Midwife Muminat Zubair-Muhammed has been awarded a place on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Care’s prestigious Professional Internship Programme.
The year-long programme will provide Muminat with the opportunity to develop her research knowledge and skills through up to 30 flexible days of supervised research activity, supported by NIHR funding, alongside six days of workshops and seminars and a final research showcase event.
With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare as a nurse and midwife, including over 15 years in midwifery practice, Muminat has worked across Nigeria, Qatar and the UK. Her extensive clinical experience has fostered a growing interest in research and how it can help healthcare professionals better understand and enhance maternity care.
Digital inclusion
Muminat, who is based at The Royal Oldham Hospital, has a particular interest in digital inclusion in maternity services. During the internship, she hopes to explore how women and families access and use digital maternity information, and the factors that may influence their engagement with digital services.
Muminat said: “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity. Over the years, working in maternity care has made me increasingly interested in how research can help us better understand women’s experiences and support the delivery of high-quality care.
“Digital technology has created new ways for women and families to access information and support during pregnancy and beyond, but people’s experiences can vary. Through this internship, I hope to learn more about how women and families engage with digital maternity information and develop my research skills under the guidance of experienced researchers.
“I am looking forward to learning, developing new skills and gaining practical research experience that will broaden my understanding of maternity care and research.”
Muminat will be supervised by Dr Christine Furber, Associate Professor in Midwifery at the University of Salford, and supported by her mentor, Professor Heather Iles-Smith, Director of the Centre for Clinical and Care Research at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA). She will also receive support from Vikki Oloughlin, Associate Director of Nursing for Research and Innovation at NCA.
The maternity department at The Royal Oldham Hospital and the Centre for Clinical and Care Research have supported her internship. The Centre works in partnership with academic organisations to help nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, pharmacists, and healthcare scientists develop their research skills and build future research leadership capacity.