Browsing by Person "Giatsi Clausen, Maria"

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Asynchronous video messaging promotes family involvement and mitigates separation in neonatal care
(BMJ, 2020-09-14) Kirolos, Sandy; Sutcliffe, Lynsey; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Abernethy, Carolyn; Shanmugalingam, Shanthi; Bauwens, Nicole; Orme, Judith; Thomson, Kirsty; Grattan, Rosemary; Patel, Neil
Objective: To evaluate the parent and staff experience of a secure video messaging service as a component of neonatal care. Design: Multicentre evaluation incorporating quantitative and qualitative items. Setting: Level II and level III UK neonatal units. Population: Families of neonatal inpatients and neonatal staff. Intervention: Use of a secure, cloud-based asynchronous video messaging service to send short messages from neonatal staff to families. Evaluation undertaken July–November 2019. Main outcome measures: Parental experience, including anxiety, involvement in care, relationships between parents and staff, and breastmilk expression. Results: In pre-implementation surveys (n=41), families reported high levels of stress and anxiety and were receptive to use of the service. In post-implementation surveys (n=42), 88% perceived a benefit of the service on their neonatal experience. Families rated a positive impact of the service on anxiety, sleep, family involvement and relationships with staff. Qualitative responses indicated enhanced emotional closeness, increased involvement in care and a positive effect on breastmilk expression. Seventy-seven post-implementation staff surveys were also collected. Staff rated the service as easy to use, with minimal impact on workload. Seventy-one percent (n=55) felt the service had a positive impact on relationships with families. Staff identified the need to manage parental expectations in relation to the number of videos that could be sent. Conclusions: Asynchronous video messaging improves parental experience, emotional closeness to their baby and builds supportive relationships between families and staff. Asynchronous video supports models of family integrated care and can mitigate family separation, which could be particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complex interventions in healthcare: the importance of considering early theoretical development, implementation and design issues
(2015-02) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; McCormack, Brendan
Background: The Medical Research Council's Framework (2010) guidelines for the evaluation of complex interventions stresses the importance of early theoretical development and the need to link interventions with implementation and design issues. It highlights how all the stages of developing, evaluating, piloting, reporting and implementing a complex intervention, are equally important. Aims: To explore implementation science principles and explore teething issues around developing and implementing complex interventions; and, to explore how early, theoretical development and modeling approaches can address for these issues. Method: A modeling approach to developing interventions is considered to provide a guide to the active ingredients, appropriate measures, best intervention points and techniques, which can be then tested quantitatively in trials. Modeling a complex intervention, prior to a full scale evaluation, can provide important information about the design of both the intervention and its evaluation. It is therefore important to develop a theoretical understanding of the likely process of change, by including from an early point onwards those targeted by the intervention (service users). A gap continues to exist between what is known to be effective and what is actually delivered in the usual course of healthcare. A participatory action research (PAR) approach is presented in this paper as, particularly, appropriate for use in healthcare research, as it recognizes the importance of relationships, feedback loops and the ability of participants to self-organize (Leykum at al, 2009). Results: A focus on trials often leads to researchers neglecting adequate development or proper consideration of the practical issues of implementation, leading to weaker interventions, that are harder to evaluate or less likely to be implemented (MRC, 2010). Implementation Science Research principles similarly support this approach. Issues highlighted in the literature in relation to developing complex interventions, such as difficulty of standardizing the design and delivery of those, point to the importance of early stages of developing and modeling interventions. Involvement of a team of key individuals, particularly those with a fundamental knowledge of the context and need for improvement, enables a 'joint' leadership structure, which lead to more effective implementation and, therefore, more effective interventions (Leykum at al, 2009). Examples will be provided from a study on a theoretical modeling approach to the development of education resources for the self-management of fatigue in clients with rheumatoid arthritis. Limitations: Researchers need to be aware of the potential pitfalls when undertaking participatory action research. More specifically they have to be comfortable with the fact that this entails much more than a consultation exercise, and it therefore requires a shift towards actual, active involvement of participants in the research process. Conclusion: When developing complex interventions, such as educational resources for the self-management of symptoms in chronic conditions, researchers should acknowledge the importance of gaining a theoretical understanding of the likely process of change, as well as the importance of early exploration of issues which might forecast implementation problems.
