PHSI EDI BOOK CLUB Abisola and Ania have put together a fantastic collection of books on Black History Month and support black businesses and booksellers.

Support Black Businesses

Afrori Books: https://afroribooks.co.uk/

Round Table Books: https://www.roundtablebooks.co.uk/shop-black-studies-module

African Bookstore: https://www.africanbookstore.net/search.asp

New Beacon Books: https://www.newbeaconbooks.com/

Black and British

David Olusoga

Black and British provide its reader with a thorough and vital history of black Britain. It provides the reader with an exposé of the lingering relationship between the people of Africa, the Caribbean and the British Isles, this book has rightfully been described as a “thrilling tale of excavation” and a ‘testimony to the rich experiences of Black people of Britain’. It is also available as a short, essential history for readers aged 12+.

A comprehensive and important history of black Britain

The Sunday Times

The Good Immigrant

Nikesh Shukla

The Good Immigrant brings together 21 thrilling Black, Asian and minority ethnic voices emerging in Britain. With a collection of poignant, challenging, sometimes angry, heartbreaking and humorous essays, it explores why immigrants come to the UK, why they stay and what it means to be ‘other’ in a foreign country miles away from home.  

The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes brutal, always honest … if I could, I’d push a copy of this through the letter box of every front door in Britain.

The Independent

Tribes

David Lammy

Tribes explores the benign and malignant effects of our need to belong in society. This genetically programmed and socially acquired need to belong manifests in positive ways through collaboratively achieving great successes, which individually cannot be achieved. On the other hand, this need can manifest in negative ways, particularly with globalisation and digitisation leading to new, more malicious forms of tribalism. David Lammy provides the reader with a fascinating and perceptive socio-political analysis of Britain and what it means to be British.

Lammy writes with nuance and sensitivity and accepts the lack of easy answers. But his core message is simple. We must cooperate more, compromise more, communicate more. Only connect, but offline.

Prospect

What White People Can Do Next

Emma Dabiri

Vital and empowering What White People Can Do Next teaches each of us how to be agents of change in the fight against racism and the establishment of a more just and equitable world. In this affecting and inspiring collection of essays, Emma Dabiri draws on both academic discipline and lived experience to probe the ways many of us are complacent and complicit—and can therefore combat—white supremacy. She outlines the actions we must take, including: Stopping the Denial, Interrogate Whiteness, Abandon Guilt, Redistribute Resources, Realize this s**t is killing you too . . . 

To move forward, we must begin to evaluate our prejudices, our social systems, and the ways in which white supremacy harms us all. Illuminating and practical, What White People Can Do Next is essential for everyone who wants to go beyond their current understanding and affect real—and lasting—change.

Concise, sure-footed and complete . . . a battle cry against racism for even the most socially aware . . . Dabiri’s reflections have been a very, very long time coming

Tanya Sweeny ― Irish Independent



In the Wake: On Blackness and Being

Christina Sharpe

This captivating and poetic piece of work unpacks the state and existence of Black beings in modern society. It Considers what binds Black lives together following the journey from slave ships to consciousness or what Sharpe labels ‘The Wake.’ The consciousness and awareness of Blackness that writers such as Shilliam (2015) and Adichie (2017) adopt in their work. Sharpe reinforces her idea of The Wake by defining it as a Black awareness of ‘skewed life chances, limited access to health and education, premature death, incarceration, impoverishment’ (Sharpe, 2016). This Black consciousness is what Sharpe aims to academically theorize and encapsulate in this text. Its four chapters, The Wake, The Ship, The Hold and The Weather, it cleverly addresses themes of postcolonialism, decoloniality and feminism.

Christina Sharpe’s deep engagement with the archive of Black knowledge production across theory, fiction, poetry and other intellectual endeavours offers an avalanche of new insights on how to think about anti-Blackness as a significant and important structuring element of the modern scene.

