Ciara Thomas Email & Phone Number

Helston, Gb

Work placement with the Public Health team.

During my Professional Training Year I was part of a research team studying the involvement of young people in health research and the development of an intervention programme on healthy relationships. I transcribed focus groups’ audio recordings, conducted qualitative data analysis and organised meetings. I attended involvement sessions for various research projects on a wide range of topics, including health inequalities, patient safety, medicine management for older people, exercise during pregnancy and precision medicine. These meetings about peoples’ experiences with various Public Health issues, consolidated a wish to pursue a career in which I could have a role in improving health and quality of life. For my PTY project, I wrote a literature review on how young people and children are involved in health research, exploring the strategies employed and the models used to assess the involvement. My placement with the PPI team helped improve my critical appraisal skills, my confidence, and my ability to complete tasks to a high standard. I continue to have regular meetings with members of the research team to finalise and submit our papers for publication.

I completed a five week placement with a research team, analysing results from a survey of women about their experiences of exercise during pregnancy. I summarised feedback from stakeholders on the resources the team created for pregnant women as well as other administrative tasks. I used STATA to describe the cohort that responded to the survey and identify any trends between participant traits and factors like: attitudes, barriers and facilitators of exercises during pregnancy and where participants received their information etc. I created and presented my findings to the research team at the end of my placement. As a result of my work and my understanding of the project findings so far, I was invited to the Moving Through Motherhood Planning Event to shadow meetings and provide my presentation to update other members of the research team. I am a co-author of the paper: Moving through Motherhood: Involving the Public in Research to Inform Physical Activity Promotion throughout Pregnancy and Beyond, which was published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on 23.04.21.

Master'S Degree, Master Of Public Health, Distinction

Bachelor Of Science With Honours, Medical Science (Health Research) With Professional Training Year, First Class