Tag: Maternity research

Involving women to design and develop research into early-onset pre-eclampsia

This entry is part [part not set] of 0 in the series Case studies

In conversation with Olive Adams, Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Midwife working with Professor Christoph Lees and the research team based at the Centre for fetal care at Imperial Healthcare Trust and Women’s Health Research Centre at Imperial College London.

How would you describe your role as a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Midwife? 

My role as PPI midwife was specifically developed to ensure high quality public involvement activity was undertaken across all of Professor Lees upcoming projects within the Women’s Health Research Centre, including enabling involvement at the very  earliest stage of each study.

What we learnt developing MatImms – a maternal immunisation smartphone app

In conversation with: Dr. Beth Holder, Lecturer in Maternal and Fetal Health Working within the Institute of Reproductive Biology, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London.

What is the MatImms app?

The MatImms app is a free educational smartphone app, which is aimed primarily at pregnant women. The objective of the app is to provide reliable information about vaccinations in pregnancy. This includes background on the immune system and how vaccines work, as well as what vaccines are available and how women can get them. We also included a calendar function, where women can put a vaccine reminder into their phone.

Public involvement in prematurity research at Imperial Women’s Health Research Centre

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series PPI Awards: Round 4 ReportsThis entry is part [part not set] of 0 in the series Case studies

In conversation with: Lynne Sykes, Clinical Lecturer; Rachel Akers, Senior Research Midwife; and Malko Adan, Senior Research Midwife

Working within: Prematurity Research, Women’s Health Research Centre at Imperial Institute of Reproductive & Developmental Biology

What did you do?

We held face-to-face meetings with patients who took part in our preterm research project meetings to garner acceptability and opinions for new research techniques. We chose this method because it allowed our patients to share their experiences with others and catch up with the research team, who they saw for a large amount of time during their pregnancy.

Involving women in the design of maternal cardiovascular research

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series PPI Awards: Round 4 ReportsThis entry is part [part not set] of 0 in the series Case studies

In conversation with: Olive Adams, Research Midwife

Working within: Centre for Fetal Care (NIHR Imperial BRC Theme: Maternity Cardiovascular)

What did you do?

Our research department, the Centre for Fetal Care, undertakes studies on maternal cardiovascular health and other conditions in pregnancy at Imperial and with European collaborators.

We formed a group of women who were either affected by conditions addressed in our research or who were in the pre-conception period (the weeks or months when a woman or couple decides to have a child).