![Dr Beatriz Goulao Dr Beatriz Goulao](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/s02bg4/avatar/SowEMihd2eLrWlwRn1zxyZACSaKMl56CbB9BnIWD.jpeg)
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
Advanced Research Fellow
- About
-
- Email Address
- beatriz.goulao@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438097
- Office Address
Health Services Research Unit
Health Sciences Building
University of Aberdeen
Foresterhill
Aberdeen AB25 2ZD
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
I am a health services researcher, statistician and MRC New Investigator leading a programme of research to improve the relevance and communication of data to support health decision making.
I lead the patient and public involvement in numerical aspects of trials (PoINT) research programme (visual abstract below from our priority setting) including MRC-funded PINpoINT - Patient and public INvolvement In target differeNces in Trials. We use participatory methods to improve involvement of patients, and the public in discussions related to data and statistics, making their collection, analysis and interpretation more relevant to them.
I am the Chief Investigator in participatory projects to improve the communication and translation of data in oral health settings. This includes an NHS Education for Scotland funded cluster randomised trial using data to support dentist's antibiotic prescriptions; and a Citizen Science project to improve the communication and implementation of oral health evidence [video below]. I am TRiaDS (Translating Research into a Dental Setting) lead statistician and methodology research fellow. More information about the projects can be found here.
As part of our portfolio of clinical trials evaluating complex interventions, I lead the statistical design of multiple NIHR funded national trials including in oral health (SCRIPT, PIP) and surgical interventions (VUE, OPEN).
I joined the Health Services Research Unit in 2014. I finished my PhD part-time focusing on complex designs to improve oral health research (2020). I have an MSc in Biostatistics (2013) and an MSc in Metabolic Diseases with a focus on nutrition epidemiology (2013). I have worked as a researcher in the Epidemiology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon and as a registered dietitian in the Portuguese National Health System.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Dietetic and Nutrition2010 - Lisbon's Health Technology School
- MSc Metabolic Disease and Food Behaviour2013 - Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon
- MSc Biostatistics2013 - Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
- PhD Applied Health Sciences2020 - University of Aberdeen"Statistical and methodological aspects of complex randomised controlled trials in oral health"
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Elected Senate Member for the University of Aberdeen (2022-)
Member of the Open Science University Network (2021-)
Member of the CLSM Ethics Review Board (2018-2021)
- External Memberships
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Panel member for the Health Services and Delivery NIHR programme
Independent statistician in several Data Monitoring and Trial Steering Committees for national NIHR funded trials
Associate editor for the Clinical Trials journal
Associate editor for the Implementation Science section of the Frontiers of Health Services (2020-22)
Member of the Audit and Feedback International Metalab International Trainee Network
Member of the Informed Health Choices International Network
Core member of the MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership Statistical Analysis Working Group
Member of the NIHR Improving Statistics Literacy group
Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (FSS)
Registered Dietitian (Portuguese Nutrition Professionals Council)
Prizes and Awards
2018 Principal’s Prizes for Public Engagement with Research
2018 Engage Researchers’ Academy member (National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement)
2017 Santander Mobility Award
2014 Best oral communication, Challenges 2020: Congress of the Portuguese Dietetic Association, Lisbon
2012 Best Oral Communication in Nutrition, 16th Portuguese Obesity Congress, Lisbon
- Research
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Research Overview
Trials methodology; Statistics; Participatory methods; Communication of data and evidence; Complex interventions; Implementation Science; Oral health and dental healthcare; Surgical interventions; Patient and public involvement; Mixed-methods
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Applied Health Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Healthcare Science
- Applied Science
- Applied Statistics
- Medical Statistics
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
My programme of research focuses on improving the relevance and communication of data to support health decision making.
