research Archives - Patient Experience Research Centre

HOPE for Hand Osteoarthritis

7 January 2025

In conversation with Lidia Nigrelli, Research Assistant, Osteoarthritis Research Group working within the Centre for Inflammatory Disease

Lidia Nigrelli

What is your research project about and what stage are you at?

Hand osteoarthritis is a condition which can cause painful, swollen and stiff joints in the hands, it can affect the finger joints and thumb joints. Having hand osteoarthritis can make it harder for individuals to carry out everyday tasks. Hand osteoarthritis affects around 2 million people in the UK but there are currently no drugs that slow the progression of the disease or that target pain. Women are at a higher risk for developing hand osteoarthritis than men, and previous work has shown that factors like the menopause may play a role in how hand osteoarthritis develops in women.

Three key takeaways from our participation in the Research Engagement Network (REN) community roadshows

Maria Piggin

28 August 2024

In this blog post, Dr Kirsten Bell, Senior Research Fellow in Anthropology in the Patient Experience Research Centre (PERC), Imperial College London, shares reflections from PERC’s participation in the Integrated Care System North West London funded Research Engagement Network roadshows.

In early 2024, the Integrated Care System (ICS) North West London funded a collaboration led by NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Northwest London and the Community Voluntary Sector Organisations in the boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Brent and Hillingdon to host a series of roadshows at their community centres. The goal of the roadshows was to reach out to people in community settings to talk about research, in the hopes of raising awareness of – and interest in – research amongst a more diverse public.

How public involvement changed our research question exploring experiences of people with Long Covid

Naomi Asantewa-Sechereh

13 February 2024

In conversation with: Emily Cooper, Research Associate, Adam Lound, Research Physiotherapist, Patient Experience Research Centre, Imperial College London

What is your research project about and what stage are you at?

This research project is one part of the REal time Assessment of Community Transmission – Long Covid (REACT-LC) study. The project is a qualitative interview study exploring the different experiences of people with long lasting symptoms after having Covid-19. This study builds on our earlier pilot project, which showed how people experienced different symptoms and whether or not they described this as being ‘Long Covid’. The pilot study highlighted the value of recruiting participants from outside of online support groups, to help better understand the range of different people living with long lasting symptoms.

Dying Matters Week: Ensuring you and your loved ones are #InAGoodPlace at the end of life

Halle Johnson

4 May 2022

This week we are highlighting an important cause – Dying Matters Awareness Week. Dying Matters is a campaign run by Hospice UK that aims to get us talking more openly about death, dying and bereavement. The focus of this year’s awareness week is on what it means to be #InAGoodPlace when we die. To be in a good place at the end life involves having your physical, emotional, financial and spiritual needs met and getting the right care and support. We can only achieve this if we get people thinking about, and talking through, their wishes for end of life care.