Dr. Clara Belessiotis-Richards is an academic Psychiatrist working at University College London who is applying for funding for a PhD research project into normal pressure hydrocephalus.
She is interested in learning more about the early symptoms and emotional aspects of NPH. We think that symptoms like depression might be an early sign of NPH and might provide a window of opportunity to diagnose the condition earlier than we currently do. We’re also interested in exploring how these emotional aspects impact patients and their carers, and whether current treatment such as shunting helps with these.
Dr. Belessiotis-Richards would like the research to be relevant and useful for patients and their carers, which is why she is looking for involvement from approximately four people to form a steering group.
Who can take part:
- Persons with NPH or carers for someone with NPH
- Everyone is welcome but Dr. Belessiotis-Richards is particularly keen to hear from people who live outside of London, women, people whose first language isn’t English, and minority ethnic groups to make sure a broad range of opinions are represented
- Willing to respectfully listen to others’ views in meetings
- You don’t need any scientific background or training to take part
Role and responsibilities:
- Attending online meetings to discuss the project
- Providing a patient or carer perspective on the research questions during discussions
- Reading and providing verbal or written feedback on a draft of the research proposal and on a lay person summary of the project
Time commitment:
- Two online meetings of one hour each over the next nine months (one in approx. April 2022 and another in approx. September 2022 but exact dates are flexible)
- If the project is funded then Dr. Belessiotis-Richards hopes to continue working with the group during the three or four years of the study. Ideally she is looking for people who would be available for this period of time. However, you don’t need to commit to this longer duration now as funding has not yet been secured.
Remuneration:
- Your time at the two online meetings will be refunded at a rate of 25 GBP/hour/person (standard rate suggested by University College London)
To volunteer to take part or if you have any questions, please contact Dr. Clara Belessiotis-Richards (ST4 Old Age Psychiatry): c.belessiotis@ucl.ac.uk
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at firstcontact@shinecharity.org.uk and they can connect you with the health team.
