Research projects at the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR)

This two-year international project involved developing and testing a training programme for healthcare professionals in five European countries to facilitate patient adjustment to the challenges of living with a visible difference. The training is based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

CAR collaborated with experts from eight countries to deliver the project. The training was carried out to a range of health professionals in Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia and Estonia. The project was funded by Erasmus+. For more information, please visit ACT Now.

In collaboration with five partners from across Europe, we developed training for vocational guidance counsellors and trainers. Consequently, they could understand and recognise causes and consequences of disfigurement and/or appearance dissatisfaction in their clients. Moreover, the stigma and/or discrimination faced by these individuals.

This project was funded with support from the European Commission.

We collaborated with 34 countries representing over 55 organisations across Europe to create an approach to establishing levels of appearance-related distress and the damaging affects on physical and psychological health in European countries. Although there are examples of research and activism in the field in Europe, many researchers work in isolation, diluting the potential impact of their work. This collaboration has forged crucial links between researchers, practitioners and policymakers. Offering the potential for significant benefits to the millions of Europeans adversely affected by these issues.

Appearance Matters was funded by the Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), with support from the European Commission. The project is COST Action IS1210.

Be Positive

Our partners for Be Positive were from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Sweden. We developed an innovative method of training that empowers young unemployed individuals and/or NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training).

We prepared participants to adapt to stressful events and successfully assimilate these. They could also use these stressors as opportunities for positive growth based on identification and utilisation of key Positive Psychology constructs and processes. This was accomplished by developing a 'Be Positive' training curriculum. Now organisations have a resource that addresses the psychological issues that are relevant to this group in a positive way.

Be Positive was funded with support from the European Commission.

Children’s Burns Trust run regional residential family weekends to provide support to families of burn injured children. CAR has been conducting an independent evaluation of these weekends to better understand the benefits for families, children, and staff, as well as identify any barriers to engagement.

We worked with staff at We The Curious, an award-winning science centre, to develop an interactive exhibit titled ‘First Impressions’. The aim is to encourage the public to consider their appearance-related stereotypes and to promote acceptance of diversity of appearance.

This project has been made possible with the support of the British Psychological Society and the Department of Psychology, UWE Bristol.

We collaborated with experts from seven European countries to develop a training resource for health professionals. RSBDF (Norway) and ECO's (The Netherlands) aim was to optimise psychosocial support for individuals with visible difference. The modular training course was piloted on 80 to 20 health professionals in Bulgaria, Latvia, Serbia and Turkey.

This project raised awareness and contributed to social dialogue about discrimination and social exclusion for individuals/families with disfiguring conditions.

Face Value was funded with support from the European Commission.

In the largest study of its kind, we worked with researchers across the UK, to investigate psychological factors that influence adjustment to a visible difference. As a result, we developed a CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) based intervention manual. For specialists working with individuals with a visible difference. This project was supported by The Scar Free Foundation.

As part of a consortium of multi-disciplinary vocational training experts, we developed a modular training course to educate health professionals about the educational trajectories of common congenital anomalies such as cleft lip and/or palate. The aim of the course is to increase awareness about the need for diagnostic screening and improve access to care provision to support children's' educational development.

The Innovative Health Educational Module (IHEM) is currently being piloted with 50-100 health professionals in Bulgaria, Latvia, Serbia, Sweden and Turkey. This project was funded with support from the European Commission.

Funded by Restore Burn and Wound Research, we developed patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) for use by clinicians and researchers working with people affected by burn injuries. Further funding was provided by Dan's Fund for Burns, and the Children's Burns Research Centre.

Our overall aim is to promote positive attitudes towards diversity in appearance among the public. We're working on ways to improve understanding about different forms of visible difference. In order to promote people with an unusual aspect to their appearance.

We collaborated with professional photographer, Joanne de Nobriga. Joanne created a photographic ‘portrait’ of them. The portrait had to communicate something about who they are and what they do. Participants were asked to write a short biography to accompany the photo, to introduce themselves to viewers.

We worked with the charity Alopecia UK on a project funded by Pfizer UK (PDF) to investigate the social, economic and psychological impact of alopecia areata (a hair loss condition affecting around 2.5% of the population). 

