Growing up in a Caribbean family that had experienced various traumas and challenges, I had some awareness of how mental illness impacted myself and my relatives. However, it wasn’t until I attended a masterclass last year on Black mental health hosted by BAME in Psychiatry & Psychology and the Centre of Pan African Thought that I realised the nuanced challenges faced by members of the Black community.
IGHI is home to a team of staff who are skilled and passionate about their roles. Our talented people are the reason we’re able to tackle some of the most pressing global health challenges through cutting-edge innovation.
Health and care organisations have historically lagged behind those in other industries in making the most of digital technologies and data solutions. Yet the rapid onset and escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic has essentially forced organisations to embrace these tools to quickly adapt to new ways of working and delivering their services.
This overhaul of industry norms has led to a number of key questions: how widespread has this adoption been? Which tools and technologies have been implemented, and how have these solutions affected staff productivity and service delivery? What will ‘stick’ after the pandemic ends and we return to some semblance of pre-COVID normality?
As we approach Christmas and the end of a challenging year, it’s a time to reflect on our progress and the changes we’d like to see.
We caught up with some of our team members to find out what’s on their wishlist this Christmas for transforming healthcare.
People with dementia are some of the most vulnerable, most isolated, and least able to adapt. COVID-19 has therefore made our work with Imperial College’s UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre all the more urgent.
The Centre develops technologies for a smart ‘Healthy Home environment‘, supported by remote clinical monitoring, to improve the lives of people affected by dementia and further our understanding of this common disease.
The technology aims to make an impact in a number of ways, including early identification of infection, preventing falls, understanding the relationship between sleep and dementia symptoms, and predicting and managing agitation and difficult behaviours.
The majority of people who die every year would prefer to die at home, yet only about half achieve this.
This is often due to not being able to manage symptoms at the end of life. People often have to wait longer than what feels acceptable to them for district nurses to come and administer injections. When this happens, symptoms can escalate, carers and patients can become distressed and families lose control of the situation.
By Dr Alberto Nunez Elvira, Research Associate, Centre for Health Policy, IGHI
Having a background in economics, I have always cared about improving resource allocation, accountability and making a positive impact in policymaking. Working in health economics helps me to fulfil these goals and improve decision-making in health policy from different standpoints.
As one of the most common cancers, 1 out of every 7 women in the UK will face a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.
For young men who identify as black and minority ethnic (BME), mental health is not always an easy topic to discuss. Many feel restricted by fear, stigma and barriers inside and outside of the communities they are part of. For some, the available support isn’t appropriate for their needs.
World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to reflect on what needs to change, but also to celebrate the people who are working to make sure positive change happens. Like Dr Lindsay Dewa, IGHI Research Fellow and mental health expert.
We caught up with Lindsay to find out about her mental health research, her path into academia, and why she’s excited about what the future might hold.