Bridgette M Bewick

• University of Leeds

Studies show that university students report higher levels of mental health problems and lower well-being than their non-student peers. As demand for university well-being services increases, so too does the need for alternative interventions to support student well-being for students in various states of mental health. In this paper, we introduce...

Introduction Psychological wellbeing in university students is receiving increased focus. However, to date, few longitudinal studies in this population have been conducted. As such, in 2019, we established the Student Wellbeing At Northern England Universities (SWANS) cohort at the University of York, United Kingdom aiming to measure student mental...

Objective To identify the approaches and strategies used for ensuring cultural appropriateness, intervention functions and theoretical constructs of the effective and ineffective school-based smoking prevention interventions that were implemented in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Data sources Included MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Healt...

Smartphones have become the primary devices for accessing the online world. The potential for smartphone use to become problematic has come into increasing focus. Students and young adults have been shown to use their smartphones at high rates and may be at risk for problematic use. There is limited research evaluating interventions for problematic...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and module content of a brief online self-help program for concerned gamblers, i.e., gamblers who perceived a need to change their gambling habits, in the context of a gambling helpline. The program consisted of four modules based on Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Th...

The collection and use of rich data on student mental health are necessary to inform practice and policy, and ultimately lead to improved outcomes. Here, rich data refers to the combination of large and representative data sets, as well as detailed accounts of lived experiences and perspectives. We argue that such data are necessary to respond to t...

Background Each year in England and Wales, 150,000 people die from cancer, of whom 110,000 will suffer from cancer pain. Research highlights that cancer pain remains common, severe and undertreated, and may lead to hospital admissions. Objective To develop and evaluate pain self-management interventions for community-based patients with advanced c...

Despite the benefits of the internet and other digital technology, the online world has been associated with a negative impact on university student wellbeing. Many university students report symptoms of pathological internet use. Internationally, further research is needed to understand what student users of technology perceive to be problematic i...

Developing and implementing effective measures to prevent and intervene with harmful alcohol use remains imperative if we are to reduce the global burden of alcohol-related harms and improve the lives of those affected. This chapter explores and appraises the effectiveness of electronic brief interventions that deliver personalised feedback. The ab...

This article presents the work done by Leeds University to develop a wellbeing program for students. Dr. Bridgette Bewick, an Associate Professor at School of Medicine, discusses her work on behavioral and psychological understanding of how to improve and support the mental health and wellbeing of university students. She affirms that improvement a...

Background General practices (GPs) in England have recently introduced a nationwide electronic personal health record (ePHR) system called Patient Online or GP online services, which allows patients to view parts of their medical records, book appointments, and request prescription refills. Although this system is free of charge, its adoption rates...

Background: University students are a risk group for heavy substance use and the experience of various potentially severe negative substance use consequences which may impact on their health, social and academic functioning. Whilst the experience of negative consequences of substance use is well understood in North American student samples, there i...

PURPOSE: In cancer care, there are emerging information and communication technology (ICT) systems being developed, enabling real-time information sharing between patients and health professionals. This study explored health professionals' and patients' perceptions of their engagement with an ICT system for pain management to understand mechanisms...

Background: Listening to the Quran is one of spiritual therapies that have been used for treating mental disorders. Many studies have been conducted to assess the effect of listening to the Quran on mental health and psychological wellbeing. Several reviews were conducted to summarise results of such evidence. However, they either focused on studie...

Published research shows small-to-medium effects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) on reducing psychotic symptoms. Given the ongoing development of CBTp interventions, the aim of this systematic review is to examine whether the effectiveness of CBTp has changed across time. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL were searched fo...

Background: In England, almost all General Practices (GPs) have implemented GP online services; electronic personal health records (ePHRs) that allow people to schedule appointments, request repeat prescriptions, and access parts of their medical records. The overall adoption rate of GP online services has been low, reaching just 28% in October 20...

BACKGROUND Background: Chatbots have been exploited dramatically in the last decade to improve access to mental healthcare services. Patient attitudes influence the adoption of chatbots for healthcare. Many studies have been conducted to assess patients’ attitudes toward using chatbots for mental health. To the best of our knowledge, there has been...

Background Chatbots have been used in the last decade to improve access to mental health care services. Perceptions and opinions of patients influence the adoption of chatbots for health care. Many studies have been conducted to assess the perceptions and opinions of patients about mental health chatbots. To the best of our knowledge, there has bee...

Published research shows small-to-medium effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) on reducing psychotic symptoms. Given the on-going development of CBTp interventions, the aim of this systematic review is to examine whether the effectiveness of CBTp has changed across time. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL were searched fo...

