This summer, Maria Eze, a Biological Sciences student at the University of Edinburgh, completed a 6-week internship at the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre and the Centre for Surgical Research. The internship, funded through the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme, gave her a hands-on experience in health services research and the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing ALPACA study. This ALPACA study aims to improve surgical shared decision making through real-time feedback tools.
Under the supervision of Christin Hoffmann, Rhiannon Macefield and Sam Lawday, Maria’s project involved a secondary qualitative analysis of transcripts from interviews with community members from underserved groups. Using the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behaviour) framework, she explored the real-world factors that enable or hinder patients’ involvement in shared decision-making. Her analysis identified key barriers such as language limitations, time constraints, and past negative experiences. She found that supportive interpreters, strong family networks, and a shared hope for improvement were significant facilitators.
Learn more about Maria’s internship project by viewing her full-size scientific poster: Eze Alpaca poster (PDF, 843kB)
Maria’s blog in which she reflects on her experience about the internship will be available soon.