Cutting across theoretical genres, In the Wake will generate important intellectual debates and maybe even movements in Black studies, cultural studies, feminist studies and beyond. This is where cultural studies should have gone a long time ago

Rinaldo Walcott – author of Black Like Who?: Writing Black Canada

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

This emotive and comforting novel offers a Pan-African narrative completely free of Eurocentrism. The story of Okonkwo, a man of the Ibo tribe in Nigeria, tells a story of a way of life many modern Africans continue to mourn. It brings to light both the positive experiences of African life before colonisation and mirrors the fall of African customs and traditions towards the end of the 19th century.

The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down

Nelson Mandela

His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work

Toni Morrison

Small Island

Andrea Levy

A moving novel that tells the stories of a Black woman, a Black man, a white woman and a white man and the way in which their paths overlap unexpectedly. Set at the time of the Windrush era, Small Island tells the story of the Windrush generation. Levy taps into the unique racialised experiences of each individual, the gender roles set by both racial backgrounds and the socio-political experiences of all four individuals as England recovers from the 2nd World War.

Gives us a new urgent take on our past.

Vogue

Black Skin, White Mask

Franz Fanon

This timeless historical critique rewrites the history of colonialism from a lens that describes the transition of Africa towards Eurocentrism. Fanon discusses Africa’s heart-breaking psychological, physical, and cultural transformation that provides historical context for today’s socio-political landscape. A must-read for all those interested in Decoloniality, Black and postcolonial studies.

This century’s most compelling theorist of racism and colonialism

Angela Davis
Categories
World Alzheimer's Month

World Alzheimer’s Day: Interviews With PHSI Dementia Researchers

By Oliver Shannon & Connor D Richardson

Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia – has a huge economic and social burden, impacting the lives of millions of individuals and their families. Although there is currently no cure for this condition, ongoing research is continually improving our understanding of this condition and identifying ways to help mitigate risk. With World Alzheimer’s Day just around the corner (21st of September), we took the opportunity to interview key researchers in this area within the Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute. With insight from early career and more experienced researchers, these interviews provide a great introduction to Alzheimer’s Disease research within our Institute and guide what the future may hold and how people can get involved.

Prof. Dame Louise Robinson – Professor of Primary Care and Ageing; Regius Professor of Ageing

What does World Alzheimer’s day mean to you?

A global opportunity to continue to raise both public and professional awareness about dementia

What is your research area?

My research focuses on dementia care with the key aim of trying to improve the quality of care, and quality of life, for people living with dementia and their families. Recent projects address this area nationally, including the PRIDEM programme (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/pridem/) and international working with collaborators in Lower Middle-Income Countries through an NIHR Global Health Research Group (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/global_health_depec/). This work has been presented to the World Dementia Council and will be included as a case study in the WHO/ADI World Alzheimer Report on Post diagnostic care, due for release in autumn 2022.

How did you get into this sphere?

As a young GP many decades ago, I was distressed by the lack of support available to my patients diagnosed with dementia; compared to people with cancer or other long-term illnesses like diabetes, there was very little available.

How has this area changed since you first became involved?

Unfortunately, not a great deal despite a national Dementia strategy in 2009. Our PRIDEM programme has shown that this is still the case in England, with considerable inequalities in dementia care services which are focused on the first year after diagnosis and are often fragmented and fragile due to a lack of long-term funding commitment.

What are the key challenges?

Ensuring implementation and scale-up of key research findings into practice to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Dr. Andrea Fairley – Lecturer in Nutrition & Dietetics

What does World Alzheimer’s day mean to you?


As a researcher working in dementia prevention, World Alzheimer’s Day is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness and highlight what can be done to reduce our dementia risk. As this condition was historically seen as an inevitable part of the ageing process, it is important that the message of dementia prevention reaches the wider public and that we spread the message of how we can protect our brain health.

What is your research area?


I am a registered dietitian and lecturer in human nutrition and dietetics. I am actively involved in research, being specifically interested in the role of diet in cognitive decline and dementia prevention. I am interested in the design, development and testing of diet and lifestyle interventions to promote behaviour change among at-risk populations, particularly those at greater risk of cognitive decline.

How did you get into this sphere?


I became interested in public health nutrition through my work as a dietitian. While studying for a PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, I became fascinated by the field of diet and dementia prevention.

How has this area changed since you first became involved?