BACKGROUND In England, almost all general practices (GPs) have implemented GP online services such as electronic personal health records (ePHRs) that allow people to schedule appointments, request repeat prescriptions, and access parts of their medical records. The overall adoption rate of GP online services has been low, reaching just 28% in Octob...

BACKGROUND General practices (GPs) in England have recently introduced a nationwide electronic personal health record (ePHR) system called Patient Online or GP online services, which allows patients to view parts of their medical records, book appointments, and request prescription refills. Although this system is free of charge, its adoption rates...

PURPOSE The use of health information technology (HIT) to support patient and health professional communication is emerging as a core component of modern cancer care. Approaches to HIT development for cancer care are often underreported, despite their implementation in complex, multidisciplinary environments, typically supporting patients with mult...

Introduction Pain experienced by advanced cancer patients is often poorly controlled due to inadequate assessment. We aimed to test an electronic pain monitoring system (PainCheck) with advanced cancer patients and health professionals. Methods Twenty-nine participants (13 patients, 16 health professionals (N=16)) used PainCheck while thinking the...

Approaches to pain management using electronic systems are being developed for use in palliative care. This article explores palliative care patients’ perspectives on managing and talking about pain, the role of technology in their lives and how technology could support pain management. Face-to-face interviews were used to understand patient needs...

Background: Chatbots are systems that are able to converse and interact with human users using spoken, written, and visual languages. Chatbots have the potential to be useful tools for individuals with mental disorders, especially those who are reluctant to seek mental health advice due to stigmatization. While numerous studies have been conducted...

Background: The global shortage of mental health workers has prompted the utilization of technological advancements, such as chatbots, to meet the needs of people with mental health conditions. Chatbots are systems that are able to converse and interact with human users using spoken, written, and visual language. While numerous studies have assesse...

BACKGROUND The global shortage of mental health workers has prompted the utilization of technological advancements, such as chatbots, to meet the needs of people with mental health conditions. Chatbots are systems that are able to converse and interact with human users using spoken, written, and visual language. While numerous studies have assessed...

Background The relationship between alcohol use in adolescents and young adults and outcomes has not been widely researched in China. The aim of the current study was to understand the current status of drinking behavior of Chinese youth transitioning into adulthood. Methods The cross-sectional study included 1634 participants between 18 and 34 ye...

Background: Heavy episodic drinking (HED) can have health and social consequences. This study assesses the associations between HED and demographic, socioeconomic, motivation and effects indicators for people aged 18⁻34 years old living in four cities in different regions of the world. Method: Multistage random sampling was consistent across the...

Rationale, aims, and objectives Secondary care pharmacists are well positioned within the healthcare system to communicate with patients and provide guidance and advice regarding drug treatments. They are able to broaden the opportunities to raise the profile of Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) and positively influence...

Objective: The aim of this analysis was to identify alcohol consumption clusters for adolescents and early adults according to attitudes to drinking, motivations against drinking and perceptions associated with alcohol. Method: Interviews were undertaken with people aged 18–34 years old living in four cities in different regions of the world. Multi...

Aims: The study aims to examine how therapists trained in motivational interviewing (MI) respond to resistance and whether this has an impact on subsequent client speech. Methods: Fifty recorded Motivational Enhancement Therapy sessions were examined using a sequential behavioural coding method for speech. Client counter-change talk formed the b...

Background Smoking is a cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality. In the United Kingdom (UK) the national smoking ban inside hospital buildings is widely adhered to. There is a perception it has led to smokers congregating around hospital entrances (Selbie D. 2016, It’s time for a truly smokefree NHS. Public Health Matters Blog. Public Health Eng...

The Social Norms Approach is a widely used intervention strategy for promoting positive health-related behaviors. The Approach operates on the premise that individuals misperceive their peers’ behaviors and attitudes, with evidence of under- and over-estimations of behaviors and peer approval for a range of positive and negative behaviors respectiv...

Introduction Intervening effectively to prevent students’ harmful use of alcohol remains a challenge. Harmful alcohol use has been noted as the most dominant public health problem facing universities today. This study sought to investigate the diversity in staff and student perceptions of the contribution alcohol makes to student life in a Danish u...

Survey questions for students and staff. Copy of the survey questions for students and staff in the study. (DOCX)

BACKGROUND Electronic Personal Health Records (ePHRs) are secure web-based tools that enable individuals to access, manage, and share their medical records. England recently introduced a nationwide ePHR called Patient Online. As with ePHRs in other countries, adoption rates of Patient Online remain low. Understanding factors affecting patients’ use...

Background: Electronic personal health records (ePHRs) are secure Web-based tools that enable individuals to access, manage, and share their medical records. England recently introduced a nationwide ePHR called Patient Online. As with ePHRs in other countries, adoption rates of Patient Online remain low. Understanding factors affecting patients' e...

