Bridget Dibb

I am a Health Psychologist and obtained my Master’s and PhD from the University of Southampton, where I was also a Lecturer in Health Psychology from 2004-2007. I moved to Brunel in 2008 where I continue to research. I am a director of our MSc in Psychology, Health, & Behaviour, and I convene and teach on the undergraduate qualitative methods module. I am also currently School Senior Tutor and Touch Point Team Leader for Psychology.

Research Interests

As a Health Psychologist my research interests cover many aspects of health and illness, my main areas of interest include posttraumatic growth after illness; the influence of social comparison on perceptions, adjustment and rehabilitation; illness beliefs; quality of life and adjustment to chronic illness; fear-avoidance beliefs.

Current studies include:

• Factors influencing decisions to disclose a positive HIV diagnosis
• Posttraumatic growth after a positive HIV diagnosis and disclosure
• The experience of stigma in people who experience memory loss and epilepsy
• Understanding expectations and social comparison in the context of spinal cord rehabilitation
• Doctor and patient communication and satisfaction
• Understanding obesity

PhD Supervision

• Coping with caring for a relative with memory problems
• Factors influencing the use of ambulatory oxygen in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Publications

Journal Papers

(2011) Dibb, B. and Kamalesh, T., Exploring positive adjustment in HIV positive African women living in the UK, AIDS Care 24 (2) : 143- 148 Download publication

(2011) Arnold, E., Bruton, A., Donovan-Hall, M., Fenwick, A., Dibb, B. and Walker, E., Ambulatory oxygen: why do COPD patients not use their portable systems as prescribed? A qualitative study, BMC Pulmonary Medicine 11 (9) Download publication

(2011) Burridge, JH., Turk, R., Merrill, D., Dibb, B., Hughes, AM., Sparrow, O., Roberts, H. and Davis, R., A Personalized Sensor-Controlled Microstimulator System for Arm Rehabilitation Poststroke. Part 2: Objective Outcomes and Patients' Perspectives, NEUROMODULATION 14 (1) : 80- 88

(2011) Nyman, SR., Dibb, B., Victor, CR. and Gosney, MA., Emotional well-being and adjustment to vision loss in later life: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies, Disability and Rehabilitation 1- 11

(2011) Hughes, AM., Burridge, J., Freeman, CT., Donnovan-Hall, M., Chappell, PH., Lewin, PL., Rogers, E. and Dibb, B., Stroke participants' perceptions of robotic and electrical stimulation therapy: a new approach., Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol 6 (2) : 130- 138

(2011) Brien, S., Dibb, B. and Burch, A., The use of intuition in homeopathic clinical decision making: An interpretative phenomenological study, Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2011 (2011) Download publication

(2011) Donovan-Hall, MK., Burridge, J., Dibb, B., Ellis-Hill, C. and Rushton, D., The Views of People With Spinal Cord Injury About the Use of Functional Electrical Stimulation, Artificial Organs 35 (3) : 204- 211

(2010) Hodges, L. and Dibb, B., Social comparison within self-help groups: views of parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy., J Health Psychol 15 (4) : 483- 492

(2009) Hughes, A-M., Burridge, J., Freeman, C., Chappell, P., Lewin, P., Donovan-Hall, M., Dibb, B. and Rogers, E., Efficacy of iterative learning control for stroke rehabilitation, Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry 13 (5) : 16- 20

(2009) Dibb, B., Positive change with Ménière's disease, British Journal of Health Psychology 14 (4) : 613- 624

(2008) Burch, AL., Dibb, B. and Brien, SB., Understanding homeopathic decision-making: a qualitative study, Forsch Komplementärmedizin 15 (4) : 218- 225

(2007) Yardley, L. and Dibb, B., Assessing subjective change in chronic illness: An examination of response shift in health-related and goal-oriented subjective status, Psychology and Health 22 (7) : 813- 828

(2006) Dibb, B. and Yardley, L., Factors important for the measurement of social comparison in chronic illness: a mixed-methods study., Chronic Illn 2 (3) : 219- 230

(2006) Dibb, B. and Yardley, L., How does social comparison within a self-help group influence adjustment to chronic illness? A longitudinal study., Soc Sci Med 63 (6) : 1602- 1613

(2003) Yardley, L., Dibb, B. and Osborne, G., Factors associated with quality of life in Meniere's disease, CLIN OTOLARYNGOL 28 (5) : 436- 441

Book Chapters

(2008) Donovan-Hall, M. and Dibb, B., Carrying Out Qualitative Research. In: Porter, S. and Hunt, R. eds. First steps in research. Elsevier Health Sciences 203- 229