Considering issues of power, vulnerability, validity and reliability of research when involving children and young people as research participants
(2015-06) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Scandrett, Eurig; Muir, Andrew
Research with children is viewed often as, potentially, different from research with adults, mainly, because of adult perceptions of children and children's position in adult society, or because children are viewed to be different. Those that argue adapted research techniques with children, also emphasize the competence of children. There however lies also a potential controversy and a question on why, if children are indeed competent social actors, there is a need to use 'child-friendly' methods to communicate with them. This paper presents current debates on the topic, and a key argument that research with children is influenced by the way in which researchers perceive the status of children; this then influences the choice of methods. Views on whether or not children are indistinguishable from adults, or whether or not adults can be full participants of children' worlds, will be presented and discussed alongside ethics and power differentials. The impact of such views as well as other issues on methodological choices will be also discussed. These other issues may include assumptions about childhood; extent to which research with children is valid and reliable, use of language and researcher's interpretation; vulnerability; selection of research settings. Advantages and disadvantages of using a variety of adapted methods (e.g. visual methods) to involve children in research are also discussed. In relation to power and equality in the research process, this paper discusses sources of power and to what extent these are direct (i.e. between individuals) or indirect- (result of socially constructed power).
Emerging tools in qualitative research methods : asynchronous online discussion and the use of WebCT
(2006) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan
The use of the Internet as a medium for conducting research is not a new concept and certainly one that is constantly evolving. The online environment represents numerous opportunities for methodological innovations. Online discussions are a permutation- of the traditional focus groups, which have been closely associated to qualitative research and the production of rich, textual data relating to the participants' lives and experiences.
How pragmatism informed and provided the philosophical and epistemological underpinning for a PhD study of mixed methodology in the field of occupational therapy
(2010-07) Giatsi Clausen, Maria
Life and Labour: Contested Occupation and Meaningful Alienation [Edited book]
(Bristol University Press, 2026-01-01) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Scandrett, Eurig; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Scandrett, Eurig
What makes human activity meaningful? This book explores how social, economic and political forces have shaped the meaning of ‘occupation’ throughout history. Tracing the shift from industrial capitalism’s division of ‘work’ and ‘life,’ it analyses how movements for gender equality, labour rights, decolonization and disability activism have contested what is considered meaningful. From the trade union fight for shorter hours to the feminist reimagining of domestic labour, the book examines the struggles over who defines occupation and for whose benefit. With case studies by activist scholars, this provocative book reveals how conflicts are central to shaping modern social relations.
Methodological reflections on the use of asynchronous online focus groups in health research
(2012) Williams, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Robertson, Ann; Peacock, Susi; McPherson, Kerri
The internet is increasingly used as a tool in qualitative research. In particular, asynchronous online focus groups are used when factors such as cost, time or access to participants can make conducting face-to-face research difficult. In this article we consider key methodological issues involved in using asynchronous online focus groups to explore experiences of health and illness. The written nature of internet communication, the lack of physical presence and the asynchronous, longitudinal aspects enable participants who might not normally contribute to research studies to reflect on their personal stories before disclosing them to the researcher. Implications for study design, recruitment strategies and ethics should be considered when deciding whether to use this method.
Occupational Therapists' Perceptions Of Preterm Children's Academic Difficulties In The Early Years Of Mainstream Schooling
(Queen Margaret University, 2011) Giatsi Clausen, Maria
Preterm infants born before 37 weeks of gestation constitute up to 10% of all births, and can display development that, frequently, differs from those of full- term infants. Studies indicate that school children born preterm present with a, generally, higher incidence of performing poorly academically. The present study investigated the perceptions of paediatric OTs regarding the type of difficulties with which children born preterm present, and explored the role of OT. In the first, quantitative part of this study, paediatric OTs completed a postal questionnaire (N=353). The second, qualitative part, used asynchronous, online discussions (N=13), by utilising the virtual environment of WebCT, to further explore the topic. The survey was also designed to capture: • information on the extent of this paediatric population within OT services, and how identifiable and accessible it is • OT practices when working with these children • what informs therapists’ clinical decision making. The discussion groups provided a forum for OTs’ “reflexive comment” on the issues emerging from the questionnaire analysis. Despite sensorimotor and attentional difficulties