Laura Hollands

About me:

Laura is a PhD student, jointly registered with Exeter Medical School and the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is interested in the design and evaluation of group-based interventions, and in research that promotes the independence and wellbeing of older people and people with chronic conditions. In her PhD, Laura explores how we can manage the social processes that take place in a group setting, and how we can apply this to optimise the delivery of group interventions that aim to prevent loneliness in older people.

Laura completed her undergraduate degree in Medical Science at the University of Exeter, during which she worked on a Stroke Association funded pilot trial of community-based rehabilitation for people with Stroke (ReTrain). Her placement year research project examined fidelity of the ReTrain intervention using video analysis, and her final year research project examined the temporal association between physical activity and mood using ecological momentary assessment. After graduating she worked on an NIHR funded clinical trial at the University of Oxford, examining whether adding Proactive Liaison Psychiatry to the care of older people in acute general medical wards reduces length of hospital stay.

Laura is interested in the design and evaluation of group-based interventions, and in research that promotes the independence and wellbeing of older people and people with chronic conditions. Her current PhD research aims to understand how we can optimise the delivery of group-based interventions that target loneliness in older people, by understanding and controlling for the social dynamics that occur in a group setting.

Laura is funded by the QUEX Institute, a joint postgraduate research programme delivered by the Universities of Exeter and Queensland. She is supervised by Dr Mark Tarrant (University of Exeter), Prof Catherine Haslam (University of Queensland), and Dr Raff Calitri (University of Exeter).

• BSc (Hons) Medical Science with Professional Training Year (University of Exeter)