The programme includes:
- Patient and Public Involvement in Numerical Aspects of Trials (PoINT) including:
- Patient and public INvolvement In target differeNces in Trials (The PINpoINT Study)
- The original Patient and public Involvement in Numerical aspects of Trials (PoINT) project. The results of our priority setting meeting to identify the top numerical aspects to involve patients and the public have been published [video presenting the project below]
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- INITIAL: Involving patients and the public In sTatistIcal Analysis pLans
- Patient and public involvement in numerical aspects of trials: a mixed methods theory-informed survey of trialists’ current practices, barriers and facilitators
- How do we know if a treatment is good enough? A survey of non-inferiority trials
- Creative workshops to improve communication of statistics in patient and public involvement
I am lead supervisor for two PhD students developing work in patient and public involvement in numerical aspects of trials: Sophie Greenwood, and Vitri Darlene. I work with public partners and researchers nationally and internationally to improve the translation of statistics to patients and the public, and to improve patient and public involvement in research.
- Improving the communication of evidence and data to support decision making in oral health and dental settings, including
I am chief investigator of the following projects:
- TiPTAP tests the use of data with or without training in-practice to support dentist's decision making when it comes to antibiotic prescribing
- GUIDE: Working with citizen scientists to improve GUideline Implementation in DEntistry
I am also TRiaDS lead statistician and methodology research fellow.
I am a statistician with expertise in the evaluation of complex interventions. As part of that role, my work focuses on:
- Leading the statistical work packages in national dental trials
Currently, I lead the statistical analysis work package of two large National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded dental trials: SCRIPT and PIP.
As part of the NIHR-funded IQuaD and INTERVAL dental trials, I have led the following methodological work:
- Three behavior change theory-informed randomized studies within a trial to improve response rates to trial postal questionnaires
- Have you had bleeding from your gums? Self-report to identify giNGival inflammation (The SING diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic model development study)
- Leading the statistical work packages in national surgical trials
These include leading the statistical design and analysis of the OPEN and VUE clinical trials.
Other methodological work
I have developed methodological work around cluster and factorial randomised trials and, in particular, multi-level cluster factorial trials.
Past Research
I was responsible for the statistical analysis and reporting of the following projects:- REFLECT: a randomised trial focusing on caries treatment prevention using fluoride toothpaste
- RAPiD Long-term follow-up: a randomised controlled trial testing different strategies of delivery of audit and feedback to decrease antibiotic prescribing in dentistry
- Game of Stones: a randomised trial of text messages and financial incentives to treat obesity in men
- EDNA: a longitudinal diagnostic study and prediction model to help identify and predict age related macular degeneration
Knowledge Exchange
I have led or been involved in several public engagement projects with the aim of improving critical thinking skills when looking at evidence, including numerical skills, and disseminating clinical trials. I have received several awards for my science communication work including the Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2018, Outstanding Achievement: Early Career Category.
Working with the local community radio and their youth media group, we have developed podcasts discussing concepts related to clinical trials.
The Trial of the LukcyTattie podcast team - listen here.
A podcast about COVID-19 trials presented at the international conference, Public Communication of Science and Technology 2020.
Collaborations
Member of the Audit and Feedback International Metalab International Trainee Network
Member of the Informed Health Choices International Network
Core member of the MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership Statistical Analysis Working Group
Member of the NIHR Improving Statistics Literacy group
I was awarded the Santader Mobility Award in 2017 to work on the efficient collection of dental outcomes in trials at the University of Munster.
I am a collaborator of the Unit of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon (learn more here) in the project PEN-3S - Nutritional status of Portuguese elders: national prevalence study and development of an electronic surveillance system.
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Applied Health Sciences.
Ongoing PhD supervision:
Vitri Darlene [lead supervisor]. EPPIC: Experiences of Patient and Public Involvement in target differences in Clinical trials. University of Aberdeen, 2023-
Sophie Greenwood [lead supervisor]. Eliciting and incorporating patient’s opinions about missing data in randomised controlled trials. University of Aberdeen, 2022-
Frank You [co-supervisor]. Changing behaviour to enable design and delivery of low carbon trials. University of Aberdeen, 2023-
Plamena Tsankova [co-supervisor]. Choosing Wisely in Dentistry: to dis-invest or re-invest? University of Dundee, 2023-
Alice Hamilton [co-supervisor]. Beliefs, behaviour, attitudes and knowledge of dental professionals and patients to Selective Caries Removal techniques in deep carious lesions affecting posterior permanent teeth. University of Dundee, 2021-
Completed PhD supervision:
Patrick Fee [co-supervisor]. Root caries: evidence in support of a minimal intervention approach. University of Dundee, 2017-2022.