Craniofacial microsomia: Accelerating Research and Education

Funded by the National Institutes for Health in the USA, this five-year international programme is a collaboration between the Centre for Appearance Research, Seattle Children's Hospital, and multidisciplinary researchers, clinicians, and advocacy groups based around the world. The aim of this research is to investigate the psychosocial impact and healthcare burden of craniofacial microsomia, and to implement a long-term global strategy to improve care for those affected and their families.

For more information, please contact Dr Nicola Stock (Nicola2.Stock@uwe.ac.uk). 

• North Bristol NHS Trust
• University of Bristol
• University of Bath
• Cardiff University

We work on a psychosocial stream within this exciting new, multi-disciplinary research group. The programme aims to improve the provision of care for young people and their families affected by burn injuries.

Find out more about the Children's Burns Research Centre.

Understanding needs and interventions for the treatment of scarring: The psychosocial impact of conflict-related disfigurement

Funded by the Scar Free Foundation as part of the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research, this research explored the experiences of military personnel and veterans who have sustained appearance-altering injuries during military operations or training since 1969, and their family members, to understand the role of appearance and body image in their adjustment.

The overall purpose of this three-year project was to develop tailored support for those affected by appearance-altering injuries sustained during military operations and training.

This major programme of work is driven by priorities set by charities that work directly with people and their families who are living with visible difference. With support from The VTCT Foundation, we are conducting a new programme of research, to help charities in this sector maximise their impact.

Find out more about the VTCT Foundation project.

Optimising patient outcomes through the training of health care professionals

We led an EU-funded collaboration between universities and non-governmental organisations across six European countries. An academic programme was created for health professionals from a variety of specialist areas (doctors, nurses, dentists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists etc). 

The programme provided training to enable them to identify and support patients with appearance-related issues and thus optimise patient outcomes. This was in response to research showing many patients may have concerns about their appearance or body image. Which impacts their health and psychosocial well-being, and influences their healthcare decision making and their recovery.

This project was funded with support from the European Commission.

We worked with young people with a visible difference to develop an online psychosocial support tool. A feasibility trial to evaluate YP Face IT was conducted in the UK and the resource has also now been translated and evaluated with young people in Norway and the Netherlands.

We explored the ways in which young people use Facebook and how they feel about themselves and their bodies. The study contributed to our understanding of body image concern in adolescents through investigating one potential contributing source, that of social networking sites, which have now become an integral part of young people’s lives.

This project was funded by UWE Bristol.

This project assessed the feasibility of routinely using a brief psychological screening and follow-up tool for patients seeking cosmetic surgical procedures.

This project was funded by The Scar Free Foundation and The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

In 2014, the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) commenced an academic partnership with the Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) to conduct world-leading research to develop and evaluate innovative evidence-based interventions that promote body confidence among young people around the world. The Dove Self-Esteem Project is a global education initiative by the Unilever brand, Dove, that aims to ensure the next generation grow up with a positive relationship to their bodies and the way they look.

Find out more about the streams of research and the team working on the Dove Self-Esteem Project.

This project evaluate three classroom-based programmes for improving young people's body image. It was delivered by teachers to 13 to 14 year old girls and boys across 14 secondary schools. 

This project was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and was in collaboration with Future Quest.

We developed a teacher training pack that addresses the consequences of negative body image. The project aimed at lowering dropout rates and increasing completion rates of VET (vocational education and training) students in partner countries through focusing on precisely those dropout aspects seemingly ignored or avoided by others when addressing the same issue. Promoting awareness about these issues to teachers ultimately contributes to an easier and more successful training completion and access to the job market for the students.

This project was funded with support from the European Commission.

With the support of Breast Cancer Now, we examined the psychosocial impact of breast cancer, those impacts being:

• breast reconstruction
• DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ)
• the experiences of Black and South Asian women
• interventions to support patients affected by chemotherapy-related hair loss.

This project examined the characteristics of those presenting for cosmetic procedures and explored the psychological impact of undergoing such procedures. We also piloted a psychological screening tool with cosmetic surgery patients.

We developed an intervention called PEGASUS, to support shared decision making. Between health professionals and their patients who are considering surgery that will alter their appearance. Research to date has explored its use with women contemplating breast reconstruction after mastectomy, or breast augmentation as a cosmetic procedure.

For more information, visit Pegasus Decision Making