Prestige award for Greg’s work
AN Edge Hill University student has been given a prestigious award by the Royal College of Nursing’s Research in Child Health Community for his work into the healthcare experiences of disabled children.
Greg Cigan, a PhD student within the University’s Faculty of Health and Social Care, has researched the effect of clinical procedures and being held on children and young people with intellectual disabilities.
Greg interviewed children aged six to 15 years old and their parents about their experiences of procedures such as blood tests, x-rays and surgery.
He will now evaluate this information to make recommendations for healthcare professionals on how they can improve the experience for children with intellectual disabilities.
Greg said: “I used symbol cards in some interviews which allowed me to gain the views and feelings of those children and young people who had difficulty communicating verbally.
“What was really interesting was that some of the children’s responses were not what their parents were expecting.
“Little things like the smell of creams or the sounds within a hospital can make a big difference to the way these children experienced healthcare procedures.
“During procedures some parents had to hold their child still for the procedure to be completed.
“Although some of the children and young people had difficulty remembering the types of procedures they had had, they could clearly remember being held and said they disliked this happening.”
He added: “Parents said that they try to prepare themselves for what will happen during a procedure but ultimately they still find waiting for the procedure and having to hold their child to be challenging and upsetting.”
Greg will present his work at an international conference organised by the Royal College of Nursing.
His work sits within the wider published research and international projects of the Faculty of Health and Social Care, exploring children and young peoples’ engagement in health interactions, led by Dr Lucy Bray.
This work focuses on how they are informed, prepared and involved in clinical procedures and planned interventions, and includes the creation of information material for parents taking their children for hospital procedures.