Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) have been awarded share of a £7.2m grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support some of the world’s most disadvantaged people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Olinda Santin, senior lecturer at Queen’s has been given £219,959 to lead an international team of researchers in a project that will create a digital platform for people with cancer in Vietnam, to offer support and the information, psychological and social aspects that have an impact on patients and carers’ health.
Dr Santin said: “It is vital for cancer patients and their informal carers to receive uninterrupted support; the pandemic has demonstrated the need for flexible, high-quality health services that can be delivered remotely.
“We hope this research will provide patients and carers with a digital platform that will assist with the management and psychosocial impact of cancer.”
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Professor Andrew Thompson, UKRI’s International Champion added: “COVID-19 is demonstrating just how interconnected our world is and how our biggest challenges transcend rich and poor countries.
To find lasting, sustainable solutions to the current pandemic and its aftermath, as well as to make us more resilient for the future, we require global thinking, the mobilisation of global expertise and a global response. That is exactly what these new projects provide.
“Working together, researchers across the UK and the Global South are combining their knowledge and experience to develop innovative solutions to empower local communities to overcome the wide-ranging challenges created by COVID.”
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