Introduction: The use of non-prescribed prescription sedatives and sleeping pills (NPPSSP) among university students has been described as an important public health issue. However, the impact of perceived social norms on students' use and attitudes towards use of NPPSSP is still unclear. Our aim was to investigate whether perceptions of peer use...

Introduction: For patients with advanced cancer, research shows that pain is frequent, burdensome and undertreated. Evidence-based approaches to support cancer pain management have been developed but have not been implemented within the context of the UK National Health Service. This protocol is for a pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled tr...

Objective The aim of this analysis was to identify alcohol consumption clusters for adolescents and early adults according to attitudes to drinking, motivations against drinking and perceptions associated with alcohol. Method Interviews were undertaken with people aged 18–34 years old living in four cities in different regions of the world. Multis...

Background Alcohol consumption patterns are dependent upon culture and context. The aim of this study was to interview people aged 18–34 year old living in four cities in different regions of the world to explore differences in a range of alcohol measures to assist in determining culturally appropriate alcohol initiatives for this age group. Metho...

Questionnaire in Russian. (DOCX)

Questionnaire in Spanish. (DOCX)

Questionnaire in Yoruba. (DOCX)

Questionnaire in English. (DOCX)

Questionnaire in Ibo. (DOC)

Additional details on sampling. (DOCX)

Response rates by city/country. (DOCX)

Demographic characteristics by city/country. (DOCX)

Questionnaire in Chinese. (DOC)

Questionnaire in Hausa. (DOC)

Purpose: This paper reports expert opinion on e-health intervention characteristics that enable effective communication of characteristics across the diverse field of e-health interventions. The paper presents a visualization tool to support communication of the defining characteristics. Methods: An initial list of e-health intervention characte...

Introduction Pain experienced by advanced cancer patients is often poorly controlled due to inadequate monitoring or assessment. There is growing interest internationally in the development and implementation of remote monitoring technologies to enhance pain assessment. The aim of this study was to test an electronic pain monitoring system (PainChe...

Background Poor pain assessment is a barrier to effective pain control. There is growing interest internationally in the development and implementation of remote monitoring technologies to enhance assessment in cancer and chronic disease contexts. Findings describe the development and testing of pain monitoring systems, but research identifying the...

This research presents a think-aloud study examining issues of engagement and usability in relation to a serious game and a more traditional online program. Results from twenty concurrent think aloud sessions involving a serious game called Shadow and its more traditional counterpart called SHADE are reported. Both programs are designed to help cou...

Objective: Perceptions of peer behavior and attitudes exert considerable social pressure on young adults to use substances. This study investigated whether European students perceive their peers' cannabis use and approval of cannabis use to be higher than their own personal behaviors and attitudes, and whether estimations of peer use and attitudes...

Objectives: Web-based interventions enable organisations to deliver personalised individually tailored brief feedback to individuals without the need of a third party. Web-based interventions are effective in reducing alcohol consumption among university students. There is a paucity of evidence to indicate those who access web-based personalised f...

Background: Depression and binge drinking behaviours are common clinical problems, which cause substantial functional, economic and health impacts. These conditions peak in young adulthood, and commonly co-occur. Comorbid depression and binge drinking are undertreated in young people, who are reluctant to seek help via traditional pathways to care...

Dear Editor: Chronic pain is a significant problem ⇓ that is often poorly managed ⇓. Electronic tools could be used to facilitate routine collection of various patient reported symptoms including pain ⇓. Data collected electronically has the potential to improve supportive care ⇓ and influence treatment management decisions ⇓. Traditionally elect...

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of peer substance use and related attitudes among European students. Challenging perceptions about peer substance use has become the basis of a form of prevention and intervention known as the social norms approach, which can be delivered using personalized online feedback. This arti...

To address the mental health needs of students, UK universities offer bespoke student counselling services. Economic pressures have led services to find innovative ways of redesigning their service pathway. Few studies have investigated staff perceptions of these changes. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of staff employed as cou...

The Social Norms Approach, with its focus on positive behaviour and its consensus orientation, is a health promotion intervention of relevance to the context of a Health Promoting University. In particular, the approach could assist with addressing excessive alcohol consumption. This article aims to discuss the link between the Social Norms Approac...

Background Previous studies suggest that young adults tend to overestimate drug use including alcohol in their respective peer group. These incorrect perceptions are predictive of higher rates of personal use. This study aims to analyse estimations of peer alcohol consumption among European university students in order to evaluate whether percept...

Smoking is a public health concern and an avoidable cause of morbidity and mortality. Widening tobacco control policies might help shift social norms, the acceptability of exposing others to second-hand smoke, and cultural attitudes towards smoking. This study explored patient, staff, and visitor viewpoints of smoking within the grounds of a Nation...