When I started my PhD and began researching this area, there had been an array of observational evidence conducted within the field of diet and dementia prevention and a few landmark trials. At that time (2015), larger multidomain intervention studies focusing on modifiable risk factors such as diet, lifestyle and cognitive strategies were in the pipeline. Since then, we have seen the results of these studies, notably the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) trial. This multidomain intervention (diet, exercise, cognitive training, vascular risk monitoring) is applied in older people (60-77 years) at higher risk for dementia and has produced significant cognitive benefits after 2 years. This landmark study has inspired further research in this field to explore how these interventions are tailored among at-risk interventions – an area I am very much interested in!

What are the key challenges?


The research literature has shown significant associations between key nutrients and dietary patterns and reduced risk of cognitive decline and AD. Certainly, individual foods, or nutritional components such as Omega 3 fatty acids, or B vitamins, may be associated with reducing dementia risk. They may have a specific role to play in counteracting biological processes in the body that can contribute to cognitive decline. But as consumers, we don’t eat just one type of food. So, it is important to look at the diet as a whole – the nutrients in different foods can interact, and this combination may bring additional health benefits. There have been some intervention studies to test the effect of dietary patterns in dementia prevention, such as the Mediterranean diet, and these show promising results. However, we need to do more intervention research! Researchers are working to better understand how specific dietary components can influence cognition, how these foods affect brain health when consumed together and how to tailor dietary advice to specific countries, cultures and settings. When we think about changing our diets and lifestyles, we know that “one size does not necessarily fit all”. It is important to understand the food cultures and available resources of different countries to provide tailored, needs-specific dietary advice and support.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice as an ECR, what would that be?


Network, network, network! It can be so daunting as an ECR to put yourself out there but is so important to build connections and network, as you never know where it might lead. Having a LinkedIn or Twitter profile can be useful to get yourself noticed!

What is the future of dementia research?


I think the future is bright for dementia prevention research. This research area is getting a lot of attention, both through research funding and public engagement. Recently, we have seen huge advancements in dementia prevention by identifying modifiable risk factors that can be targeted across the life course. I am excited to see what future research in this area will bring!

How can people get involved?


Read more about dementia prevention and what you can do to promote brain health. Charities, such as The Alzheimer’s Society, have some useful resources. You can also get involved in dementia-related research – Join Dementia Research is a service providing new opportunities for people to play their part in beating dementia, connecting researchers with people who want to participate in studies. It is free to sign up and you will be directly matched to a study that meets your criteria.

Dr Connor Richardson – Post-Doctoral Research Associate

What is your research area?


My main area of research is in the Epidemiology of dementia and cognitive impairment. I work on large population-based cohorts to investigate the risks of dementia in the population over time with the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS). My most recent work involves using newer machine learning techniques to investigate dementia neuropathology.

How did you get into this sphere?


I was interested in dementia from the final year of my undergraduate biomedical sciences degree, my favourite modules being Biology of Ageing and Neuroscience; however, I did not enjoy lab-based science.

During my MSc in Public Health Research, I knew I wanted my thesis to be on dementia and quantitative methods. I was supervised by Katie Brittan and Blossom Stephan, looking at cognitive reserve and dementia. I enjoyed the project, so went on to work with Bloss, Louise Robinson and Fiona Matthews on my PhD looking at Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Since then, I have been the CFAS statistician as a post-doc with Fiona Matthews.

How has this area changed since you first became involved?


Although I have worked in the field for a relatively short time I have noticed several changes. As I was beginning my PhD, the DSM version V was being published, which completely re-classified the diagnosis of dementia and MCI into Major and Minor Neurocognitive disorder, which remains controversial.

Similarly, I just attended the Alzheimer’s Association, where a debate was being held to redefine Alzheimer’s diseases based on biomarkers without clinical symptoms.

Closer to my own work, there is currently a huge expansion of data science and machine learning moving into the space of traditional epidemiology and statistical modelling.

Overall I think dementia research is quite an exciting area of research as things can change pretty quickly, and changes can often be pretty controversial.

What are the key challenges?


