Log in
The project:
We have contributed, nationally and internationally, to a changing approach, content and implementation of planning policy by including the needs of our ageing society in streetscape design, to address the requirements of older people, benefitting their independence, welfare and quality of life. In the UK 23% of the population is projected to be aged over 65 by 2035, according to the Office of National Statistics (2010). Our focus upon the needs of an ageing society has been adopted as part of the skills and knowledge development agenda in sustainable planning through the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Tools have been developed, policy informed and reformed, and our findings included in a House of Lords report on assistive technology for older people.
Autism or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects around 700,000 people in the UK. Until recently knowledge of autism prevalence was mainly restricted to children, but in 2007 the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) included for the first time a measure of ASD. Professor Traolach (Terry) Brugha and his group developed an innovative methodology to measure the prevalence of autism in adults — previously not thought possible — and found it to be just over 1% of the population studied. The evidence collated by the Social and Epidemiological Psychiatry group has led to a range of actions across central and local government as well as the charitable sector, and since 2010, has transformed diagnostic and support services. It has also improved professional training, changed attitudes across society and reduced the isolation and exclusion that adults with autism often face.
Research into participative practice and well-being with older people has contributed directly to the development and application of an ethic of care in policy and service delivery, as well as to practices in older people's participation, locally, nationally and internationally. The research has directly impacted on practitioners and practice developments in services for older people, with learning resources (co-designed with practitioners and older people) being used in professional education and training across the UK and in New Zealand. An innovative participatory methodology has both enhanced older people's participation locally and been adopted more widely by university community research collaborators working to enhance older people's citizenship and well-being (eg in Netherlands). Research has directly informed policy concerning older people's needs assessments by recognising the centrality of relationships to well-being in older age. The well-being research involving collaboration with service users and providers has been described as `exemplary' by the leading national charity Age UK.
Memory research in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) undertaken at City University London over the past two decades shows that individuals with ASD experience great difficulty in spontaneously recalling past events without retrieval support. This work has been extended recently to show that a widely-used forensic interviewing technique (the Cognitive Interview) is not effective in improving the eyewitness accounts of adults with ASD. The key impact from this research has arisen from continuing knowledge transfer to Police forces and the Ministry of Justice with the aim of amending good practice guidelines for interviewing eyewitnesses with ASD. This is being achieved through a series of workshops and training activities, which to date have reached around 5000 police officers who are working on the ground.
Our research has led to major changes in the management of people with severe mental illness (SMI) in general practice. Our findings that people with schizophrenia are at greater risk of cardiovascular diseases informed NICE guidance in the UK and international guidelines. The Department of Health's strategy on Mental Health was influenced by our work on the interface between physical and mental health. Recommendations in the NICE guidance have now been taken up by the NHS Quality Outcomes Framework (QoF) in England and Scotland. General practitioners are specifically required to monitor BMI (Body Mass Index), blood pressure, and glucose and serum lipids levels in all registered patients with SMI.
Our research has had substantial impact on the mental health and welfare of children with suspected autistic disorders, on their education, on the well-being of their families, and on the activities of healthcare professionals and their services for children in both paediatric and psychiatric practice. We developed a new diagnostic test for autistic spectrum disorders, which allows for better, more reliable diagnosis of these conditions. The test has been included in healthcare guidelines and professional standards in the UK and many other countries around the world, including influencing the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5).
Research undertaken at Keele has made the social exclusion of older people visible to opinion- leaders and policy makers, helping to shape their perceptions of ageing. These changes in attitude have contributed to transforming provision for older people and promoting inter-generational interaction within local communities through both policy and practice, in both national and local government. The research has had a direct impact on national government policies, and has also coalesced into national campaigns to improve older people's lives. Regional impacts initially focussed on making Manchester an `age-friendly city' which has subsequently been used as a model for other local councils across the country.