Understanding Health: Raising public awareness of concussion in sport and practice

University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) and Bournemouth University (BU) experts recently shared their knowledge on concussion in sport and practice, at the latest in a series of health events designed to shed light on different aspects of health.

Dr Osman Ahmed, Senior Physiotherapist at UHD and Dr Keith Parry, Head of Department of Sport and Event Management at BU, discussed the impact their work is having on creating safe sports environments at the Understanding Concussion in Sport and Practice event.

Dr Keith Parry spoke about changes in concussion awareness and understanding in sport and the introduction of guidance that is designed to keep players safe, and Dr Osman Ahmed spoke about different concussion recognition tools used by medical professionals and some of the challenges of recognising concussion in certain groups of people. Recent research has found that athletes with visual impairments are at a higher risk for concussion injuries than athletes with other impairment types and non-disabled athletes. Dr Osman Ahmed spoke about how the concussion symptoms of visually impaired athletes can be more challenging to identify as identifying visual clues do not apply i.e., blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and visual fatigue. 

You can watch the talk by visiting our UHD health talk library.

Humorous social media campaign helps promote women's pelvic floor health

An injection of humour can help stimulate interest and engagement with taboo women’s health topics, a new study suggests.  

Over a three-month period, researchers tracked engagement of a social media campaign which used humorous nudges to encourage women to carry out pelvic floor training exercises in the lead up to Christmas. 

The Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) study was led by Rosie Harper, a PhD researcher at Bournemouth University and pelvic health physiotherapist at University Hospitals Dorset; the social media content was created by comedian and women’s health physiotherapist, Elaine Miller.

Rosie Harper 

Elaine Miller 

The results have been published in the journal Health Expectations.. 

“Lots of women forget to complete prescribed pelvic floor exercises,” Rosie said. “Adopting and adhering to new exercises is very hard to do and requires behaviour change.” she added.

This led to Rosie and the research team to explore the potential of popular social media platforms to carry public health messages in a more light-hearted way. 

The study focussed on an Instagram campaign run by co-author Elaine Miller called ‘#DryByChristmas’. Elaine posted humorous visual content daily for three months for the campaign, which aimed to help women improve their continence levels through pelvic floor muscle training. She tailored style of the content based on feedback from her clinics and from her comedy shows.

Analysis of how well the posts performed showed that engagement with the account the nudges were posted from – @gusset_grippers – increased by twelve percent over the campaign. The posts were seen by over 22 thousand users, received 9700 likes and nearly 900 comments. 

96 percent of those who engaged with the post were women, the highest proportion of whom were aged between 35 and 44 which is one of the key groups targeted by the campaign.  

The most popular nudges were based on social norms to encourage or discourage particular behaviours.

“Posts that speak to the shared female experience promoted engagement. These posts highlighted that symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, such as urinary incontinence, are common and that people shouldn’t feel alone with the condition,” Rosie explained. 

“Humour is a persuasive behavioural technique. Elaine’s work suggests if you can make someone laugh, they are more likely to listen,” she added. 

The insights generated from this study have been used to co-design a digital intervention in on ongoing clinical trial at Poole Hospital. The trial will explore whether digital pelvic floor muscle training nudges from a mobile app can be used in maternity pathways to support women with pelvic floor muscle training.

“Some of the nudges build on an in-joke that no-one can see when you’re doing your pelvic floor exercises so you can do them at the bus stop or hospital waiting area.

“If used appropriate humour could be used to reframe how people experience their condition and how they can help themselves,” Rosie concluded.

New fleet of iPads for patients recovering from strokes, all raised in memory of missed mum

In April, James Keith from Bournemouth unveiled a flock of iPads and rehabilitation technology on Royal Bournemouth Hospital’s stroke ward in honour of his late mum, Beverley.

The iPads funded through James’ generous donations will help families connect via FaceTime with their loved ones receiving care on the stroke ward. They also come equipped with specialised rehabilitation apps, games and audiobooks to help patients feel less isolated during their recovery process.

Strokes can cause weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, and can result in problems with coordination, dexterity and balance. So, each device is attached to individual carts for easy transportation, rotation and adjustment for all users.

