Dr M Panagioti, Dr P Gooding, Prof Chris Armitage, Dr Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Background: One in four older people in the UK have multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure. In addition to being physical frail, older people with multimorbidity experience poor mental health such as depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviours (suicidality). The newly introduced NICE guidelines for multimorbidity emphasise the need to meet the mental health needs of this population. Suicidality in particular is a serious but under-researched threat to the safety of older people with multimorbidity. There is very little research on how best to support people with multimorbidity to become resilient to suicidality. To improve patient safety, which is a major national healthcare priority, we need to understand how to build resilience to suicidality in this population.
Overarching objectives: To establish which factors underpin and improve resilience to suicidality in older people with multi-morbidity and to develop psychological interventions which both nurture and boost resilience in this population.
Research questions: 1. What are the factors which underlie resilience to suicidality in older people with multi-morbidity? 2. Can resilience to suicidal thoughts, plans and acts be developed and amplified in this population using psychological therapeutic techniques?
Methods: A service-user reference group will be formed at the outset of this PhD and will feed into the research process with support from PRIMER. All studies will analyse existing data or will recruit people aged over 65 years with multimorbidity and recent experiences of suicidality.
Study 1 will include a systematic review and a re-analysis of a large dataset (CLASSIC longitudinal cohort of 4,000 older people with multimorbidity) to identify sources of resilience in older people with multimorbidity – the findings will inform the following 2 studies.
Study 2 will use the novel longitudinal qualitative study design to address the first research question. It is anticipated that the topic guide will explore triggers for suicidal thoughts and plans and factors which negated those thoughts and plans.
Study 3 addresses the second research question and will develop a set of brief psychological techniques to boost psychological resilience in older people with physical multi-morbidity. We anticipate being able to devise techniques, such as Broad Minded Affective Coping which seeks to use all senses in boosting positive affect via intensive recall of positive memories, and "if-then" planning to troubleshoot times of greatest physical and psychological challenges. These techniques will be evaluated using a multiple baseline case-series design with two groups of participants. The treatment group will receive our new bespoke intervention. The control group will practice relaxation techniques.
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/maria.panagioti.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/Patricia.A.Gooding.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/chris.armitage.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/sudeh-cheraghisohi(5eaa37de-f328-4f2f-bbbe-325e99d476ea).html
Funding Notes
This project is to be funded under the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. If you are interested in this project, please make direct contact with the Principal Supervisor to arrange to discuss the project further as soon as possible. You MUST also submit an online application form - full details on how to apply can be found on the MRC DTP website www.manchester.ac.uk/mrcdtpstudentships
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.
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