Dr Rebecca Playle
Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics
- Email:
- playlera@cardiff.ac.uk
- Telephone:
- +44 29207 44821
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
I am the Lead for the Health Services Research Statistics Group in the Centre for Trials Research (CTR), Cardiff University. I have over 10 years experience of the design, management, analysis and reporting of individual and cluster randomised trials and other well-designed studies. Prior to working solely in CTR, I held joint appointments as a Lecturer and then a Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics in the Dental and Medical Schools at Cardiff. My areas of methodological interest include dealing with clustering within group delivered intervention trials, handling missing data and independent patient data meta-analysis. The clinical areas I have experience in include public health, diabetes, health services care pathways, oral health and neuroscience.
Career Profile
Qualifications: BSc MSc PhD
Work history:
2007- current Head of Statistics, CTR, Cardiff University, UK
2011- 2017 Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics, Cardiff University, UK
2002-2011 Lecturer in Medical Statistics, Cardiff University, UK
2001-2002 Lecturer in Statistics, University of Western Sydney, Australia
1995-2001 Medical Statistician, Llandough Hospital, Cardiff, UK
1993-1995 Research Statistician, Health Promotion Wales, Cardiff, UK
Memberships / External Activities
Fellow of the HEA
Awards / Prizes
Certificate in Teaching Statistics in Higher Education
Teaching Profile
Undergraduate Teaching topics Year 3
- Introduction to SPSS, data entry, cleaning and management, graphing, summary statistics and the Normal distribution
- Introduction to confidence intervals, sampling variation, testing for normality, confidence intervals for paired data
- Probability and hypothesis testing, paired parametric and non-parametric tests
- Comparson of independent groups, unpaired parametric and non-parametric tests
- Proportions and Caregorical data, Chi-square tests, Relative risks and Odds ratios
Undergraduate Teaching topics Year 4
- Study design
- Statistics for critical appraisal
Postgraduate and Advanced Teaching topics
- Adequacy of statistical information, interpretation of statistical tests, Type I and Type II errors, study planning and power, statistical significance and clinical importance
- Oneway ANOVA, assumptions of ANOVA, model building and checking, post hoc tests
- Two factor ANOVA, fixed and random effects, model building and checking
- Regression, bivariate and multivariate linear regression, assumption checking and model fitting
- Logistic regression, bivariate and multivariate regression
2019
- Copeland, L.et al. 2019. The feasibility and acceptability of providing a novel breastfeeding peer-support intervention informed by Motivational Interviewing. Maternal and Child Nutrition 15(2), article number: e12703. (10.1111/mcn.12703)
- Moriarty, Y.et al. 2019. Improving cancer symptom awareness and help-seeking among adults living in socioeconomically deprived communities in the UK using a facilitated health check: A protocol for the Awareness and Beliefs About Cancer (ABACus) Randomised Control Trial. BMC Public Health 19(1), pp. -., article number: 285. (10.1186/s12889-019-6612-9)
2018
- Tan, D.et al. 2018. Does the gender of the subject affect perceived smile aesthetics when varying the dimensions of maxillary lateral incisors?. British Dental Journal 225, pp. 235-240. (10.1038/sj.bdj.2018.543)
- Amaral, C.et al. 2018. A feasibility clinical trial to improve social attention in Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using a brain computer interface. Frontiers in Neuroscience 12, article number: 477. (10.3389/fnins.2018.00477)
- Yhnell, E.et al. 2018. Exploring computerised cognitive training as a therapeutic intervention for people with Huntington's disease (CogTrainHD): protocol for a randomised feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 4, article number: 45. (10.1186/s40814-018-0237-0)
- Alhaidari, T.et al. 2018. Feasibility and acceptability of text messaging to support antenatal healthcare in Iraqi pregnant women: a pilot study. Journal of Perinatal Medicine 46(1), pp. 67-74. (10.1515/jpm-2016-0127)
- Button, K.et al. 2018. Improving access to care and treatment for patients with hip and knee pain at the interface between primary and secondary care. Presented at: OARSI 2018 World Congress on Osteoarthritis, Liverpool, 26-29 April 2018.