reaching the highest frequencies, the findings revealed rather a combination of problems in most developmental domains. Writing emerged as the predominant problematic area within the school curriculum. A “persistence” of sensorimotor difficulties throughout the preschool years also emerged. More frequent and/or severity difficulties, more medical issues, a higher co morbidity of SLD with other conditions for the preterm group, were other findings. These insights could lead to a further exploration of the need for differentiating assessment and treatment practices for this group. Occupational therapy was highlighted as particularly “advantageous” for this population due to a number of OTspecific contributions e.g. ability to “detect “subtle” difficulties at a young age. The implications of a “shift” of more OTs into the area of early intervention, are discussed. The findings of the study constitute tacit, professional knowledge, and they are based on subjective clinicians’ views. They could, however, help frame hypotheses to be further explored verified with the use of empirical research. KEYWORDS: Prematurity; Specific Learning Difficulties; Early Intervention; Paediatric Occupational Therapy; School; Clinical Decision Making; Assessment; Intervention; Survey; WebCT; Asynchronous Online Discussions
Occupational therapists' perceptions of preterm children's academic difficulties in the early years of mainstream schooling
(2012) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan
Occupational therapists' perceptions on the academic difficulties preterm children present with in their first years of mainstream schooling
(2007) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan
Occupational therapy and complexity: defining and describing practice
(Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 2018) Pentland, Duncan; Kantartzis, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Witemyre, Kristi
In 2016, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (then the College of Occupational Therapists), the professional body for occupational therapists in the United Kingdom, commissioned a review of the document Occupational therapy defined as a complex intervention developed on their behalf by Jennifer Creek and published in 2003. This document had proved useful in describing occupational therapy within education, practice and research, but with considerable changes occurring in these areas as well as in the wider context over the intervening years, a review was considered necessary. Following a call for proposals, a research team from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, was appointed to carry out this review. While initially a revision to Creek’s 2003 publication was the aim of this work, a new, contemporary view of occupational therapy emerged. This new publication describes the process and outcomes of occupational therapy, and it is hoped that it will provide useful guidance for all working within and in partnership with occupational therapy, both today and for some years to come.
Older adults experiences of learning to use tablet computers: A mixed methods study
(Frontiers, 2018-09-03) Vaportzis, Eleftheria; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Gow, Alan J.; Van Der Veer, Gerrit C.
Background: We wanted to understand older adults’ experiences of learning how to use a tablet computer in the context of an intervention trial, including what they found helpful or unhelpful about the tablet training, to guide future intervention studies.
Older Adults Perceptions of Technology and Barriers to Interacting with Tablet Computers: A Focus Group Study
(Frontiers, 2017-10-04) Vaportzis, Eleftheria; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Gow, Alan J.
Background: New technologies provide opportunities for the delivery of broad, flexible interventions with older adults. Focus groups were conducted to: (1) understand older adults' familiarity with, and barriers to, interacting with new technologies and tablets; and (2) utilize user-engagement in refining an intervention protocol. Methods: Eighteen older adults (65-76 years old; 83.3% female) who were novice tablet users participated in discussions about their perceptions of and barriers to interacting with tablets. We conducted three separate focus groups and used a generic qualitative design applying thematic analysis to analyse the data. The focus groups explored attitudes toward tablets and technology in general. We also explored the perceived advantages and disadvantages of using tablets, familiarity with, and barriers to interacting with tablets. In two of the focus groups, participants had previous computing experience (e.g., desktop), while in the other, participants had no previous computing experience. None of the participants had any previous experience with tablet computers. Results: The themes that emerged were related to barriers (i.e., lack of instructions and guidance, lack of knowledge and confidence, health-related barriers, cost); disadvantages and concerns (i.e., too much and too complex technology, feelings of inadequacy, and comparison with younger generations, lack of social interaction and communication, negative features of tablets); advantages (i.e., positive features of tablets, accessing information, willingness to adopt technology); and skepticism about using tablets and technology in general. After brief exposure to tablets, participants emphasized the likelihood of using a tablet in the future. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that most of our participants were eager to adopt new technology and willing to learn using a tablet. However, they voiced apprehension about lack of, or lack of clarity in, instructions and support. Understanding older adults' perceptions of technology is important to assist with introducing it to this population and maximize the potential of technology to facilitate independent living.
