Dr Nilu Ahmed
PG Dip (Couns), CPsychol, FHEA, PhD, MSc, BA (Hons), HE Cert
Expertise
I teach about the importance of seeing the whole person and the intersectional structural, social, and individual factors that impact health and oral health. I am passionate about inclusion and engagement across all my work.
Current positions
Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences
Bristol Dental School
Contact
Media contact
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Research interests
Dr Nilu Ahmed is an advanced qualititative research practitioner with a multidisciplinary academic training in Psychology, Sociology, Gerontology, and Human Geography. Her work is rooted in an antiracist and intersectional framework and she brings these lenses to all her work. She has extensive experience of successful Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and community engagement expertise. She is active in community work and her research uses coproduction with community members and students as coresearchers.
At the Dental School she has undertaken a range of research projects on Inclusion and Engagement including, Decolonising the Dental Curriculum, Barriers and Facilitators to Inclusion for Dental Students, Improving Access to Dental Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sex Abuse, Coproducing Culturally Competent Clinical Communication Scenarios for Training Health Professionals, Proposing a Pilot Protocol for Undertaking Community Engagement Pedagogy: Understanding the Oral Health needs of Underserved Communities
Her interests include ethnicity, ageing, decolonising, gender, inequalities, mental health, access to care, and the experiences of marginalised groups in Higher Education. Please get in touch to discuss her work or research opportunities.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Coproducing Culturally Competent Scenarios for the Teaching and Training of Health Professionals
Principal Investigator
Description
This study will work with the Bangladeshi community in Bristol to coproduce culturally competent communication skills scenarios for the teaching and training of Health Professionals including dental and medical professionals.…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
01/02/2023 to 31/07/2023
Proposing a Pilot Protocol for Undertaking Community Engagement Pedagogy: Understanding the Oral Health needs of Underserved Communities
Principal Investigator
Description
We live in a diverse society and patients reflect a wide range of health, social, and cultural needs. It is an expectation of the General Dental Council that dental education…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
01/02/2023 to 30/04/2023
Barriers and Facilitators to Inclusion for Dental Students
Principal Investigator
Description
This study will primarily analyse the data from the 'Decolonising the Dental Curriculum' study, but also, based on findings conduct new interviews with students and staff to build a strategy…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
01/08/2022 to 31/01/2023
Improving Access to Oral Healthcare Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sex Abuse
Principal Investigator
Description
This project brings together adult survivors of child sex abuse (CSA) and academics and clinicians to work together to coproduce an educational resource for dental health professionals.
We will hold…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
01/03/2022 to 31/07/2022
Decolonising the Dental Curriculum
Principal Investigator
Description
over 111 people participated in the study across the survey and focus groups.Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
01/02/2022 to 31/07/2022
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2022British Bangladeshi Pupils Mental Health in Schools
A guide to mental wellbeing in schools: what do practitioners need to know for pupils from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds
Mental Disorders and Oral Diseases
Journal of Dental Research
News of war can impact your mental health – here’s how to cope
The Conversation
Quiet quitting: why doing less at work could be good for you – and your employer
The Conversation
Six ways to reduce loneliness this Christmas – from a psychologist
The Conversation
Teaching
My teaching is evidence-based, and my research directly feeds in to my teaching. Students are invited to develop research skills and applied learning through opportunities to become paid co-researchers on my projects.
My small group communication skills teaching include working working with nervous patients, anxious patients, angry patients, racist and homophobic patients. I also teach on mental health, teamwork, and contribute to the teaching of my clincial and non clinical colleagues. I really enjoy collaborating on our teaching.