They also all carry a tribute to Beverley in the form a blue sticker reading: ‘With love, from Bev.’

James said: “It felt a little overwhelming at first but it was amazing to finally see the real benefits and difference the pieces of technology will have on future patients.

“The plan was always to help combat patient loneliness, and after speaking with the ward, we decided to use the funds I raised on some kitted-out iPads,”

“Family members who may not be able to be there in person can now access important information sharing, watch and encourage loved ones as they have their physical rehabilitation sessions. Or at the very least, family and friends can just be there as a friendly face to see and communicate with remotely which is especially important for patients needing hospital care for some time.”

Dr Louise Johnson, consultant therapist in stroke at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, gave a huge thanks to James for all his incredible fundraising for the Stroke Unit.

Louise said: “People with stroke can be in hospital for many weeks, and we know that activity - including social and cognitive activity - plays an important part in the recovery process.”

“These iPads will allow patients to remain connected with loved ones as well as provide opportunities to keep busy with using rehab apps, games and audiobooks.

“We are so grateful to James for raising the funds to allow every patient on the Stroke Unit to access these resources.”

Beverley Keith suffered a stroke in November 2020 and spent the next 62 days on Poole Hospital’s stroke rehabilitation ward. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, her time with family was extremely restricted, and she spent 55 days on her own in hospital.

The family utilised FaceTime to connect with Beverley at the time. Sadly, she passed away in January 2021.

In 2022, James fundraised for the stroke rehabilitation ward through his ‘Five4FiftyFive’ challenge in which he ran five kilometres every day for 55 days. The challenge paid tribute to Beverley and her experiences over the 55 days she spent in hospital alone.

With the help of supporters and the local community, James raised a phenomenal £15,100 and it’s fantastic to see every penny raised, spent wisely on items like this that make a real difference to patients that are above and beyond NHS funds.

New partnership delivering solar energy for Poole Hospital

As part of UHD’s transition to net zero, Aztec Solar Energy has become a Centrica Business Solutions energy partner and will complete its first solar photovoltaic (PV) design and installation project at Poole Hospital. 

The project involves five interconnected roofs on one building and will have 470 PV panels, five SolarEdge inverters and 261 optimisers.  Estimates show that it will generate circa 200,000 kWh annually to save circa 50 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Aztec Solar will connect, commission and test the new solar PV system over just two days after installing the panels, inverters and other equipment over the preceding weeks. 

Stuart Lane, UHD's sustainability and carbon manager, said:

“We are delighted to announce successful project completions with Centrica Business Solutions and Aztec, overcoming site constraints and height access challenges. 

“We are implementing a new roof-mounted photovoltaic system to advance our commitment towards achieving net zero carbon targets.

"Upon completion, this installation is projected to generate circa 200,000 kWh of power or approximately 5% of Poole Hospital’s power demand and offset approximately 50 tonnes of CO2 a year.

“The solar panel arrays are situated atop the Phillip Arnold blocks and the Dorset Cancer Centre.

"This partnership underscores our commitment to embrace solar energy as we decarbonise our estate - enhancing healthcare facilities and services for our community.”

Phil Bryant, head of public sector sales for Centrica Business Solutions said:

“Aztec Solar is an excellent addition to our energy partner programme and given their experience in the health sector and their expertise in installing solar PV systems on commercial buildings, they were the ideal company to partner with for the delivery of the project at Poole Hospital.

“We’re seeing an uptick in demand from public sector and commercial organisations, looking to take advantage of the space above their heads for solar schemes.

"This provides cost certainty and a source of green power, supporting long-term sustainability ambitions.”

Commenting on the project Chris Cowling, commercial director at Aztec Solar said:

“Becoming a Centrica Business Solutions energy partner is an important step in our business’ growth in designing and delivering commercial solar PV installations. 

"Poole Hospital is one of many healthcare buildings that we have provided solutions for, so we understand how important it is to work closely with Centrica Business Solutions to minimise the effects of our installation and the electrical shutdown on patient wellbeing and medical equipment.”

In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, UHD is committed to embedding sustainability across its organisation and with partners, leading by example in its sector and improving the health and wellbeing of the communities it serves.