Master's degree supervision:
I supervise Master projects in applied health sciences and I have been the lead supervisor for several projects related to patient and public involvement and engagement in trials and their numerical aspects.
Supervisees
- SOPHIE GREENWOOD
- MR SUI YOU
- MRS VITRI DARLENE
Funding and Grants
Research funding
Patient and public INvolvement In target differeNces in Trials (The PINpoINT Study) [£534,210.50]. 2023-26. Principal Investigator: Beatriz Goulao. Funding body: Medical Research Council.
INITIAL: Involving patients and the public In sTatistIcal Analysis pLans [£9,492.09]. 2021-22. Principal Investigator: Beatriz Goulao. Funding body: Medical Research Council-National Institute for Health Research
Ensuring academic trials answer the questions of interest: Implementation of the estimand framework [£8,775]. 2021-22. Co-applicant. Principal Investigators: Suzie Cro, Brennan Kahan. Funding body: Medical Research Council-National Institute for Health Research
GUIDE: Working with citizen scientists to improve GUideline Implementation in DEntistry [£10,000]. 2021-22. Principal Investigator: Beatriz Goulao. Funding body: Wellcome Trust – Institutional Strategic Support Fund at the University of Aberdeen.
The PIP trial - Pulpotomy for the Management of Irreversible Pulpitis (PIP) [£1,996,749.96]. 2020-2023. Co-applicant and lead statistician. Principal Investigators: Craig Ramsay and Jan Clarkson. Funding body: National Institute for Health Research.
Can co-design enhance national quality improvement interventions? [£33,617]. Jan-Nov 2020. Co-applicant. Principal Investigators: Laura Beaton and Jan Clarkson. Funding body: Chief Scientist Office Catalytic Research Grants.
Patient and public Involvement in Numerical aspects of Trials (PoINT) [£36,280]. 2019-2020. Principal Investigator: Beatriz Goulao. Funding body: Wellcome Trust – Institutional Strategic Support Fund at the University of Aberdeen.
Reporting results of diagnostic accuracy studies to patients and the public [£1,500]. 2019. Principal Investigator: Beatriz Goulao. Funding body: Medical Research Scotland.
Personal award: Engage Researchers’ Academy member [£970]. 2018. Funding body: UK Research and Innovation.
Personal award: Engage Researchers’ Academy attendee support [£870]. 2018. Funding body: Wellcome Trust – Institutional Strategic Support Fund at the University of Aberdeen.
Personal award: Santander Mobility awards to travel and collaborate with a research team at Munster University [£800]. 2017. Funding body: Santander.
Beatriz Goulao, Clare Robertson. Public engagement award to develop a Treasure Hunt activity and disseminate the evidence synthesis process [£300]. 2017. Funder: Public Engagement with Research Unit, University of Aberdeen.
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
I have been involved in the design and implementation, as a tutor and assessor, of both HSRU online courses:
- Real World Trials online course: where I deliver the factorial trials lesson and have co-designed the PPI module
- Patient and Public Involvement in Health Research online course: where I have co-designed and delivered live sessions with a particular interest in patient and public involvement in methodological projects
I am also an assessor for the Evidence Based Health module since 2019.