It’s a relatively small field in comparison to other medical research. The key challenges for me are probably similar to most researchers at my level, balancing career development and publishing and gaining experience with day-to-day work.
I have found that when at events like conferences, the dementia research network is extremely friendly!

If you could give yourself one piece of advice as an ECR, what would that be?


I am guilty of putting too much pressure on myself to do too many things at once. I am often reminded to take a step back, take a breath and think about one thing at a time.
I’ve recently realised the importance of setting work aside for a short time and reflecting on where I want to be and how to get there.

What is the future of dementia research?


I think new technology is moving the field very quickly; for example, there is huge momentum behind using imaging from MRI and PET scanning combined with AI/ machine learning to diagnose dementia earlier and earlier, if this is necessarily a good thing seems to be a hot debate at the moment. Unfortunately, this seems to limit the attention being paid to modifiable population risk.

There is also more emphasis on researching dementia among low and middle-income countries and being much more inclusive of minority and underrepresented groups in dementia research.

How can people get involved?


I think the Alzheimer’s society does a huge amount of engaging people in dementia research; they have massive amounts of information and training to become dementia friends so people can learn what living with dementia means.

Categories
World Alzheimer's Month

Connor Richardson Guest Speaker for Dementia Researcher Podcast:

Highlights from Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2022 & underrepresentation in dementia research

While attending the Alzheimer’s Association conference, I was a guest speaker on the Dementia Researcher podcast. Among the two other guests, we all had one major highlight, a fantastic session on “Navigating the crisis of underrepresentation in ADRD research: New directions and best practices”. An eye-opening session focussed on the unique challenges facing memorised groups living with dementia, failures in research of including minority groups in research and fresh ideas to address underrepresentation.

Right to left: Dr Bhargav Teja Nallapu, Dept. of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York; Dr Isabel Castanho, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School; Dr Annalise Rahman-Filipiak, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School & Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Dr Connor Richardson, Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute.

Links to the podcast, information on Dementia Researcher, session descriptions and speakers are included below.

Dementia Researcher

About Dementia Researcher

Session Description:

Across a host of Western countries, persons from minority groups are increasingly recognized to be severely and persistently underrepresented in clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD). Early investigations into this problem consisted mainly of small, descriptive studies and bespoke interventions focused on participant-related barriers to research enrolment (like mistrust), often among persons of colour. This Featured Research Session will highlight recent conceptual and methodological advances in the field of recruitment, engagement, and retention (RER) science, present new findings from research being conducted in various regions of the United States, and call on ADRD investigators to action in identifying concrete ways to intervene amidst the current crisis of underrepresentation in clinical research. The first two presentations will discuss ongoing, transdisciplinary efforts to rigorously characterize historical and current issues impacting research participation across a range of marginalized and minority communities. The following three presentations will feature innovative approaches to increasing ADRD research participation within specific underrepresented populations. The final presentation will provide a rationale for expanding the concept of research inequities beyond biological disparities and systemic inequities, incorporating researcher-related barriers to research enrolment.

Session Presenters:

  • Kylie M Smith (Emory University, GA, USA) – Incorporating history into disparities research: A model for interdisciplinary collaboration and trust building
  • Nicole Taikeff (CARE Research Center Massachusetts General Hospital, MA, USA) – Early norming data for engagement and recruitment of diverse populations into ADRD research
  • Jennifer H Lingler (University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), PA, USA) – Mechanisms by which culturally-informed narratives may promote ADRD research enrollment among African American adults
  • Jason D. Flatt (University of Nevada Las Vegas, NV, USA) – Promoting Inclusion of Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research
  • Krystal R. Kittle (University of Nevada Las Vegas, NV, USA) – Caregiving Experiences and Health of LGBTQ+ Caregivers: Results from the Equality in Caregiving Study
  • Jonathan D. Jackson (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA) – A Methodological Framework for Investigating Diversity in Clinical Research
Categories
International Youth Day

International Youth Day

The United Nations International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society. The theme this year is Intergenerational solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages which aims to amplify the message that action is needed across all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It also aims to raise awareness on certain barriers to intergenerational solidarity, notably ageism, which impacts young and old persons, while having detrimental effects on society as a whole.

