The Policy Pod

Dr Wassim Dbouk - insights from COP29

In this episode, Dr Wassim Dbouk, marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute reflects on his experience as a negotiator as part of the Lebanese delegation during COP29. He shares insights he gained from his experience and talks us through his main responsibilities and activities during this COP. He highlighted support he received on his journey from the UUCN, the Women and Gender and YOUNGO constituencies, the Youth Negotiators Academy, and individuals he collaborated with on his PPS New Things Fund project "Shaping Tomorrow: A Playbook for Coaching Leaders in Sustainable Decision-Making and Policy. You can find out more by reaching out to Wassim on w.dbouk@soton.ac.uk"

Storm Surge Barriers

In this episode, Prof Ivan Haigh and postgraduate researcher Sunke Trace-Kleeberg discuss their work, which is helping storm surge barrier teams around the world better prepare for the impacts of climate change on the management, maintenance and operation of their barriers. They are joined by Andy Batchelor from the Environment Agency, who was the former operations manager of the Thames Barrier and associated gates that projects London and communities along the Thames from flooding. Andy is also the chair of I-STORM, the international storm surge barrier network. The podcast is hosted by Dr Wassim Dbouk, a policy research fellow at the University of Southampton. 

By sea swimmers, for sea swimmers: benefits and barriers of sea swimming around the Isle of Wight

In this episode, researchers Fiona Middleton and Dr. Giulia Champion at the University of Southampton discuss their work with the Isle of Wight sea swimming community, exploring the benefits of – and barriers to – sea swimming. In a project supported by the New Things Fund, Fiona and Giulia hosted participatory workshops to identify conditions for more, safer sea swimming on the Island. 

They’re joined by Sue Barker and Victoria Thorneton-Field of Swim the Wight, a community interest company that runs regular supervised swims and promote sea swimming education, to discuss their plans for an accessible, eco-friendly tidal sea pool on the Isle of Wight. 

You can find out more about the sea pool at @isleofwightseapool on Instagram.

Policy making for emerging technologies: responsible research and innovation

In this episode of The Policy Pod, we discuss about emerging technologies and the importance of pre-emptive discussions for policy making and public engagement with Dr Rafael Mestre and Abdul Afzal from the University of Southampton. Rafael and Abdul will bring their knowledge and expertise on this topic while talking about three different projects: 

• Biohybrid Futures: a research project aimed at understanding the societal, ethical, and environmental implications of bio-hybrid robotics, funded by ESRC. Find more information here;
• RAI4MH, Responsible AI for mental health initiative: a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Northeastern University (US), funded by RAI UK; find more info here;
• SOUNDSCALE: an interdisciplinary research project studying the emergence of distributed acoustic sensing for smart cities, funded by the new UKRI's cross-research council scheme; find more info here.

Dr Wassim Dbouk's reflections on COP28

Dr Wassim Dbouk from Public Policy|Southampton and Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute attended COP28 as part of the Lebanese delegation. In this interview podcast, he shared his reflections on his experience at the summit, highlighting the challenges which the research community faces in engaging with the COP process.

Read his blog here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MELD-B Project 2nd Episode

In this podcast, we explore the MELD-B project, a pioneering study on early-onset burdensome multimorbidity. Learn about its origins, the significance of "burdensomeness," and how stakeholders from patients to policymakers view and tackle this issue. Discover how types of burden are identified and grouped, revolutionizing our approach to complex health challenges. Join us for a deep dive into MELD-B's transformative research.

Learn more about the project here: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Life Course Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

A recent publication to read: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

FEVER - Future Electric Vehicle Energy networks supporting Renewables

In this illuminating episode of 'Policy Pod', Giles engages in a captivating conversation with Professor Andrew Cruden, who is a member of the Institute for Life Sciences, Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, and Energy Technology Group. Professor Cruden introduces to us their groundbreaking FEVER project, which is dedicated to the development and demonstration of a fully autonomous, cost-effective, and socially embraced electric vehicle charger powered by renewables.

 

Get ready to be inspired as Andrew opens up about his educational journey and career trajectory in the fields of mathematics and physics, providing a unique perspective that sets the stage for this enthralling discussion.

 

For a deeper dive into the FEVER project, make sure to visit their official website at FEVER

Welcome to series 4 of Policy|Pod - meet (some of) the team

For the 4^th series of Policy|Pod, we thought we'd shake up the format and introduce you to some of the Public Policy|Southampton team to learn more about their journey to PPS and the role they perform within the team. Keen to know more? You can find about team members (and their favourite catchphrases) here: MEET THE TEAM; ABOUT US

PLUS we would love to hear from you about topics you would like to be briefed on contact us with your briefing request on: publicpolicy@soton.ac.uk

The Meld-B project

In this episode Dr Emilia Holland and Dr Simon Fraser talk about how their research will help in understanding when multiple long-term condition multi-morbidity (MLTC-M) becomes ‘burdensome’ and the best opportunities for intervention.

Background 

A growing number of people are living with several long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, depression or dementia. We call this multiple long-term condition multi-morbidity (MLTC-M). Many things throughout a person’s life influence the chances of developing health conditions. This includes their biology (e.g. age, ethnicity), things that happen to them (e.g. infections, accidents), behaviours (e.g. smoking, diet) and broader experiences (e.g. the environment people grew up in, their education, work, income). People from more disadvantaged backgrounds and/or certain ethnicities are more likely to develop MLTC-M and to develop it earlier. The impact (or ‘burden’) of MLTC-M, and the order that people develop conditions, also vary. 

The project page: Research project: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Lifecourse Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

New publication: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

 

ActMed: Improving access to medicines to support palliative care at home: challenges and opportunities

Dr Natasha Campling and Professor Sue Latter discuss ways to improve access to medicines and support palliative care at home. 

Background- 

Patient and carer access to medicines during the last 12 months of life (end-of-life) is critical for control of symptoms, including pain and distress, and for reducing urgent, unplanned use of healthcare services. However, data from our previous studies suggested that prescription, dispensing, supply and associated information given about medicines are experienced by patients as often difficult, demanding, lacking co-ordination, and involves a multiplicity of professionals. Although evidence is suggestive of patient and carer access problems with traditional service delivery systems, including General Practitioner care, little is known about this. Additionally, there are indications that critical sectors of the end-of-life workforce – palliative care nurse specialists and community pharmacists - are currently under-utilised.

Furthermore, whilst there are some promising innovations in end-of-life care models, the impact of these on patient access to medicines, as well as their cost-effectiveness comparative to more traditional delivery models, remains largely un-evaluated. Our recent research also suggests that the supply chain ‘upstream’ may be a contributing factor to the complexity and problems with access experienced by patients.