- Publications
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You had to do something: prescribing antibiotics in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and remobilisation
British Dental JournalContributions to Journals: ArticlesCompleteness of reporting and risks of overstating impact in cluster randomised trials: a systematic review
The Lancet Global Health, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. e1163-e1168Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPatient and public involvement in numerical aspects of trials (PoINT): exploring patient and public partners experiences and identifying stakeholder priorities
Trials, vol. 22, 499Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSelective Caries Removal in Permanent Teeth (SCRiPT) for the treatment of deep carious lesions: a randomised controlled clinical trial in primary care
BMC Oral Health, vol. 21, 336Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHave you had bleeding from your gums?: Self-report to Identify giNGival inflammation (The SING diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic model development study)
Journal of Journal of Clinical Periodontology, vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 919-928Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13455
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/16648/1/goulao_etal_have_you_had_VOR.pdf
The Value of Preventative Dental Care: A Discrete-Choice Experiment
Journal of Dental Research, vol. 100, no. 7, pp. 723-730Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034521989943
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/16739/1/Boyers_etal_JDR_The_Value_Of_VoR.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Twitter communication of the UK public on dental health and care during a COVID lockdown: "My kingdom for a dentist"
Community Dental Health, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 1-7Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEndoscopic urethrotomy versus open urethroplasty for men with bulbar urethral stricture: the OPEN randomised trial cost-effectiveness analysis
BMC Urology , vol. 21, 76Contributions to Journals: ArticlesProvision of the progestogen-only pill by community pharmacies as bridging contraception for women receiving emergency contraception: the Bridge-it RCT
Contributions to Journals: Registered Reports- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/hta25270
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/16696/1/Cameron_etal_Provision_of_the_VOR.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Audit and feedback with or without training in-practice targeting antibiotic prescribing (TiPTAP): a study protocol of a cluster randomised trial in dental primary care
Implementation Science, vol. 16, 32Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPatient and public involvement in numerical aspects of trials: a mixed methods theory-informed survey of trialists’ current practices, barriers and facilitators
BMJ Open, vol. 11, no. 3, e046977Contributions to Journals: ArticlesExamining the effectiveness of different dental recall strategies on maintenance of optimum oral health: the INTERVAL dental recalls randomised controlled trial
British Dental Journal, vol. 230, no. 4, pp. 236-243Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-2612-0
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Examining the impact of oral hygiene advice and/or scale and polish on periodontal disease: the IQuaD cluster factorial randomised controlled trial
British Dental Journal, vol. 230, no. 4, pp. 229-235Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-2662-3
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Risk-based, 6-monthly and 24-monthly dental check-ups for adults: the INTERVAL three-arm RCT
Health Technology Assessment, vol. 24, no. 60, pp. 1-172Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24600
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/15396/1/Clarkson_et_al_HTA_RiskBased6Monthly_VoR.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Use of effective contraception following provision of the progestogen-only pill for women presenting to community pharmacies for emergency contraception (Bridge-It): a pragmatic cluster-randomised crossover trial
The Lancet, vol. 396, no. 10262, pp. 1585-1594Contributions to Journals: ArticlesOpen urethroplasty versus endoscopic urethrotomy for recurrent urethral stricture in men: the OPEN RCT
Contributions to Journals: Registered Reports- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24610
Surgical Treatment for Recurrent Bulbar Urethral Stricture: A Randomised Open-label Superiority Trial of Open Urethroplasty Versus Endoscopic Urethrotomy (the OPEN Trial)
European Urology, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 572-580Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAntimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays administered to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection to improve patient outcomes and to protect healthcare workers treating them (Review)
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2020, no. 9, CD013627Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAntimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays to protect healthcare workers when undertaking aerosol‐generating procedures (AGPs) on patients without suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection (Review)
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2020, no. 9, CD013628Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUse of antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays by healthcare workers to protect them when treating patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2020, no. 9, pp. CD013626Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAerosol Generating Procedures and their Mitigation in International Dental Guidance Documents - A Rapid Review
Cochrane Oral Health. 69 pagesBooks and Reports: Other ReportsAfter lockdown: what can you expect when you go to the dentist
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesThree behavior change theory–informed randomized studies within a trial to improve response rates to trial postal questionnaires
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, vol. 122, pp. 35-41Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAntimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays administered to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection to improve patient outcomes and to protect healthcare workers treating them (Protocol)
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2020, no. 5, CD013627Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAntimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays to protect healthcare workers when undertaking aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) on patients without suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection (Protocol)
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2020, no. 5, CD013628Contributions to Journals: Articles