Chronic Illness Research Team
Team Members
Academic Staff
Visiting Research Fellows
- Arroll, Megan
- Professor Yoon-Hee Cha, Department of Neurology, University of California, LA. (Senior Visiting Research Fellow)
- Dr Amolak Bansal, Department of Immunology, St. Helier NHS Trust, Surrey. (Senior Visiting Research Fellow)
- Dr Dev Pyne, Consultant Rheumatologist/Lead Clinician, Barts and The Royal London Hospitals NHS Trust. (Senior Visiting Research Fellow)
Our Chronic Illness Research Team carries out research into many different conditions including IBS and illnesses that are not visible to anyone else, but cause the suffer pain and discomfort. We look at the ways in which the illness or disease affects the lives of the people who suffer from this wide range of conditions, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Epilepsy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. Our team includes people with these illnesses, and therefore we understand the problems faced by people with chronic illness. Members of our team are currently looking at the ways in which illness related and psychosocial variables relate to cognitive function in the following conditions.
- Ménière’s disease
- Mal de Débarquement Syndrome
- Chronic Motion Sickness
- Epilepsy
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalopathy (CFS/ME)
We are also looking at the ways illness related and psychosocial variables interact together to affect quality of life or mood states in Multiple Sclerosis.
We look into the factors that may contribute to the illness, the effects that they have on the individual with the illness and how they can be treated.
Our research includes investigation into:
- the role of stress, depression and anxiety in physical illness;
- benefits of self-help groups and counselling;
- benefits of nutritional supplementation;
- attitudes of health professionals towards illness;
- factors influencing quality of life, such as stigma;
- the ways in which illness intrudes on people’s lives; and
- the ways in which illness affects cognition, e.g., memory and attention.
CIRT is a team within our Health Psychology Research Group and is led by Attree, Elizabeth together with Professor Christine Dancey. Professor Dancey began research in the area of chronic illness in 1991 when she, together with a colleague from Sheffield, Sue Backhouse, founded The IBS Network. Their early research and publications focused solely on Irritable Bowel Syndrome but CIRT quickly applied their expertise to include many other illnesses. CIRT now has many publications (see below).
CIRT is both a national and international organisation. We have worked with colleagues in Sheffield, York and Sussex in the UK and in Canada, USA, Germany and Hungary. We welcome contact with other researchers working in a similar area in order to develop both national and international collaborations.
Please contact us if you would like to:
- Find out more about taking part in our research studies
- Talk with us about potential research collaborations
Chronic Illness Research Team
School of Psychology
University of East London
Water Lane
London
E15 4LZ
Email: cirt@uel.ac.uk
Useful publications and links
- Attree, E.A., Pope, A., & Dancey, C.P. (2009). An assessment of prospective memory retrieval in chronic fatigue syndrome using a virtual-reality assessment environment: an initial study. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 379–385. doi:10.1089/cpb.2009.0002
- Dancey, C.P., Attree, E.A., Stuart, G., Wilson, C., & Sonnet, A. (2009). Words fail me: The verbal IQ deficit in inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 15(6), 852–857. doi:10.1002/ibd.20837
- Dancey, C.P., Stenner, P., Attree, E.A., Coogan, J., Kovács, Á., & Bàrdos, G. (2009). Irritable bowel syndrome Hungary: How do patients view their illness? Clinical and Experimental Medical Journal, 3(3), 487–498. doi:10.1556/CEMED.3.2009.3.10
- Goudsmit, E.M., Ho-Yen, D.O., & Dancey, C.P. (2009). Learning to cope with chronic illness: Efficacy of a multidimensional treatment for people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Patient Education and Counselling, 77, 231–236. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.05.015
- Goudsmit, E.M., Shepherd, C., Dancey, C.P., & Howes, S. (2009). ME: Chronic fatigue syndrome or a distinct clinical entity? Health Psychology Update, 18(1), 26–33.
- Arroll, M.A. & Senior, V. (2008). Individuals’ experience of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: An interpretative analysis Psychology and Health, 23 (4): 443-458
- Dancey, C.P., & Friend, J. (2008). Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness — their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME. Psychology & Health, 1–17.
- Gerson, C.D., Gerson, M.-J., Awad, R.A., Chowdhury, A., Dancey, C., Poitras, P., et al. (2008). Irritable bowel syndrome: an international study of symptoms in eight countries. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 20, 659–667. doi:10.1097/MEG.0b013e3282f53a24
- Dancey, C.P., Attree, E.A., & Brown, K.F. (2006). Nucleotide supplementation: a randomised double-blind placebo controlled trial of IntestAidIB in people with irritable bowel syndrome [ISRCTN67764449]. Nutrition Journal.
- Gerson, M.-J., Gerson, C.D., Awad, R.A., Dancey, C.P., Poitras, P., Porcelli, P., et al. (2006). An international study of irritable bowel syndrome: family relationships and mind-body attributions. Social Sciences & Medicine, 62, 2838–2847
- Dancey, C.P., & Rutter, C.L. (2005). Take control! Insights into irritable bowel syndrome. Available from http://ebooks.gemixin.net/.
