Alyson Louise Norman

University of Plymouth | UoP · School of Psychology

Background: The contextualization of young carers in early childhood is complex. The biopsychosocial impacts of young care-giving have received growing interest in recent years, yet the voice and experience of society’s youngest carers (0-5yrs) remain absent from literature. Aim: This scoping review is an initial step in quilting together a polyvoc...

Introduction: This paper draws upon lived experiences of family members caring for a relative with a pituitary condition. The rationale for the study stems from the crucial role provided by informal, unpaid carers. Yet in the specific domain of pituitary care, they remain overlooked within empirical research. Therefore, the current study aimed to u...

Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) brings about inevitable and significant changes for family members. Mental health effects for family members are well documented but there are significant gaps in support options across services. Here, we describe our protocol for a study that seeks to investigate the potential for a narrative, creative app...

Background/Aims Mental health can influence the likelihood that a woman will initiate and continue breastfeeding behaviour that is associated with improved infant and maternal health. Mental health outcomes are associated with variables such as optimism and coping. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between coping, optimism and m...

Social work plays an important role in the assessment and treatment of people with acquired brain injury. Acquired brain injury is a complex and highly prevalent condition which can impact on cognitive, emotional and social domains. As acquired brain injury is a hidden disability it can be misdiagnosed or classified as another condition entirely. W...

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), with symptoms beyond 3 months, may be more common than previously believed, but is poorly understood. This has resulted in contradictory and confused information for service users, which has had an impact on those with mTBI and their families. This qualitative study aimed to improve understanding of the lived exp...

The current study aimed to explore the factors that influence how social workers make decisions and develop their decision‐making skills in care proceedings, and to identify effective support and intervention to develop social worker decision‐making skills. The study employed a mixed thematic approach across two phases of study: an initial inductiv...

To increase access to support, an online psychosocial support tool for adults with visible differences was adapted for use without referral or supervision. This intervention combines a cognitive behavioural and social skills model of support. This study aimed to assess the usability and acceptability of FaceIT@home as a self-help intervention. Eig...

Background: Breastfeeding rates in the UK are among the lowest in the world, despite the well-known benefits to maternal and infant health. The impact of breastfeeding on women’s mental health may contribute to this. Aims: To better understand the bi-directional relationship between breastfeeding and maternal mental health. Methods: A total of 109...

Background Pituitary patients often experience psychosocial symptoms associated with their condition. Aims To explore the condition management experiences of pituitary patients and their psychosocial symptoms and to explore the impact of these on quality of life. Methods A sample of 748 individuals aged 18 to more than 65 years) completed a quest...

Context: The Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) literature highlights various factors that can prevent successful community rehabilitation and hinder good long-term outcomes. Brain injury case management is a service model with the potential to overcome these barriers within rehabilitation and longer-term care and support, but there is minimal research su...

Background Breastfeeding rates at 6 months in the UK have remained low in recent years, highlighting a need to better understand the factors that influence breastfeeding behaviour. Aim To investigate factors that influence breastfeeding behaviour in the UK and to understand the role of health professionals in promoting and facilitating breastfeedi...

Purpose: This scoping review aims to 1) identify any significant difficulties individuals with ABI or their families have when interacting with, or accessing, community-based services and 2) identify whether gaps in service provision were associated with a lack of knowledge on the part of professionals working within community-based services. Meth...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) pertaining to individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) since 2014. This extended literature review also explores the lessons and recommendations from these reviews in relation to social work practice within the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The literature revi...

Objective Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition with symptoms known to be exacerbated by stress. Individuals with FMS may be experiencing particular distress under Covid-19 pandemic-related lifestyle restrictions. The present study examined wellbeing, perceived symptom change and coping in individuals with and without FMS during pandem...

Background: Pituitary patients often experience psychosocial symptoms associated with their condition. Aims: To explore the condition management experiences of pituitary patients and their psychosocial symptoms and to explore the impact of these on quality of life. Methods: A sample of 748 individuals (488 females, aged 18 to over 65 years) complet...

Background In the UK, rates of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months are at 1%, highlighting the need to encourage and improve the support provided to women to initiate and continue breastfeeding and to improve infant and maternal health. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the influence of media on the intention to initiate and continue breast...

Background Approximately one-third of women reflect on childbirth as a traumatic experience and the way women appraise their birth experience is significant to their postnatal wellbeing. This study aimed to identify and compare experiences of childbirth for mothers who reflect on birth as a traumatic or non-traumatic event. Methods Semi-structured...

Introduction: Brief psychological interventions, including guided imagery, relaxation, and distraction-based techniques, can be effective adjunctive techniques to manage acute surgical ain, but are not widely adopted in clinical practice. Furthermore, mixed adherence to conventional pain treatments sometimes limits the effectiveness of pain managem...

