This week the #CBCIDH16 was a great way for me to learn more about how I can develop new ways to support NHS staff, network and share ideas about future healthcare change. I always find it so inspiring to be among driven people who are passionate about what they do. It drives me to want to do better, and gives me hope for the future. Another reason to #FindYourFlock!
The conference began waiting for @SusanMichie to get the @UCLBehaveChange party started -> See the full programme here
Keynote speakers were so inspiring, asking us all to review the way we design and develop interventions for healthcare. Such insight into innovation makes me want to champion more amazing ideas and people to make great things happen. Such talent in our field.
As the conference moved on, it became clearer and clearer to me that we need to think of new ways to support people and tune in to their own motivations for engaging with health interventions. In my own work, I started to think about how and why NHS staff would engage with an online intervention designed to help them. Would they misuse the very thing designed to support them? Do they want to be supported? Will they accept help and engage for the right reasons?
This video below aptly captures my own fears as to what could go wrong in designing healthcare interventions for those in need:
Also at the conference, we discussed how we might evidence and evaluate digital interventions to either be commercialised or developed further. This was done in a very ‘researchy’ way, and went very much against my Healthcare Leadership background. Don’t get me wrong, I really value research and evidence based approaches to change.
However, one of the sessions by SusanMichie focused upon ‘How to get digital intervention development taken seriously without RCTs is a scientific and political issue’ and this really grabbed my attention, as I believe that sometimes, if the evidence base is there…you just need to give it a go! This takes me back to my MSc in healthcare leadership, were we learnt how to turn visions into practice.
As I continue to attend the School for Health and Care Radicals, and the latest module ‘Making change happen’ I will be sharing these thoughts,learnings and ideas via #SHCR… Lets continue to work together and learn how we can really make behaviour change happen in the NHS…. together.
Check out this #SHCR module here:
Thank you to @UCLBehaveChange for a great conference. #CBCIDH16 has opened my eyes to the wonderful opportunities out there to implement change and improvement in health and social care, through digital technologies.
Thank you also to everyone who came to see my research poster, presented during this conference. Your feedback was extremely productive and helpful to my PhD project.
Until next time, be kind to yourselves, and each other.
Dr Sally Pezaro 