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A main takeaway from a methodological perspective for me is the power of triangulating qualitative (interviews & field notes) and quantitative methods to account for context when appraising effect. Many other key considerations and takeaways can be found in the paper/ my thesis.

What did we learn from the process evaluation? Participants found small incremental physical activity goals motivating and enjoyed meeting relatable, but did not feel confident to organise this themselves in the early stages, and so deficits in their social health persisted during the intervention.

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Given this is a feasibility trial, we cannot ascertain any intervention effects. However, we did see that physical activity levels increased when measured by accelerometry, yet quality of life was seen to decrease when using the EORTC QOLO-C30 and depression and anxiety improved when using HADS. ⁉️

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Only 3 group walks took place over the course of the 12-week intervention, and these were highly enjoyable and beneficial. Compliance with group walking was affected by Covid-19 but in addition, participants would have preferred research team led organisation of this aspect rather than peer led.

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However, plot twist: Covid pandemic stayed around for implementation. Despite this, there was an acceptable retention rate of 77%. The Fitbit was perceived to be the most enjoyable aspect followed by the health coaching:

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Each participant received education on physical activity, a Fitbit to monitor their activity, daily diaries and fortnightly health coaching to reflect on and redefine goals and were allocated to groups with other survivors and encouraged to walk together.

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ACCEPTANCE was designed as a technology and community based behaviour change intervention to increase physical activity (mainly walking) in line with WHO guidance during the cervical cancer survivorship period.

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Mara Pieri @marapieri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Really proud to share this paper which is an accumulation of 3.5 years of work to plan, implement and evaluate this trial, and even more time (post PhD) of writing. Here is a brief thread on what we happened:

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Reposted by Nessa Millet

On #TransgenderDayOfVisibility, so good to start with a 4-day workshop on #healthcare for #ageing #trans and #nonbinary people at the @lorentzcenter.bsky.social in Leiden 🏳️‍⚧️ Proud to be co-organising this! @mayachew.bsky.social @drnatt.bsky.social @nessamillet.bsky.social @dr-z-davy.bsky.social

Poster with title of event; image with multiple persons, some old, some younger

A group of people in front of a board discussing

One of the organizer, white man, in front of a slide projecting "international transgender day of visibility"

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AFFIRM Relationships project @affirmrelation.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Hi BlueSky, we moved! We're an ERC-funded (erc.europe.eu) research project led by David MatthewDoyle (dsquared.bsky.social). We aim to study gender-affirming hormones and social health in trans and gender diverse people. Here's a short recap of what we have done in the project thus far 🧵:

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Nessa Millet @nessamillet.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Ah yes true! Indeed it’s useful to proactively think then about the practicalities of dealing with a dataset where some data can be analysed by AI and some cannot. Thanks!

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Nessa Millet @nessamillet.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Thanks for sharing- the worked examples are really insightful! I wonder whether the choice to analyse data using AI should also consider participant’s feelings and attitudes around its use (e.g., via informed consent) or in your experience is it primarily driven by considerations of the research?

Nessa Millet @nessamillet.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Hi Michael, this is a really accessible paper and the practical tips on balancing continuity and flexibility are great for the stage we are at. Thanks for sharing!

Nessa Millet @nessamillet.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Can anyone recommend guidance / literature / resources to help with theoretical and practical design of longitudinal qual research studies (even more helpful if they also include temporal approaches😇) ? #qualconvos #qualitative #longitudinalresearchsdesign

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Stephanie Anne Shelton @sashelton.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

My grandmother's watermelons taught me invaluable lessons about #qualitative #research and about #writing from my #heart and #gut as essential to being an #academic. #highered #research #PhDSky #AcademicSky #HigherEdSky #methodology FREE access: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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dr. Margot Morssinkhof @hormonogo.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

We (a group of Dutch researchers) wrote an opinion article calling to protect academic freedom and research on sex and gender. The article was co-signed by over 300 academics, healthcare professionals and stakeholders, and it was published in a national newspaper (de Volkskrant) today!

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Interested in the EPSA method? Please take a read and feel free to reach out. Since we are in the preprint stage I would be interested to hear if you have any thoughts on the study or on the topic in general!

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This is why we wanted to write a paper which transparently details our co-creation process, the aim of which was to update and refine a conceptual model for the Affirm Relationships project, using the EPSA method.

Balancing the prioritisation of co-created and other forms of knowledge is common during scientific conceptualization stages of research. However, a lack of transparency around this process can lead to disempowerment of Lived Experienced Experts and perpetuate processes of extractive research.

We know that the practice of co-creation can be empowering as Lived Experienced Experts can create knowledge and influence research processes. But, what happens to this co-created knowledge? How is it used and prioritized when other knowledge on a topic (e.g, derived from theory) already exists?

NEW PREPRINT 📑 on #cocreation #transparency and #empowerent published by our team @dsquared.bsky.social and co-authored with Lived Experieced Experts titled “Integrating co-created and theory driven insights using an Equitable and Power-Sharing approach (EPSA)”: osf.io/preprints/ps...

osf.io

OSF

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Within AFFIRM Relationships, I lead the qualitative and participatory research. So, I am looking forward to connecting with other qualitative and participatory health researchers working in LGBTQ+ health, intervention implementation and/ or physical activity promotion. Feel free to reach out!😀

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I am now working within a multidisciplinary team on an exciting project called AFFIRM Relationships in NL. This project is advancing the field of transgender health by triangulating different methods to explore the effect of gender affirming hormone therapy on social well-being and relationships.

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Then, I was fortunate to collaborate with the Centre for Ethnic Health at The University of Leicester. I conducted a series of qualitative studies exploring the experiences and attitudes of underserved groups related to gynaecological cancer care pathways in the UK, for example:

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‪The feasibility and acceptability of delivering and evaluating a physical activity intervention (ACCEPTANCE) for cervical cancer survivors‬

As an ex-athlete and an exercise psych MSc graduate, I am passionate about promoting sustainable and tailored physical activity. In 2022, I defended my PhD which tested the feasibility of an intervention to increase physical activity levels after cervical cancer: scholar.google.nl/citations?vi...

scholar.google.nl

‪N Millet, HJ McDermott, F Munir, CL Edwardson, T Plekhanova, EL Moss, 2024‬

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