Background: Management of pituitary conditions can be problematic with many patients experiencing long-term psychological and social difficulties that impact on quality of life. Aims: The study aimed to; identify psychosocial symptoms associated with pituitary conditions that lead to poor quality of life and identify differences in symptomatology b...

Due to the unpredictable nature of traumatic events, prospective research into trauma relies upon laboratory methods utilising distressing film scenes to act as a trauma analogue measuring vulnerability factors and testing interventions applied to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is the first study to test whether Virtual Reality (VR) pro...

One in five women in the UK develop mental health problems during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth. 'Birth trauma' is a common birth-related mental health issue which stems from perceiving childbirth as a traumatic experience; the term 'birth trauma' also encompasses living with and experiencing the accompanying symptoms of trauma af...

Background Many women experience their childbirth as traumatic, and 4-6% of mothers present with postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder. Aims To measure the relationship between obstetric intervention, perceived support in childbirth and mothers' experiences of postnatal trauma, and to identify salient aspects of the birth experience that are co...

Purpose Numbers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are increasing, and with suicidality post-injury presenting at 3–4 times higher than in the general population, understanding this is crucial in reducing a devastating outcome. Given the lack of literature, this study investigated the experiences of living with suicidality after TBI. Methods Intervie...

Background: Many women experience their childbirth as traumatic, and 4-6% of mothers present with postnatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Aims: To measure the relationship between obstetric intervention and perceived support in childbirth on mothers’ experience of postnatal trauma and identify salient aspects of the birth experience conside...

Acquired brain injury (ABI) can lead to life‐long changes and disability. The complex and extensive nature of behavioural, cognitive, executive, physical and psychological difficulties mean ABI survivors and their families may come into contact with a range of health and social care services as part of their long‐term care. This study aimed to unde...

Purpose: Acquired Brain Injuries, caused by a range of illnesses and injuries, can lead to long-term difficulties for individuals; mental health problems, cognitive and executive impairment and psychosocial problems including relationship breakdown, substance abuse and potentially homelessness. The study aimed to seek and gain a more definitive und...

Many pituitary conditions impact on day-today functioning both pre and post-treatment. Patients feel generally unwell and struggle with fatigue and sleep disruption, thus exacerbating memory and concentration problems and mood swings 3. These symptoms can be difficult to comprehend and live with for both the patients and their families, not least b...

Context: Survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI) experience long-term cognitive, behavioural, psychological and social consequences often overlooked by health and social care providers, as are the implications for family members. Objective: To improve understanding of 1) the long-term community rehabilitation needs of ABI survivors and their famil...

Quality of life is significantly impacted for those with pituitary conditions; patients need support to meet ongoing physical and psychological needs. This study aimed to explore the support needs and experiences of patients with pituitary conditions in the community. Ten self-selected members of the Pituitary Foundation were interviewed about thei...

Purpose Brain Injury Case Managers (BICMs) work closely with individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), assessing needs, structuring rehabilitation interventions and providing support, and have significant experience of clients with impairments to decision making. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of the Mental Capacity Act...

Objective: Limited research has studied the involvement of children in medical decision-making. The aim of the study was to understand the involvement of adolescents with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in decisions about elective surgeries and treatments. Design: Parents and professionals completed mixed-methods questionnaires about the degree t...

The UK figures suggest rates of breastfeeding are low compared to other countries. Whilst initial breastfeeding rates have increased, figures are still low for those continuing to breastfeed at 6 months. The present study aimed to understand the experiences of breastfeeding women and what affects their ability to continue breastfeeding. Forty-one w...

Brain Injury Case Managers (BICMs) have significant experience that will be invaluable in this regard. This research aimed to gain a greater understanding of the experiences and knowledge of BICMs of the issues presented by mental capacity and the application of the MCA. The intention of undertaking this research was to utilise the knowledge and ex...

This study seeks to contribute to our understanding of the lived experiences of family members and friends of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study employed an interpretative phenomenological approach, enabling family members and friends to identify and reflect upon the factors they themselves considered most significant about th...

This is a report based on data from a membership survey undertaken by the Pituitary Foundation. It reports patient satisfaction across a number of domains such as employment, diagnosis as well as the information and support needs of this group of patients.

Post-acute ABI rehabilitation is incredibly important to the long-term recovery of ABI survivors, with client involvement resulting in a more tailored service. An evaluation of the effectiveness of existing rehabilitation programs was conducted. Inter-rater reliability measures and correlational analysis were used to assess the impact of different...

Whilst there has been an acknowledgement of service inconsistency during a patient's transition from hospital to home, very few attempts to 'bridge the gap' have been made. One of the ways to improve continuity of care and support for the acquired brain injury (ABI) population has involved the development of the Hospital Liaison Officer (HLO) role....

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the care management of a man with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a family member’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a case history of “Tom” both prior to his TBI and after. Findings Tom was the subject of a safeguarding adults case review in Somerset following his deat...