The World Health Organsiation defines ageism as “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) directed towards others or oneself, based on age”. Young people continue to report age-related barriers in various spheres of their lives such as employment, political participation, health and justice. On an individual level, these age-related obstacles can deeply impact wellbeing and livelihoods not only during the youth years, but also in adulthood. On a societal level, ageism prevents us from thinking and designing policies and social services that adopt a life-course approach and are fair for all ages.  

To mark International Youth Day, the PHSI EDI Committee caught up with PHSI colleagues, Dr Laura Basterfield, Senior Research Associate and Dr Steph Scott, Lecturer in Public Health and Qualitative Methods about their experiences working with children and young people (CYP) in their research.

Dr Laura Basterfield

Can you tell us about your research involving young people?

I started working on the Gateshead Millennium Study (GMS) in 2006, when the children in that birth cohort were 6-7 years old. We visited most of the children at their school for that project, so I’ve been to all 70+ primary schools in Gateshead, and again when they were 9! I was measuring physical activity, body composition, health-related behaviours and a host of psychological measures. We followed the children in the GMS until they were 18 years old, so it was a real privilege to catch up with them every couple of years. I also started my own research into children’s physical fitness and mental wellbeing, which has led to really interesting findings on the impact of the Covid lockdowns. I’ve recently embarked on my first secondary school fitness project which I’m excited about; the older pupils will be peer-mentors for the younger pupils, so I was talking to them all and asking their views and ideas to help shape the intervention.

Photos from the Gateshead Millennium Study taken 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2015.

What has been your best experience(s) of working with young people?

I made a film in 2021 with Year 6 pupils at Walkergate Community School and a local theatre company, Mortal Fools. Initially the idea had been for the young people to create an assembly that would feed back the results of my fitness research, as they had all been involved in it, but then covid interrupted things and delayed it by a year.  The delay ultimately resulted in a much better film, as the young people wanted to talk about how the lockdowns had impacted both their physical and mental health. I was able to watch the process as the Mortal Fools facilitators guided the young people, and helped them to arrange their ideas and thoughts into a coherent structure. The ideas they came up with were much better than anything I could have done! More importantly, the young people enjoyed the experience of being in control of what they discussed and presented, and were thoroughly professional. It was also loads of fun!

The final ‘Young Science Communicators’ film:

To hear more about the film, please read Laura’s blog here.

What has been the biggest challenge/obstacle you have had to overcome doing research with young people?

For me it’s actually getting a chance to talk to them about the research and why I’m doing it – to involve lots of children and young people we usually need to do our research in school, and schools are so busy already they often don’t have time to take part. Those that do take part end up being really engaged and are wonderful. Work with secondary-age young people is different again, as you have to demonstrate that you really care about their experiences, opinions, and ideas, and that they can trust you with their thoughts and their time.

What can we do to overcome ageism in our research?

Understand that we can all learn from each other, and each person’s experience should be valued. We need to make sure we include the people that we hope will benefit from our research, and really understand their perspective. We need to be conscious of the perceived (or real) power imbalance and do our utmost to give everyone an equal standing.

How is COVID-19 changing the way young people can engage today?

I think that depends on their age and their access to technology. The Year 6 pupils I spoke to after the lockdowns had very different experiences depending on whether they had access to a phone and could call or text their friends whenever they wanted. Those that couldn’t felt much more isolated. If young people are in that situation there’s a chance they could be left out of engaging if things are driven only by online options. On the flip side, the option of doing things online means that location/transport shouldn’t be an issue, as well as helping those that suffer from social anxiety.

Dr Steph Scott

Can you tell us about your research involving young people?

I am a sociologist with a background in Criminology and Public Health, and my research focuses on CYP’s health, social and educational inequalities, particularly for CYP in contact with the criminal justice system. I tend to use qualitative methods that are co-produced, longitudinal and/or creative (visual, diaries). I hold an ESRC New Investigator Award focusing on CYP with a close family member in prison, and which aims to co-produce a child-centred rights-based framework for prison social visits.

What has been your best experience(s) of working with young people?

