School of Medicine

Research overview

My current position is Marie Curie Research Associate for the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre in the Wales Cancer Trials Unit.  Alongside this, I am pursuing a PhD by published works looking at women’s surgery choices for early breast cancer and the implications for designing decision support interventions in reference to an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations (also known as the self-regulatory model).  As part of this work we have developed, field-tested and evaluated a web-based decision intervention to support women newly diagnosed with early breast cancer (stage I or II), who have been given the choice between breast conserving surgery with radiotherapy (lumpectomy) or mastectomy as their primary therapeutic treatment (BresDex: www.bresdex.com). The design and evaluation of BresDex has been guided by the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations.

Education & qualifications

BA (Hons) Psychology
MPhil (Occupational & Health Psychology): “Combined Effects of Occupational Health Hazards”

Research students

William Marsh (Intercalated BSc Student; Public Health Route: 2009-2010)

Peer Esteem

Reviews

Reviewer for peer reviewed publications, including Patient Education and Counseling, and Annals of Behavioral Medicine

External Memberships

• Fellow of the Dartmouth Summer Institute for Informed Patient Choice
• British Psychological Society
• European Health Psychology Society
• International Society of Advance Care Planning and End of Life Care (ACPEL)
• Palliative Care Research Society

Internal Memberships

• Decision Laboratory (www.decisionlaboratory.com)
• Psychology Group (Clinical Epidemiology IRG)

Selected key publications

• Increasing readiness to decide and strengthening behavioral intentions: evaluating the impact of a web-based patient decision aid for breast cancer treatment options (BresDex: www.bresdex.com).
  Sivell S, Edwards A, Manstead AS, Reed MW, Caldon L, Collins K, Clements A, Elwyn G, BresDex Group None, Patient Educ Couns, Volume 88, 2 (August 2012) pp.209-217
• Theory-based design and field-testing of an intervention to support women choosing surgery for breast cancer: BresDex.
  Sivell S, Marsh W, Edwards A, Manstead AS, Clements A, Elwyn G, BresDex group None, Patient Educ Couns, Volume 86, 2 (February 2012) pp.179-188
• Understanding surgery choices for breast cancer: how might the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Common Sense Model contribute to decision support interventions?
  Sivell S, Edwards A, Elwyn G, Manstead AS, Health Expect, Volume 14 Suppl 1 (March 2011) pp.6-19
• How risk is perceived, constructed and interpreted by clients in clinical genetics, and the effects on decision making: systematic review.
  Sivell S, Elwyn G, Gaff CL, Clarke AJ, Iredale R, Shaw C, Dundon J, Thornton H, Edwards A, J Genet Couns, Volume 17, 1 (February 2008) pp.30-63
• Cancer genetic risk assessment for individuals at risk of familial breast cancer (Review)
  Sivell S, Iredale R, Gray J, Coles B, Cochrane Db Syst Rev (2007)