Each year, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) funds two methodology internships out of ten internships across Newcastle University. This scheme is led by Prof James Wason.
Chioma Elewa is a data analyst with a background in biochemistry, IT project management, and business analysis. She recently transitioned into health research through an internship at Newcastle University, funded by the NIHR Newcastle BRC.
Supervised by Prof James Wason and Dr Marzieh Shahmandi, she focused on identifying multimorbidity patterns in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and investigating associated risk factors and used latent class analysis (LCA) method to identify multimorbidity patterns in patients with RA, grouping them based on common health conditions and then examined how socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, as risk factors, influenced these patterns over time.
She said:
“This experience gave me an understanding into the complexities in managing patients with multimorbidity and highlighted the importance of considering a patient's background in providing effective healthcare. It also emphasised the need for further research on multimorbidity, particularly in hospital settings. “This internship has been a major step in my career transition, offering valuable hands-on experience in research methodologies and giving me insight into future career paths. Following my internship, I successfully applied for a NIHR pre-doctoral fellowship. This will allow me to carry out more research and training on clinical trials that take into account Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs).”
“This experience gave me an understanding into the complexities in managing patients with multimorbidity and highlighted the importance of considering a patient's background in providing effective healthcare. It also emphasised the need for further research on multimorbidity, particularly in hospital settings.
“This internship has been a major step in my career transition, offering valuable hands-on experience in research methodologies and giving me insight into future career paths. Following my internship, I successfully applied for a NIHR pre-doctoral fellowship. This will allow me to carry out more research and training on clinical trials that take into account Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs).”
She will be working on the ADMISSION Research Collaborative Project, which brings together scientists and clinicians, from five UK universities and hospitals. The goal is to transform our understanding of multimorbidity in hospital patients.
“This research is important because it will improve specialised care for patients with multimorbidity and also lead to targeted interventions for those living with MLTCs. I’m excited to collaborate with fellow researchers who share my interest in this field and I hope this experience will help inform my research for future doctoral studies.”