2017
- Paranjothy, S.et al. 2017. A novel peer-support intervention using motivational interviewing for breastfeeding maintenance:a UK feasibility study. Health Technology Assessment 21(77) (10.3310/hta21770)
- Moore, S.et al. 2017. The effectiveness of an intervention to reduce alcohol-related violence in premises licensed for the sale and on-site and consumption of alcohol: a randomised controlled trial. Addiction 112(11), pp. 1898-1906. (10.1111/add.13878)
- Chestnutt, I. G.et al. 2017. Fissure seal or fluoride varnish? A randomised trial of their relative effectiveness. Journal of Dental Research 96(7), pp. 754-761. (10.1177/0022034517702094)
- Chestnutt, I. G.et al. 2017. Seal or Varnish? A randomised controlled trial to determine the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealant and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay. Health Technology Assessment 21(21) (10.3310/hta21210)
- Monaghan, N.et al. 2017. Measuring oral health impact among care home residents in Wales. Community Dental Health 34(1), pp. 14-18. (10.1922/CDH_3950Morgan05)
2016
- Cox, W.et al. 2016. Neurofeedback training for alcohol dependence versus treatment as usual: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 17(1), pp. 480. (10.1186/s13063-016-1607-7)
- Moriarty, Y.et al. 2016. Contextual and personal factors impact on intervention delivery in the GASP (Groups for Alcohol-misusing Short-term Prisoners) trial. Presented at: 12th UKSBM Annual Scientific Meeting: Complex interventions in a complex world: applications of Behavioural Medicine, Cardiff, UK, 1-2 December 2016.
- Segrott, J.et al. 2016. Exploratory trial of a school-based alcohol prevention intervention with a family component. Health Education 116(4), pp. 410-431. (10.1108/HE-01-2015-0005)
2015
- Moriarty, Y.et al. 2015. Developing a process evaluation model in the GASP (groups for alcohol-misusing short-term prisoners) trial. Trials 16(S2), pp. 9. (10.1186/1745-6215-16-S2-P9)
- Segrott, J.et al. 2015. Preventing alcohol misuse in young people: an exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial of the Kids, Adults Together (KAT) programme. Public Health Research 3(15) (10.3310/phr03150)
- Al Ali, A.et al. 2015. The influence of snoring, mouth breathing and apnoea on facial morphology in late childhood: a three-dimensional study. BMJ Open 5(9), article number: e009027. (10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009027)
- Moore, S. C.et al. 2015. All-Wales Licensed Premises Intervention (AWLPI): a randomised controlled trial of an intervention to reduce alcohol-related violence. Public Health Research 3(10) (10.3310/phr03100)
2014
- Al Ali, A.et al. 2014. A three-dimensional analysis of the effect of atopy on face shape. European Journal of Orthodontics 36(5), pp. 506-511. (10.1093/ejo/cjs107)
- Lowes, L. M.et al. 2014. Late-breaking abstract. [LB1 Delivering early care in diabetes evaluation: the DECIDE Study. Hospital versus home management at diagnosis in childhood diabetes: a comparison of psychological, social, physical and economic outcomes]. Diabetic Medicine 31(s1), pp. 184. (10.1111/dme.12408)
- Moore, S. C.et al. 2014. All-Wales licensed premises intervention (AWLPI): a randomised controlled trial to reduce alcohol-related violence. BMC Public Health 14(1), article number: 21. (10.1186/1471-2458-14-21)
- John, E.et al. 2014. Healthy eating and lifestyle in pregnancy (HELP): a protocol for a cluster randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a weight management intervention in pregnancy. BMC Public Health 14(1), article number: 439. (10.1186/1471-2458-14-439)
- Lowes, L. M.et al. 2014. Delivering early care in diabetes evaluation: the DECIDE study. Hospital versus home management at diagnosis in childhood diabetes: a comparison of psychological, social, physical and economic outcomes. Presented at: Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2014, Liverpool, UK, 5-7 March 2014.
2013
- Busse, M.et al. 2013. A randomized feasibility study of a 12-week community-based exercise program for people with Huntington's Disease. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy 37(4), pp. 149-158., article number: 1557-0576/13/3704-0149. (10.1097/NPT.0000000000000016)
- Pickles, T.et al. 2013. Rasch analysis of the PedsQL 3.0 diabetes module. [Abstract]. Trials 14(S1), pp. -., article number: 40. (10.1186/1745-6215-14-S1-O40)
- Popat, H.et al. 2013. Preparing for practice - calibration of dental undergraduate students in the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need. British Dental Journal 215(9), pp. 469-471. (10.1038/sj.bdj.2013.1043)
- Khalil, H.et al. 2013. What effect does a structured home-based exercise programme have on people with Huntington's disease? A randomized, controlled pilot study. Clinical Rehabilitation 27(7), pp. 646-658. (10.1177/0269215512473762)
- Edwards, A. G.et al. 2013. Personalised risk communication for informed decision making about taking screening tests. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013(2), article number: CD001865. (10.1002/14651858.CD001865.pub3)
- Wilson, C.et al. 2013. The prevalence of lip vermilion morphological traits in a 15-year-old population. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 161(1), pp. 4-12. (10.1002/ajmg.a.35515)
