
Dr Sandi Dheensa
BSc, MSc, PhD
Current positions
Research Fellow
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I am an interdisciplinary, mixed methods, health and social science researcher in the Domestic Violence and Abuse Health Group (DVAHG).
My primary research interest is healthcare and public health responses to domestic and sexual violence and abuse (DVSA). I also have a particular interest in 'DVSA and...' - i.e., the intersection of DVSA and other disadvantages or vulnerabilities.
Currently, I am PI on two studies: PRESSURE with co-PI Alison Gregory, an NIHR SPCR funded study exploring support-seeking and support needs of healthcare professionals who are experiencing, or have experienced, DVA themselves. A Research England-funded sister project with a former medical student, Dr Aimee Wilkinson, has explored DVSA and child maltreatment among University of Bristol medical students. I am PI on CancerDA, a Macmillan Cancer Support-funded project with Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, in which I am evaluating an intervention that aims to enhance the cancer workforce response to domestic abuse.
Previous projects include ADVANCE, HERA, and Recording & Sharing Domestic violence/abuse Information in Healthcare (RASDIH) - this project led to good practice recommendations.
Since 2012 I have worked as a volunteer and freelance researcher in DVSA. Specifically I have evaluated a peer support service for young women survivors of sexual violence, an ISVA service for sexual violence survivors with learning disabilities, a befriending service for sexual violence survivors with mental health needs, and a DVSA/healthy relationships service for people aged 16-25 with unstable housing.
I teach on a range of under- and postgraduate units, was the Deputy Lead for Research Methods on the MSc Public Health 2022-3, and I co-supervise doctoral candidate Satya Shrestha as part of the HERA programme. I was part of decoloniseUoB (@decolUoB) and co-led a mapping of decolonising or decolonising-adjacent work around the University.
If you are interested in collaboration or supervision please get in touch.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
R&SDIH: Recording & Sharing Domestic violence/abuse Information in Healthcare
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/01/2020 to 31/07/2020
Advancing theory and treatment approaches for males in substance misuse treatment who perpetrate intimate partner violence (Programme ADVANCE)
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
18/06/2018 to 31/12/2021
HERA - Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
HERA (Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse) aims to:
Understand how healthcare systems in LMIC can integrate and evaluate interventions for VAW that link with community organisations, and ultimately ensure better…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
01/04/2017 to 01/11/2021
Publications
Selected publications
16/06/2022Sharing information about domestic violence and abuse in healthcare
BMJ Open
Healthcare Professionals’ Own Experiences of Domestic Violence and Abuse
Trauma, Violence, and Abuse
Recording and sharing information about domestic violence/abuse in the health service
Recording and sharing information about domestic violence/abuse in the health service
Recent publications
13/09/2023How did it happen to me? A qualitative study exploring the narratives of healthcare staff who have experienced domestic abuse
“My only option was to leave my job” A survey to investigate the experience & impact of domestic violence & abuse on healthcare professionals
‘I felt paralysed to ask for help for myself’
InnovAiT
The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group domestic abuse perpetrator programme
BMC Trials
Enhancing the cancer workforce response to domestic violence and abuse: the time is now
British Journal of Nursing