Gina Sands

Contact

• workRoom Research Office Tower Building
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 82 30584
• Gina.Sands@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

I am currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Maternal Health and Wellbeing group in the School of Health Sciences. I currently pursuing research interests in how place can affect health and wellbeing, early labour care and systems, human factors and safety in maternity care, and birth environments.

Before joining the department I was a Research Fellow in the Caring for Older People and Stroke Survivors (COPSS) theme of CLAHRC East Midlands based at the University of Nottingham Medical School. My other roles have included: Senior Research Associate at the University of East Anglia working on clinical trials and cohort studies related to rehabilitation and ageing; and Research Associate at the Age Research Centre and Health Design and Technology Institute at Coventry University working in relation to the WHO Age Friendly City initiative and on various EU projects.

My PhD was based in the Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety Unit (HEPSU) of Loughborough University Design School, and was entitled 'Environmental factors associated with falls in hospitalised older people'.

Expertise Summary

Midwifery and maternal health care; Green space; Ergonomics / Human Factors; Patient Safety; Ageing; Clinical Trials; Built Environment; Age Friendly Communities.

Research Summary

My research interests centre around how the environments we are in (both natural and built) can affect our health, safety, and wellbeing. This includes projects around how being in nature may help… read more

Selected Publications

• CRAIG C, CHADBORN N, SANDS G, TUOMAINEN H and GLADMAN J, 2015. Systematic review of EASY-care needs assessment for community-dwelling older people. Age and ageing. 44(4), 559-565
• JEPSON P, SANDS G, BESWICK AD, DAVIS ET, BLOM AW and SACKLEY CM, 2015. A feasibility randomised controlled trial of pre-operative occupational therapy to optimise recovery for patients undergoing primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis (PROOF-THR). Clinical rehabilitation. (In Press.)
• SACKLEY, CATHERINE M., SMITH, CHRISTINA H., RICK, CAROLINE, BRADY, MARIAN C., IVES, NATALIE, PATEL, RAMILLA, ROBERTS, HELEN, DOWLING, FRANCIS, JOWETT, SUE, WHEATLEY, KEITH, PATEL, SMITAA, KELLY, DEBBIE, SANDS, GINA and CLARKE, CARL, 2014. Lee Silverman voice treatment versus standard NHS speech and language therapy versus control in Parkinson's disease (PD COMM pilot): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial TRIALS. 15,
• HIGNETT, SUE, SANDS, GINA, FRAY, MIKE, XANTHOPOULOU, PENNY, HEALEY, FRANCES and GRIFFITHS, PAULA, 2013. Which bed designs and patient characteristics increase bed rail use? AGE AND AGEING. 42(4), 531-535

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Current Research

My research interests centre around how the environments we are in (both natural and built) can affect our health, safety, and wellbeing. This includes projects around how being in nature may help promote mental health and wellbeing among young pregnant women, and looking at how the design of birthing rooms may better support women's needs. I am also interested in how human factors methodologies and design thinking may improve the effectiveness and safety of the maternity care system.

My background is in healthcare human factors / ergonomics. I also have interests in general health services and ageing research, particularly in the design of healthcare environments and systems, and patient safety.

• SACKLEY CM, SMITH CH, RICK CE, BRADY MC, IVES N, PATEL S, WOOLLEY R, DOWLING F, PATEL R, ROBERTS H, JOWETT S, WHEATLEY K, KELLY D, SANDS G, CLARKE CE and , 2018. Lee Silverman Voice Treatment versus standard speech and language therapy versus control in Parkinson's disease: a pilot randomised controlled trial (PD COMM pilot). Pilot and feasibility studies. 4, 30
• SPIBY H, FAUCHER MA, SANDS G, ROBERTS J and KENNEDY HP, 2018. A qualitative study of midwives' perceptions on using video-calling in early labor. Birth (Berkeley, Calif.). (In Press.)
• SANDS, GINA, CHADBORN, NEIL, CRAIG, CHRIS and GLADMAN, JOHN, 2016. Qualitative study investigating the commissioning process for older people's services provided by third sector organisations: SOPRANO study protocol. BMJ open. 6(5), e010724
• SMITH TO, JEPSON P, BESWICK A, SANDS G,, DRUMMOND A, DAVIS ET and SACKLEY CM, 2016. Assistive devices, hip precautions, environmental modifications and training to prevent dislocation and improve function after hip arthroplasty (Review) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. CD010815.
• JEPSON, PAUL, SANDS, GINA, BESWICK, ANDREW D., DAVIS, EDWARD T., BLOM, ASHLEY W. and SACKLEY, CATHERINE M., 2016. A feasibility randomised controlled trial of pre-operative occupational therapy to optimise recovery for patients undergoing primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis (PROOF-THR) CLINICAL REHABILITATION. 30(2), 156-166
• CRAIG C, CHADBORN N, SANDS G, TUOMAINEN H and GLADMAN J, 2015. Systematic review of EASY-care needs assessment for community-dwelling older people. Age and ageing. 44(4), 559-565
• JEPSON P, SANDS G, BESWICK AD, DAVIS ET, BLOM AW and SACKLEY CM, 2015. A feasibility randomised controlled trial of pre-operative occupational therapy to optimise recovery for patients undergoing primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis (PROOF-THR). Clinical rehabilitation. (In Press.)
• SANDS G, KELLY D, FLETCHER-SMITH J, BIRT L and SACKLEY C,, 2015. An occupational therapy intervention for residents with stroke living in care homes in the United Kingdom: A content analysis of occupational therapy records from the OTCH trial British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 78(7), 422-30
• SACKLEY, CATHERINE M., SMITH, CHRISTINA H., RICK, CAROLINE, BRADY, MARIAN C., IVES, NATALIE, PATEL, RAMILLA, ROBERTS, HELEN, DOWLING, FRANCIS, JOWETT, SUE, WHEATLEY, KEITH, PATEL, SMITAA, KELLY, DEBBIE, SANDS, GINA and CLARKE, CARL, 2014. Lee Silverman voice treatment versus standard NHS speech and language therapy versus control in Parkinson's disease (PD COMM pilot): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial TRIALS. 15,
• HIGNETT, SUE, SANDS, GINA, FRAY, MIKE, XANTHOPOULOU, PENNY, HEALEY, FRANCES and GRIFFITHS, PAULA, 2013. Which bed designs and patient characteristics increase bed rail use? AGE AND AGEING. 42(4), 531-535
• HIGNETT, SUE, SANDS, GINA and GRIFFITHS, PAULA, 2013. In-patient falls: what can we learn from incident reports? AGE AND AGEING. 42(4), 527-531
• PAUL JEPSON, ANDREW BESWICK, TOBY O SMITH, GINA SANDS, AVRIL DRUMMOND, EDWARD T DAVIS and CATHERINE M SACKLEY, 2013. Assistive devices, hip precautions, environmental modifications and training to prevent dislocation and improve function after hip arthroplasty (Protocol) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013. CD010815
• SANDS, GINA, HIGNETT, SUE, FRAY, MICHAEL, XANTHOPOULOU, PENNY, HEALEY, FRANCES and GRIFFITHS, PAULA, 2011. An overnight bedrail audit in UK hospitals exploring the relationships between environmental factors and patient characteristics HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS ERGONOMICS AND PATIENT SAFETY 2011: AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND CITIZENS FOR PATIENT SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. 446-450
• HIGNETT, S., SANDS, G. and GRIFFITHS, P., 2011. Exploring the contributory factors for un-witnessed in-patient falls from the National Reporting and Learning System database AGE AND AGEING. 40(1), 135-138