
Enhancing Self Care
What do we mean by Enhancing Self-Care?
Self-care is what people do to care for themselves, their children, other family members and their communities. In relation to health care, it is all that people do to maintain health, prevent illness, seek treatment, manage symptoms and side effects, accomplish recovery and rehabilitation and manage the impact of chronic illness and/or disability.
What do we do?
Our aim is to support self-care and self-management in a variety of settings using a range of person-centred research approaches. Our qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research across the lifespan focuses on:
- interventions that aim to support self-care and self-management for individuals.
- ways in which health and social care professionals can support individuals to self-care or self-manage.
In this way, our research feeds into the wider University research theme of health and behaviour.
Additional to these programmes of work, staff collaborate within the Faculty, across the University and with a range of external partners.
Who are we?
A range of staff from the Faculty work within the Enhancing Self-care research theme:
- Associate professors Ashley Shepherd (Head of School), Carol Bugge (Deputy Associate Dean of Research)
- Senior lecturers Kathleen Stoddart, Karen Watchman (Co-research group lead) and David Fitzpatrick
- Lecturers (Lorraine Armstrong, Karen Berry, Hazel Hill, Anne Taylor, Alison Hackett, Kate Clark, Purva Abhyankar, Joyce Wilkinson, Louise Hoyle, and Carina Hibberd {Co-research group lead})
- Research Fellows (Melanie Dembinsky, Catherine Bradley, Heather Strachan and Eileen Calveley)
Research students
We have a number of PhD and Clinical Doctorate students currently working within the enhancing self-care research theme.
Projects
Promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy
This study investigates the feasibility and likelihood of success of a narrative and image-based intervention for smoking cessation in pregnant women. The intervention, informed by theories of health behaviour change, factors influencing
Talking health and housing
Funded by Innovate UK and in collaboration with Age Concern Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, Talking Mats Ltd and Wheatley Housing Group Limited, this study aims to conduct a feasibility study to co-design, implement, evaluate and deliver a visual, digital care
Impact of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on ambulance call-outs in Scotland
This CSO funded study is the first to determine whether increasing the price of cheap alcohol affects ambulance call-outs. Ambulance call-outs due to alcohol cost up to £52 million annually in
The findings will help the Scottish Government, who
Evaluation of family life story project
A life story can give a sense of identity and help to share memories, experiences and significant events. The compilation of a life story can be an empowering process leading to the individual
Funded by the RS MacDonald Charitable Trust and using pre- and post- testing, the University of Stirling are evaluating this project which supports families of people with Down's syndrome in
Reducing traffic-related trauma in Malawi
This MRC award: 'Reducing traffic-related trauma - A community-based prevention and first-response programme intervention for Malawi and beyond' enables the development of an