Preterm children's academic difficulties in the early years on mainstream schooling
(2014-04) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Gill, Jan
Introduction: Preterm infants born before 37 weeks of gestation constitute up to 10% of all births, and can display development that, frequently, differs from those of full- term infants. Studies indicate that school children born preterm present with a, generally, higher incidence of performing poorly academically. Purpose: This PhD study investigated the perceptions of paediatric OTs regarding the type of difficulties with which children born preterm present, and explored the emerging role of occupational therapy in this area. Method: In the first, quantitative part of this study, paediatric OTs completed a postal questionnaire (N=353). The second, qualitative part, used asynchronous, online discussions (N=13), by utilising the virtual learning environment of WebCT, to further explore the topic. Research questions: The survey was also designed to capture: - information on the extent of this paediatric population within OT services, and how identifiable and accessible it is - OT practices when working with these children including detecting early risk-, amelioration on identified sensorimotor difficulties and prevention of future problems interfering with the main stream school curriculum - what informs therapists' clinical decision making. The discussion groups provided a forum for OTs' reflexive comment- on the issues emerging from the questionnaire analysis. Findings: Despite sensorimotor and attentional difficulties reaching the highest frequencies, the findings revealed rather a combination of problems in most developmental domains. Writing emerged as the predominant problematic area within the school curriculum. A persistence- of sensorimotor difficulties throughout the preschool years also emerged. More frequent and/or severity difficulties, more medical issues, a higher co morbidity of specific learning difficulties with other conditions for the preterm group, were other findings. Discussion: These insights could lead to a further exploration of the need for differentiating assessment and treatment practices for this group, and will be discussed in this presentation. Occupational therapy was highlighted as particularly advantageous- for this population due to a number of specific contributions e.g. ability to detect subtle- difficulties at a young age. The findings of the study constitute tacit, professional knowledge, and they are based on clinicians' views. This presentation will briefly discussed how this PhD study has informed current research at present, which investigates the effect of preterm birth on the school outcome of this specific paediatric group, with the use of longitudinal data. KEYWORDS: Prematurity; Specific Learning Difficulties; Early Intervention; Paediatric Occupational Therapy; School; Clinical Decision Making; Assessment; Intervention; Survey; WebCT; Asynchronous Online Discussions
Qualitative Research via Internet: Asynchronous Online Discussions and the Use of WebCT
(2009) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan
The appeal of pragmatism for research employing a mixed methodology
(2010) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan
The experience of conducting online focus groups
(2010) Williams, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Robertson, Ann; Peacock, Susi
The role of learning technologists in supporting e-research
(2009) Peacock, Susi; Robertson, Ann; Williams, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria
This article explores how the role of learning technologists, a professional group that has emerged during the last 15 to 20 years, may be diversifying to include supporting e-research. It contributes to the current debate about the emerging profession and the roles it should play in contemporary higher education. Previous studies have shown that, typically, the profession's role has focussed almost exclusively on curriculum development; traditionally, learning technologists work with students and tutors to enhance the learning environment with technology. This article presents two case studies of PhD research that used a standard e-learning tool, the virtual learning environment (VLE), to conduct focus groups online. The case studies demonstrate the expert role of the learning technologist in supporting researchers to make informed decisions about whether and how to use e-learning tools to conduct qualitative e-research. The learning technologist advised on the potential advantages and limitations of using the VLE for research and fostered collaborative, working relationships with the researchers, acquiring extensive background knowledge about their projects. This required the learning technologist to draw upon her own experience with research into e-learning and on her professional experience gained from supporting curriculum developments. It is suggested that many learning technologists could extend their roles, transferring their knowledge to include supporting e-research. A more inclusive model of the learning technologist's role in academia could help address the potential polarisation of the profession into researchers and practitioners.
Using a virtual learning environment as a research tool: online focus groups in WebCT
(2010-01-08) Peacock, Susi; Williams, Sarah; Robertson, Ann; Giatsi Clausen, Maria
Utilising out-of-hours primary care for assistance with cancer pain: a semi-structured interview study of patient and caregiver experiences
(Royal College of General Practitioners, 2015-11) Adam, R.; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Hall, S.; Murchie, P.
Background Pain is the most frequent complication of cancer and an important reason for out-of-hours (OOH) primary care contacts by patients with established cancer. Existing quantitative data give little insight into the reason for these contacts. Exploring such encounters of care could highlight ways to improve anticipatory cancer care and communication between daytime and OOH primary care services. Aim To explore the experiences, views, and opinions of patients and their caregivers who have used OOH primary care for help with managing cancer pain. Design and setting A semi-structured interview study with patients and caregivers who have utilised an OOH primary care service in Grampian, Scotland, because of pain related to cancer. Method Semi-structured interviews with 11 patients and four caregivers (n = 15), transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework analysis and, to a lesser extent, inductive thematic analysis. Results Six key themes emerged: making sense of pain and predicting its likely course; beliefs about analgesics; priority daytime access; the importance of continuity of care and communication between all involved; barriers and facilitators to seeking help in the OOH period; and satisfaction/dissatisfaction with OOH care. Three prominent sub-themes were: patient knowledge; the influence of a caregiver on decision-making; and the benefits of having a palliative care summary. Conclusion Effective daytime and anticipatory care can positively influence OOH care. Interventions that aid patients in understanding cancer pain, communicating about pain, utilising analgesics effectively, and seeking appropriate and timely help may improve cancer pain management.