Health Psychology Research Group

This inter-professional group includes health psychologists, pharmacists and medical sociologists. We have strong links with the Centre for Behavioural Medicine at the School of Pharmacy in University College London (UCL), and have plans for collaborative research in 2017.

We are a new group, founded in November 2015 with "Get Started" funding from Cardiff Metropolitan University. We have already received further funding from Cwm Taf University Health Board (CTUHB) to complete a systematic review exploring the prescribing of medicines to people with health literacy. We have also recently secured funding for a PhD studentship in this field and are working with local practitioners on applications to explore how peoples' perceptions influence medications-taking behaviour and prescribing behaviours.

We also plan to seek funding to support further research with Professor Rob Horne's group at UCL, which will involve a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) to examine the use of Decision Support Software by GPs in Wales.

This research group looks at managing eating behaviour both in terms of everyday patterns of eating and also in relation to eating disorders. Our research has explored the ways in which people eat on a daily basis and the impact that may have on health, social and psychological outcomes. We have also conducted research to evaluate the management of eating disorders, both in Oxford and in Cardiff. Studies have been conducted in collaboration with clinicians working in the Adult Eating Disorder Service in Cardiff to explore the factors associated with the development and management of eating disorders.

This research group involves working with people who have experienced a spinal injury or an injury resulting from other complex trauma, in order to improve their health and wellbeing. We look at factors that influence the quality of life in people with spinal injuries and have developed a peer support group to enhance the quality of life and wellbeing in this group.

We have also obtained funding to research the ways in which military veterans with amputated limbs as a result of complex trauma can be encouraged to engage in more physical exercise thereby enhancing independence, health and wellbeing.

We look at how the workplace and personal factors relate to stress and wellbeing. We have conducted studies in both Spain and the UK including some cross-cultural comparisons between the data. Our research explores the psychometric properties of measures used to assess workplace factors, including conducting systematic reviews to analyse the use of measures in specific contexts and the predictive power of these measures. The group also analyses workplace and personal factors to identify the relationships between the variables and identity factors that predict workplace outcomes such as sickness absence, job performance and intention to quit. Interventions can then be designed to manipulate these factors and potentially improve outcomes for individuals and employers.

A study commissioned by Public Health Wales has recently been  accepted by the Welsh Government, and will soon be disseminated through a public health launch. The study explored the attitudes and behaviour of children and young people towards tobacco smoking and vaping. Findings indicated that smoking behaviour is more prevalent in areas of lower socioeconomic deprivation and that children and young people (who had previously never smoked) are experimenting and taking up vaping. The study also found that approximately 20% of parents smoke, which was associated with the uptake and ongoing smoking behaviour in the children and young people, particularly if the mother was the parental smoker.

Our research has also involved reviewing the access to and provision of psychological therapies in Wales for the Welsh Government. This resulted in the development of a report which was accepted by the Minister and the findings have informed the development of the Welsh Mental Health Strategy. Our research has also led to increased access to psychological therapy through the development of the 'Matrix' and resulted in increased training of primary mental health staff with Welsh Government funding.

Our research into alcohol dependence and misuse primarily evaluates behavioural change, for example, examining the addition of a psychological intervention to a home detoxification plan. However, our research has also changed clinical practice. Research funded by the Alcohol Education & Research Council (2000-2001) led to the development of the fast alcohol screening measure (FAST) test; a brief screening measure used to assess hazardous drinking. The FAST test is now recommended under NICE guidelines and is used in primary care settings worldwide.

Additional research commissioned by the Alcohol Education Research Council, the Welsh Assembly Government and Drinkaware looked at the effectiveness of social normative interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in young people. Further studies funded by the Welsh Government looked at mapping alcohol-related admissions to A&E departments, student drinking and alcohol-related beliefs. Our research has helped to develop several guides and reviews of care pathways and counselling for substance misuse services in Wales.