Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Psychological Medicine, Long-term conditions, Patient experience of care.
Sarah works as a PhD researcher in the Implementation Science and Mental Health Research Groups. Her research investigates the implementation of an integrated psychological medicine service in South West England to provide mental and physical health care in a hospital setting. She has experience of working on Clinical Trials across NHS and University settings.
Research shows that anxiety and depression are approximately three times more common in people attending hospital than in the general population. Sarah’s research aims to:
(1) Review the models available for integrated physical and psychological care and what influences their implementation
(2) Undertake an ethnography to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of implementing a model, in a hospital setting and focus on key influences on decision-making and action to implement and sustain a new way of working.
Investigating causes of depression in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and exploring links between depression and worse health outcomes, including relapse, in people with IBD. A joint project between the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital Gastroenterology department.
Principal Investigator – Professor Chris Dickens