Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment launches livestreamed public lecture series

The Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) are to host their first livestreamed public lecture in a new series: Molecules to Minds on Aston University’s digital channel - Aston Originals on Wednesday 16 February 2022.

The livestream will see Dr Rachel Shaw present her lecture ‘Understanding and improving staff wellbeing in paediatric intensive care: A partnership between Birmingham Women’s & Children’s NHS Foundation NHS Trust & Aston University to prioritise workplace wellbeing’.

Dr Shaw will present the findings of a project in which she investigated the wellbeing of staff working in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The research was funded by Birmingham Women’s & Children’s NHS Foundation NHS Trust Paediatric Intensive Care Charities.

She said: “There is a lot of evidence finding that levels of stress, burnout and symptoms of post-traumatic stress are higher among staff working in paediatric intensive care than in groups of other healthcare professionals.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has only further highlighted the need to care for our healthcare staff to improve their own wellbeing, but also, so that they are able to better care for their patients.”

Dr Shaw will present her findings of what wellbeing means to PICU staff, the kinds of challenges to their wellbeing they experience at work and at home, the things that hinder their wellbeing in those situations and the things that can help.

The one hour livestream will include a Q&A and a roundtable discussion with clinical colleagues from Birmingham Children’s Hospital, looking at key learnings taken both professionally & personally from the project, concluding with next steps and hopes for the future.

Dr Shaw added: “We plan to use staff wish lists, together with psychological evidence about what is likely to be successful, to make proposals for what might create working environments that are conducive to workforce wellbeing to create better, sustainable support for PICU staff in the future.”

The live stream will take place at 16:00 – 17:00 GMT on Wednesday 16 February, you can register for the event on Eventbrite.