UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health Helen Barratt Academic Clinical Fellow & StR in Public Health Health Care Evaluation Group, UCL

Research Groups Clinical Epidemiology –Prof Harry Hemingway Central and Eastern Europe Research –Prof Martin Bobak Health and Social Surveys Research (ELSA and HSE) –Dr Jenny Mindell Health Care Evaluation –Prof Rosalind Raine MRC National Survey of Health and Development –Prof Di Kuh Psychobiology –Prof Andrew Steptoe Whitehall II Study –Prof Sir Michael Marmot

Health Care Evaluation Group (HCEG) Examining the quality of health care –Including methodological aspects of evaluation Main areas of interest : –(i) health care inequalities –(ii) health care evaluation –(iii) clinical decision making in areas of uncertainty. Multidisciplinary group

Recent Trainee Projects Implications of the Gatekeeper role of the GP for equity of access to secondary care in the NHS (Dulcie McBride) Cohort study - referrals for PMB, hip pain and dyspepsia More deprived patients with hip pain and dyspepsia (< 55) less likely to be referred No social gradient for PMB → Inequalities most likely in absence of explicit guidance and potentially life-threatening condition Paper under review with BMJ

Recent Trainee Projects Non-clinical critical care transfers (Helen Barratt) Some ITUs transfer 1/10 patients to another unit because of a lack of beds, others transfer none –Why does this happen? What impact does it have? PhD proposal submitted to Wellcome Trust + NIHR Quantitative analysis of ICNARC data plus staff interviews Supplementary paper in preparation Also time + support to write up MSc project

Recent Trainee Projects Tackling healthcare inequalities in bowel cancer screening Disadvantaged patients have worse survival than affluent patients Across England, screening uptake falls with increasing deprivation Project aim: to devise interventions to reduce the socioeconomic gradient in screening uptake, to improve survival in all SE groups Socioeconomic inequalities in chlamydia screening and disease in young people (Jessica Sheringham) National evaluation of equity of uptake of screening Methodological research into development of appropriate indicators of deprivation amongst young adults Chlamydia positivity by deprivation quintile

Recent Trainee Projects Health Survey for England (Amina Aitsi-Selmi) 2% of Bangladeshi women smoke 18% chew tobacco, but 36% have cotinine levels indicating personal use. Why? –Published in J Public Health Impact of different thresholds for the elderly on prevalence of anaemia –Published in Age & Ageing National Diet and Nutrition Survey (Ayesha Ali) What factors affect parents’ willingness to allow blood samples to be taken from their children for research? –Paper submitted to JECH

What will you get out of a placement? High quality publishable work Teaching experience Transferable skills Different slant on the world of public health FPH Competency Framework – Area 9

What do you need? Adequate time to undertake placement Established project (or at least an idea!) –Colorectal cancer screening data –Systematic review: inequalities in use of secondary care Commitment and desire to see project through Supervisor you can work with Environment where you feel supported Self-motivation

Contact Details Placement opportunities with HCEG: –Prof Rosalind Raine Other opportunities with UCL Dept Epi & PH –Dr Jenny Mindell Trainee perspective: –Helen Barratt