The statistics from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom show that despite the current advice to breastfeed an infant exclusively for the first six months of life, less than 1% of mothers are actually doing this. Therefore, it is important it understand the barriers to breastfeeding experiences by women. The study aimed to investigate...

The statistics from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom show that despite the current advice to breastfeed an infant exclusively for the first six months of life, less than 1% of mothers are actually doing this. Therefore, it is important it understand the barriers to breastfeeding experiences by women. The study aimed to investigate...

The statistics from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom show that despite the current advice to breastfeed an infant exclusively for the first six months of life, less than 1% of mothers are actually doing this. Therefore, it is important it understand the barriers to breastfeeding experiences by women. The study aimed to investigate...

Adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect are associated with subsequent immune dysregulation. Some studies show an association between adverse childhood experiences and asthma onset, although significant disparity in results exists in the published literature. We aimed to review available studies employing a prospective design that i...

Objective: The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of different psychological interventions for children and adults with cleft lip and/or palate and their parents. Design: We searched six databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE to June 2013, and checked bibliographies. We included studies that evaluated any psychological intervention...

Background. Some individuals with visible differences have been found to experience psychosocial adjustment problems that can lead to social anxiety and isolation. Various models of psychosocial intervention have been used to reduce social anxiety and appearance related distress in this population. The objective of this review was to update a previ...

AimsRetinoids may have a role in the chemoprevention of potentially malignant disorders of the upper aerodigestive tract. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials to examine the effect of synthetic retinoid interventions in people with cancer or potentially malignant disorders of the upper digestive tract.Material...

Background: Some individuals with visible differences have been found to experience psychosocial adjustment problems that can lead to social anxiety and isolation. Various models of psychosocial intervention have been used to reduce social anxiety and appearance related distress in this population. The objective of this review was to update a previ...

Background: Some individuals with visible differences have been found to experience psychosocial adjustment problems that can lead to social anxiety and isolation. Various models of psychosocial intervention have been used to reduce social anxiety and appearance related distress in this population. The objective of this review was to update a previ...

Objective: The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of different psychological interventions for children and adults with cleft lip and/or palate and their parents. Design: We searched six databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE to June 2013 and checked bibliographies. We included research that evaluated any psychological interventi...

Background: A diagnosis of head and neck cancer, like many other cancers, can lead to significant psychosocial distress. Patients with head and neck cancer can have very specific needs, due to both the location of their disease and the impact of treatment, which can interfere with basic day-to-day activities such as eating, speaking and breathing....

Evidence is accumulating about the nature and prevalence of appearance-related distress across a variety of clinical populations. Health professionals working with specific patient groups are often aware of these difficulties and their detrimental effect on quality of life and wellbeing. However, many health professionals lack knowledge and skills...

We live in a society in which messages associating physical attractiveness with success and happiness are pervasive. There is an epidemic of appearance concerns amongst teenagers and adults in westernised countries and body image dissatisfaction is now considered normative. Large numbers of people experience negative impacts on wellbeing and, for m...

Objective (1) To examine the evidence for the effectiveness of differences in timing and type of speech and language therapy for children with cleft palate with or without a cleft lip and (2) to identify types of interventions assessed. Design Nine databases, including MEDLINE and EMBASE, were searched between inception and March 2011 to identify...

Some people who have a visible difference (disfigurement) experience psychosocial adjustment problems that can lead to social anxiety and isolation. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a new computerised CBT-based intervention (Face IT) in reducing anxiety and appearance-related distress for individuals with visible differences...

Background: Surgery is an important part of the management of oral cavity cancer with regard to both the removal of the primary tumour and removal of lymph nodes in the neck. Surgery is less frequently used in oropharyngeal cancer. Surgery alone may be treatment for early stage disease or surgery may be used in combination with radiotherapy, chemo...

Cleft lip and cleft palate are common birth defects, affecting about one baby of every 700 born. Feeding these babies is an immediate concern and there is evidence of delay in growth of children with a cleft as compared to those without clefting. In an effort to combat reduced weight for height, a variety of advice and devices are recommended to ai...

Individuals with visible differences can experience social anxiety in relation to their appearance. Social skills-based psychosocial interventions have to date shown only limited effectiveness at addressing their concerns. To incorporate user perspectives in the development of an online psychosocial intervention, known as Face IT. Study one consist...

Individuals with acquired brain injuries (ABI) often experience depression following injury, with estimated rates between 20 and 40% within the first year and up to 50% thereafter (Fleminger et al., 2003). Previous studies with non-brain-injured individuals have identified that rumination is prevalent in both the development and maintenance of depr...

The objective of this review was to systematically identify and evaluate all known studies testing empirically the efficacy of psychosocial intervention programmes for adults with visible differences. Twelve papers met the inclusion criteria. None of the papers demonstrated adequately the clinical effectiveness of the interventions. The review conc...