During the pandemic, I led a longitudinal diary-based study exploring young people’s experiences of Covid-19 (Lockdown Life NE). Using diaries was a new methodological approach to me and really allowed me to develop my analysis skills and dig deeper into young people’s day-to-day experiences. It also led to a range of creative outputs (film, zine- see below) and to me being invited to be a Trustee for NE Youth. Acting as trustee really is an honour – this organisation and others within the voluntary sector of often a lifeline to CYP.

Lockdown life NE

What can we do to overcome ageism in our research?

Young people who were part of my Lockdown Life NE study were incredibly frustrated that they were often given very little say in decisions that have the potential to impact upon their lives. Drawing on this, we have a responsibility to embed a ‘youth first’ or rights-based approach from children’s earliest years, an approach which places CYP at the centre of policy/practice decisions that concern them

What are the biggest obstacles to creating a more equitable, fair, and just world?

Unfortunately, significant proportions of young people face inequality and disadvantage, injustices that result from power imbalances and unequal access to resources and opportunities to live healthier lives. Such inequality is borne out in a number of ways, such as access to food, housing, employment; as well as along geographical lines (‘The North South Divide’) and within exclusionary and stigmatising systems. For marginalised young people or communities, such as LGBTQ+ young people or young people who are justice-involved, disadvantage is amplified and intersects in their lives, and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. These groups of young people are far less likely to ‘bounce back’ from pandemic related policies and restrictions. Thus, alongside any efforts to ‘Build Back Fairer’, it is important we understand the experiences and views of young people in order to shape ‘post-pandemic’ recovery, and mitigate negative impacts should we experience a global crisis on this scale again.

Categories
Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse Day

15 June 2022

Poster by Oliver Shannon

Categories
Book Club Elder Abuse

EDI Book Club: Elder Abuse Day

15th June

By Connor Richardson with Recommendations from the Lit and Phil.

Thank you for popping into the book club! Finding good recommendations around elder abuse has proved quite difficult! However, I figure as part of elder abuse day we should be celebrating ageing and older people. So I hope you enjoy these books in that sprirt.

Con

Happy Old Me: How to Live A Long Life, and Really Enjoy It

Hunter Davies | Memoir

On 8th February 2016, Margaret Forster lost her life to cancer of the spine. The days that followed for her husband, Hunter Davies, were carried out on autopilot: arrangements to be made, family and friends to be contacted. But how do you cope after you have lost your loved one? How do you carry on?

Ken Loach might have turned all this into a powerful social film, but the avuncular Davies sprinkles in so many cheery anecdotes that the book bounces along enjoyably

Sunday Times


As Hunter navigates what it means to be alone again after 55 years of marriage, coping with bereavement and being elderly (he still doesn’t believe he is), he shares his wisdom and lessons he has learnt living alone again. Revealing his emotional journey over the course of one year, as well as the often ignored practical implications of becoming widowed, he learns that, ultimately, bricks and mortar may change but the memories will remain. 

Part memoir, part self-help, Happy Old Me is a fitting, heart-felt tribute to the love of his life and a surprisingly amusing and informative book about an age, and stage in life, which we might all reach someday. The third book in Hunter Davies’ much-loved memoir series, which includes The Co-Op’s Got Bananas and A Life in the Day. 

You’re looking well: the surprising nature of getting old

Lewis Wolpert | Non-fiction

We now live longer today than at any time in history. In the UK, more people are aged over sixty-five than under sixteen and by 2050, over a third of the developed world will be over sixty. How should we deal with this phenomenon? What are the scientific reasons for ageing? And can – or should – we prevent it?

Lewis Wolpert, distinguished biologist and octogenarian, explores the scientific background and the implications of our ageing population. In this engaging investigation, he tackles every aspect of the subject from ageism to euthanasia to anti-ageing cream and, through it all, tries to better understand his own ageing. Witty, frank and often inspiring, Lewis Wolpert is the perfect guide to ‘looking very well’.

Gangsta Granny

David Walliams | Children

Another hilarious and moving novel from David Walliams, number one bestseller and fastest growing children s author in the country.

A story of prejudice and acceptance, funny lists and silly words, this new book has all the hallmarks of David s previous bestsellers.

Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma s house. She s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn t know about his grandma.

1) She was once an international jewel thief.

2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben s help

Don’t bring me no rocking chair

John Halliday | Poetry

Gathering poems from Shakespeare to the present, Don’t Bring Me No Rocking Chair addresses ageing through the several ages of poetry. Now more than ever, as more of us live for longer, the idea of what it means to age or to grow old engages and concerns people of all ages.

One of the problems of ageing is the language we use to define it and the list of pejoratives associated with it, with attitudes to ageing ranging from ‘fatalism, denial, negative stereotyping and tunnel vision to fantasy’ (Professor Tom Kirkwood, Newcastle University). Poetry can help to give us a fresh language to think about ageing and these poems are chosen to fortify, celebrate, lament, grieve, rage and ridicule. There is not one way to age but neither can any of us truly stop our bodies from ageing.

In our youth-obsessed culture, there is something exquisitely subversive about a book that celebrates old age…As with all anthologies, its delight lies in revisiting old favourites and discovering poems one might not have come across otherwise

Juanita Coulson, The Lady.

Ageing is not a single phenomenon but complex, multiple, perplexing: experienced historically as well as individually. This anthology may not console but it can widen our perspectives, helping us to change what we can change: our attitudes. Joan Bakewell writes in the Foreword: ‘With age comes a growing thoughtfulness: what was it all for?

What have we made of our lives, what have we known of love, what have we enjoyed of beauty and how do we come to terms with our going? This remarkable book contains thoughts on all such concerns. Its variety is extensive but one thing is sustained throughout. The quality of ideas and expression is of the highest. On whichever page you alight there is something that will offer comfort, delight, and insight. While the world of money, ambition and worldly cares recedes, matters of the heart and spirit come to matter more. This book is the ideal companion on that journey.’ This anthology was prepared for the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts as part of the Societal Challenge Theme on Ageing at Newcastle University with support from the Institute of Ageing and Health, Newcastle University.

The Thursday Murder Club

Richard Osman | Fiction

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Pure escapism

The Guardian

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?

Categories
Book Club World Refugee Day

Book Club: World Refugee Day

Monday 20th June 2022

By Connor Richardson with Recommendations from the Lit and Phil.

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi | Graphic Novel

In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

“Delectable. . . Dances with drama and insouciant wit.”

New York Times

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

Exit West

Mohsin Hamid | Fiction

In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet–sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors–doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through. . . .

“Moving, audacious, and indelibly human.”

Entertainment Weekly

Exit West follows these remarkable characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.

The day war came

Nicola Davies | Children’s

Imagine if, on an ordinary day, war came. Imagine it turned your town to rubble. Imagine going on a long and difficult journey – all alone. Imagine finding no welcome at the end of it. Then imagine a child who gives you something small but very, very precious…

There are few modern children’s books that make you cry. This is one of them.

The Times

When the government refused to allow 3000 child refugees to enter this country in 2016, Nicola Davies was so angry she wrote a poem. It started a campaign for which artists contributed drawings of chairs, symbolising a seat in a classroom, education, kindness, the hope of a future. The poem has become this book, movingly illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, which should prove a powerful aid for explaining the ongoing refugee crisis to younger readers.

We are displaced

Malala Yousafzai| Memoir

Nobel Peace Prize winner and bestselling author Malala Yousafzai introduces some of the faces behind the statistics and news stories we read or hear every day about the millions of people displaced worldwide.

A stirring and timely book.

The New York Times

Malala’s experiences visiting refugee camps caused her to reconsider her own displacement – first as an Internally Displaced Person when she was a young child in Pakistan, and then as an international activist who could travel anywhere in the world, except to the home she loved. In We Are Displaced, which is part memoir, part communal storytelling, Malala not only explores her own story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her various journeys – girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they’ve ever known.

In a time of immigration crises, war and border conflicts, We Are Displaced is an important reminder from one of the world’s most prominent young activists that every single one of the 68.5 million currently displaced is a person – often a young person – with hopes and dreams, and that everyone deserves universal human rights and a safe home.