Research Development Groups

During 2007, LLAIS revised its strategy for the development of the LLAIS research portfolio, according to three strands, as outlined below:

Facilitative Strand: Research studies that build the tools to facilitate language awareness in health and social care research and practice delivery
Translation and validation study of a Welsh language version of the Beck Depression Inventory (II)

BDI Poster

Descriptive Strand: Descriptive research studies that systematically identify the status of Welsh language provision in health and social care and generate questions for further research
Scoping study of bilingual provision in nurse education
Twf and onwards: impact assessment and the way forward
Empirical Strand: Research studies that measure the impact of language appropriate services on health outcomes; and inform service delivery
PILSen: Practice Interventions for Language Sensitivity: a Pilot Study to Inform the Delivery of Pharmaceutical Services in Rural North Wales

PILSen Poster

Speech accommodation in bilinguals (SAIB): prospects for informing healthcare communication in the bilingual setting

In light of discussions across the research infrastructure in Wales and beyond, there is encouraging potential for the development of collaborative research across these three strands. More recently, LLAIS has established three Research Development Groups (RDGs) in Wales.

The RDGs act as think tanks for LLAIS, engaging members in active dialogue in order to identify multi-disciplinary research priorities, generate research questions and develop specific, targeted research proposals. It is proposed that, through identifying and mobilizing appropriate specialist expertise and collaborators, the quality and rigour of research proposals will be enhanced and this will maximize their potential for external funding.