Recruitment for study into older adult e-therapies for mental health

matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Hi All,
I’m a Staffordian mature research student based at the University of Sheffield studying how we can make computer based mental health therapies more accessible to older adults. I worked for South Staffs NHS Mental Health trust for 5 years as a software developer and have experience of mental health issues first hand (I have something known as Pure-O ocd, feel free to look it up!). I decided I wanted to try and help further by implementing my ideas in research, so after some effort won a scholarship at Sheffield University. I’m presently trying to raise awareness of my studies through a presentational video (please feel free to share this with anyone you think would be interested)


I’m also looking to recruit for a study. I would love to hear from anyone on the forum over the age of 65 who is interested. Alternatively if you know someone over 65 who you think would be interested then please feel free to show them the flyer!

flyer: http://www.thaw.org.uk/studies/recruitment/Older-Adult-Problem-Solving-Software-study-A4.pdf

Best wishes,

Matthew
 
matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
interestingly I think I had another profile on here that I'd posted under but I can't seem to find it! I know we used to communicate here when I was on Stafford FM! :)
 
Glam

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
matteus said:
Hi All,
I’m a Staffordian mature research student based at the University of Sheffield studying how we can make computer based mental health therapies more accessible to older adults. I worked for South Staffs NHS Mental Health trust for 5 years as a software developer and have experience of mental health issues first hand (I have something known as Pure-O ocd, feel free to look it up!). I decided I wanted to try and help further by implementing my ideas in research, so after some effort won a scholarship at Sheffield University. I’m presently trying to raise awareness of my studies through a presentational video (please feel free to share this with anyone you think would be interested)


I’m also looking to recruit for a study. I would love to hear from anyone on the forum over the age of 65 who is interested. Alternatively if you know someone over 65 who you think would be interested then please feel free to show them the flyer!

flyer: http://www.thaw.org.uk/studies/recruitment/Older-Adult-Problem-Solving-Software-study-A4.pdf

Best wishes,

Matthew
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I work on an older adult ward. Mixed diagnosis. A lot of patients wouldn't have a clue how to turn a pc on, never mind find information on it.
 
matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Glam said:
I work on an older adult ward. Mixed diagnosis. A lot of patients wouldn't have a clue how to turn a pc on, never mind find information on it.
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You've hit the nail on the head! It's about education and building awareness! My video has resulted in people approaching me to ask where to get etherapy from! So it's doing what I set out to do!
 
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Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
matteus said:
interestingly I think I had another profile on here that I'd posted under but I can't seem to find it!
Click to expand...
Didn't you have that thing you were pushing - sound/cube/special needs/had a funny name - that sort of thing?*

Is techno-wizardry the best approach for the golden oldies? Someone now in their 80's would've been born in the 1930's - it is almost unimaginable how much innovation and change such a person has already been subject to. Would it not be more appropriate to cut them some slack and encourage them to solve cryptic crosswords instead?

* no, that was totally someone and something else
 
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matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Withnail said:
Didn't you have that thing you were pushing - sound/cube/special needs/had a funny name - that sort of thing?*

Is techno-wizardry the best approach for the golden oldies? Someone now in their 80's would've been born in the 1930's - it is almost unimaginable how much innovation and change such a person has already been subject to. Would it not be more appropriate to cut them some slack and encourage them to solve cryptic crosswords instead?

* no, that was totally someone and something else
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You maybe completely right! :) That's part of the research goal to see if simplifying an e-therapy that's complex to technophobics results in something easier to use. It's also worth noting that some older adults do use technology :)

Some of the problems older adults of the current generation suffer with:
  • They don't recognise themselves as having any mental health problems (when sometimes they're sat at home suffering with depression in silence)
  • Their generation pushed the "chin up and get on with life" attitude that is unhelpful when you've got a health problem that actually needs help rather than ignoring.
My colleagues are looking at:
  • Diagnosis of mental health issues through analysis of structured language.
  • How social media helps or hinders loneliness in older adults.
If anyone's interested in chatting about the subject we are doing an event (unfortunately its in Sheffield but if you can make it all are welcome): http://thaw.org.uk/events/09-06-2016/healthy-ageing-within-your-reach-poster.pdf
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
matteus said:
It's also worth noting that some older adults do use technology :)
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"I hear that you can get your shopping delivered via a computer, so I'm going to get one", said an 82-year-old woman to me once - the first Tesco order was achieved in the first week - within a few weeks, she was up to full speed with it.
 
matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Gramaisc said:
"I hear that you can get your shopping delivered via a computer, so I'm going to get one", said an 82-year-old woman to me once - the first Tesco order was achieved in the first week - within a few weeks, she was up to full speed with it.
Click to expand...

This is a prime example :)
 
matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Recruitment has been so difficult that we're looking to drop the age to 50+

Should anyone be interested please drop a message to me!
 
Ecker

Ecker

Well-Known Forumite
matteus said:
Recruitment has been so difficult that we're looking to drop the age to 50+

Should anyone be interested please drop a message to me!
Click to expand...
I have phoned you 3 times and you have not been there
 
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matteus

matteus

A few posts under my belt
Hi,
I've literally just come back to this thread! I've been so busy! Have we spoken yet? I'm usually left notes to ring the person back. We've created a survey that will act as a pre-cursor to involvement. The survey will take around 10 minutes I'm awaiting it's ethical approval. The study itself will take approximately 50 minutes to complete and will include a 10 minute follow up survey 2 weeks after completion.

The best way to get to me is by email at the moment as i'm out of the office regularly: m.bennion@sheffield.ac.uk.

Thanks for the support I really appreciate it! :)
 
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