Introduction and AimProblem drinking is rarely identified unless health-care professionals are specifically instructed to assess alcohol consumption. Individualised web-based alcohol interventions provide opportunities to enhance screening and early identification. We aimed to create a web-based brief personalised feedback intervention to enable cl...

Individuals who begin drinking in early life have an significantly increased risk of developing alcohol use disorders including dependence later in life. Brief intervention is a secondary (or selective) preventive activity, aimed at individuals who are drinking excessively or in a drinking pattern that is likely to be harmful to their health or wel...

Information and communication technology (ICT) systems are being developed for electronic symptom reporting across different stages of the cancer trajectory with research in palliative care at an early stage. This paper presents the first systematic search of the literature to review existing ICT systems intended to support management of pain in pa...

To conduct a systematic search of the literature documenting ICT systems used for pain management in palliative care patients with cancer. Study design and methods The review was undertaken in six stages: development of search strategy; generation of inclusion and exclusion criteria; assessment of relevance; data extraction and tabulation; overview...

Background Previous research has suggested that the perceptions students hold about the alcohol use of their peers are often inaccurate. Students tend to overestimate the peer alcohol use and these misperceptions have been identified to be a predictor of higher personal alcohol consumption. Most studies in this research field come from North-Amer...

Background The use of (il)licit psychoactive substances remains a cause for concern when it comes to university students. Social norms feedback (SNF) shows promising results in addressing this problem. Using an e-intervention to deliver SNF has grown in popularity over the last years. Methods As part of the SNIPE-project a literature study was...

Alcohol consumption in the student population continues to be cause for concern. Building on the established evidence base for traditional brief interventions, interventions using the Internet as a mode of delivery are being developed. Published evidence of replication of initial findings and ongoing development and modification of Web-based person...

There is increasing interest in implementing the Social Norms Approach outside the university setting but a relative paucity of description of such projects. The approach offers an alternative to traditional fear-based health education. The current article describes three social norms projects, all driven by public health agendas, conducted in the...

Background: There is a need for a generic, short, and easy-to-use assessment measure for common presentations of psychological distress in UK primary care mental health settings. This paper sets out the development of the CORE-10 in response to this need. Method: Items were drawn from the CORE-OM and 10 items were selected according to a combinatio...

Objective: The aim of our study was to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking, in a representative sample of English pupils. Method: Data from 13,635 school pupils in the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) on usage of cigarettes from 2004 (typical age 14) to 2006 (a...

Background: There is a need for a generic, short, and easy-to-use assessment measure for common presentations of psychological distress in UK primary care mental health settings. This paper sets out the development of the CORE-10 in response to this need. Method: Items were drawn from the CORE-OM and 10 items were selected according to a combinatio...

The objective of this study was to investigate perceptions of how information technology (IT) is currently utilised in the UK in the community management of cancer pain, perceived weaknesses in the current systems and expectations of future IT systems. Healthcare professionals and patient representatives (n = 46) attended two meetings that explored...

Background Incorrect perceptions of high rates of peer alcohol and tobacco use are predictive of increased personal use in student populations. Correcting misperceptions by providing feedback has been shown to be an effective intervention for reducing licit drug use. It is currently unknown if social norms interventions are effective in preventing...

College Drinking and Drug Use . Helene Raskin White and David L. Rabiner. December 2011, 304 pp, The Guilford Press, New York, London. ISBN 978-1-60623-995-7, Price: US$46.75 This volume, part of a series in child development and public policy, focuses on college drinking and drug use. The book has the ambitious goal of investigating college drink...

Objective: To assess the extent to which university students are following UK Government advice regarding appropriate consumption of alcohol, and to investigate if students can be placed into distinct clusters based on their drinking behaviour. Design: A descriptive questionnaire study. Setting: One hundred and nineteen undergraduate students from...

Conscientiousness is a strong predictor of health behaviours and better health outcomes. However, longitudinal data from representative samples of the population and from adolescents are rare. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish whether school-related conscientiousness was associated with the onset and change in alcohol drinking...

Alcohol impairs judgement and could be causally implicated in sexual risk taking. However, meta-analytic studies do not find an association between alcohol use and unprotected sexual intercourse at the event level, where both behaviours refer to the same point in time. Associations between personality traits and sexual risk taking have been replica...

Introduction Data were collected from a student population to investigate how substance use is related to perceived substance use of friends and the wider University population, during the period February to May 2009. The outcome measure was use of any of nine substances in the previous 3 months, giving differing patterns of use (trajectories) for...

The social norms approach to health promotion has become remarkably popular in the last 20 years, particularly in the American college system. It is an alternative to traditional fear-based approaches of health education, which a growing body of research demonstrates is often ineffective in reducing alcohol and drug misuse. The social norms approac...