Caitriona shares her experience of attending the annual Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference in Stirling, in June last year.
I was delighted to be a recipient of funding that allowed me to attend the annual Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference in Stirling, Scotland in June 2024. This is certainly one of my favourite conferences to attend as it has a supportive and collaborative environment, where researchers and practitioners within the field of health psychology at all stages of their career can come together and learn from one another. This year it was extra special as I was presenting as part of a symposium on the importance of innovation in creative and qualitative methodologies for health behaviours. Within this symposium I was in very good company with Dr Joseph Keenan, Dr Jasmine Hearn, and Paul Cornwall, also from the School of Psychology.
I presented findings from my PhD research that explored the feasibility of a breast cancer awareness intervention for young women with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and their associates. This is a genetic condition that predisposes women with NF1 to an up to five-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer before the age of 50 years. The research utilised a creative theoretically based animation to aid in NF1 raising breast cancer awareness, as early detection is key to experiencing a better prognosis if diagnosed with breast cancer. You can watch the animation here.
Being provided with funding to attend the conference meant that I was able to attend and present in person. It therefore allowed me to listen to other speakers’ presentations, but to also network with these individuals. Often, a conversation on a certain topic would carry on throughout the two-day conference event as you met each other again in various talks! I came away from each presentation having learnt something new, with a fresh enthusiasm for research and health psychology. While learning is important, being provided the means to attend and present in person, also helped with growing my confidence with speaking in public. I was nervous beforehand, but I had a great sense of achievement after, and it was a positive experience to have the opportunity to present as part of a symposium where each speaker presented their innovative research approaches. I do believe that it also provided an opportunity to not only present my research, but to also raise awareness about the condition of NF1, and the increased risk of developing breast cancer at a younger age which is often not well known about.
I am already looking forward to attending next year’s Division of Health Psychology Conference.
