- Understanding the ‘zoppie buzz’ in TeessideBy Hannah Poulter, Teesside University, Visiting Research Associate, University of BristolAt the conclusion of our research into Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) in the North East of England, so many questions remained for me, one of which was: What’s with the zoppie (zopiclone) ‘buzz’ in Teesside?Teesside gets quite a bad reputation when it comes to drug and alcohol use, which perhaps isn’t surprising when you consider in Middlesbrough you’re more likely to die from a drug related death than a car crash. What we don’t often hear about is the ongoing innovative and ground-breaking work to […]
- Optimising the Implementation of Opt-Out Blood-Borne Virus Testing in Emergency DepartmentsBy Dr Tom May, Research Fellow, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science & Evaluation, University of BristolIntroductionThere are still significant gaps in identifying and treating people with bloodborne viruses (BBVs) like HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Many people who don't test in traditional places like sexual health clinics may miss out on early diagnosis and treatment, which is important for preventing health problems and stopping the spread of these viruses.To increase access to BBV testing, NHS England introduced routine opt-out testing for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C in […]
- Reflections on 5 years of the HPRU Knowledge Mobilisation Network By Dr Clare Thomas, Research Fellow and Knowledge Mobilisation Co-LeadHow it all began It was a chilly January day in 2020 when I attended the launch meeting for the newly funded Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation. For the HPRU 2 funding round, the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) required each HPRU to identify a lead for knowledge mobilisation (KM). Ours was Dr Lesley Wye, an experienced and influential figure in the field of KM, and I was her apprentice, ready to […]