- Dordevic, J.et al. 2013. A population-based cross-sectional study of the association between facial morphology and cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescence. BMJ Open 3(5), article number: :e002910. (10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002910)
- Playle, R. A.et al. 2013. Overcoming the challenge of conducting a pragmatic randomised trial in premises licensed for the on-site sale and consumption of alcohol [poster presentation]. Trials 14(Suppl), pp. P28. (10.1186/1745-6215-14-S1-P28)
2012
- Chestnutt, I.et al. 2012. Protocol for "Seal or Varnish?" (SoV) trial: a randomised controlled trial to measure the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay.. BMC Oral Health (10.1186/1472-6831-12-51)
- Chestnutt, I. G.et al. 2012. Protocol for 'Seal or Varnish' (SoV) trial: A randomised controlled trial to measure the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay. BMC Oral Health 12(1), pp. 51-62. (10.1186/1472-6831-12-51)
- Al Ali, A.et al. 2012. The influence of asthma on face shape: a three-dimensional study. European Journal of Orthodontics 36(4), pp. 373-380. (10.1093/ejo/cjs067)
- Robling, M. R.et al. 2012. The effect of the Talking Diabetes consulting skills intervention on glycaemic control and quality of life in children with type 1 diabetes: cluster randomised controlled trial (DEPICTED study). British Medical Journal 344, article number: e2359. (10.1136/bmj.e2359)
- McAndrew, R., Ban, J. N. and Playle, R. A. 2012. A comparison of computer- and hand-generated clinical dental notes with statutory regulations in record keeping. European Journal of Dental Education 16(1), pp. e117-e121. (10.1111/j.1600-0579.2011.00684.x)
- Busse, M.et al. 2012. A randomised feasibility study of a 12-week exercise programme in Huntington’s disease (HD). Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 83, pp. A58-A59. (10.1136/jnnp-2012-303524.182)
- Debono, K.et al. 2012. Perspectives of participating in a 12-week exercise programme for people with early -mid stage Huntington's disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 83(S. 1), pp. A59. (10.1136/jnnp-2012-303524.183)
- Richmond, S.et al. 2012. Detailing patient specific modeling to aid clinical decision-making. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics 5, pp. 105-131. (10.1007/978-94-007-4552-0_5)
- Toma, A. M.et al. 2012. The assessment of facial variation in 4747 British school children. European Journal of Orthodontics 34(6), pp. 655-664. (10.1093/ejo/cjr106)
- Busse, M.et al. 2012. Q12 A randomised feasibility study of a 12-week exercise programme in Huntington's disease (HD) [Abstract]. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 83(S1), pp. A58-A59. (10.1136/jnnp-2012-303524.182)
- Debono, K.et al. 2012. Q13 Perspectives of participating in a 12-week exercise programme for people with early -mid stage Huntington's disease [Abstract]. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 83(S1), pp. A59. (10.1136/jnnp-2012-303524.183)
- Khalil, H.et al. 2012. Q15 A pilot study of an exercise intervention to improve motor function in people with Huntington's disease (HD) [Abstract]. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 83(S1), pp. A59. (10.1136/jnnp-2012-303524.185)
2011
- Townson, J.et al. 2011. Delivering early care in diabetes evaluation (DECIDE): a protocol for a randomised controlled trial to assess hospital versus home management at diagnosis in childhood diabetes. BMC Pediatrics 11, article number: 7. (10.1186/1471-2431-11-7)
- Gregory, J. W.et al. 2011. Development and evaluation by a cluster randomised trial of a psychosocial intervention in children and teenagers experiencing diabetes: The DEPICTED study. Health Technology Assessment 15(29), pp. 1-202. (10.3310/hta15290)
- Malic, S.et al. 2011. In vitro interaction of chronic wound bacteria in biofilms. Journal of Wound Care 20(12), pp. 569-577.
2010
- Stephenson, J.et al. 2010. A competing risk survival analysis model to assess the efficacy of filling carious primary teeth. Caries Research 44(3), pp. 285-293. (10.1159/000314677)
- Stephenson, J.et al. 2010. Modelling childhood caries using parametric competing risks survival analysis methods for clustered data. Caries Research 44(1), pp. 69-80. (10.1159/000279326)
- McNamara, R.et al. 2010. Development and evaluation of a psychosocial intervention for children and teenagers experiencing diabetes (DEPICTED): a protocoal for a cluster randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of a communication skills training programme for healthcare professionals working with young people with type 1 diabetes. BMC Health Services Research 10(36) (10.1186/1472-6963-10-36)
2009
- Schroter, S.et al. 2009. Evaluation of an online diabetes needs assessment tool (DNAT) for health professionals: A randomised controlled trial. Trials 10, article number: 63. (10.1186/1745-6215-10-63)
- Deans, J.et al. 2009. An exploratory study of the cost-effectiveness of orthodontic care in seven European countries. European Journal of Orthodontics 31(1), pp. 90-94. (10.1093/ejo/cjn040)
- Toma, A. M.et al. 2009. Reproducibility of facial soft tissue landmarks on 3D laser-scanned facial images. Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research 12(1), pp. 33-42. (10.1111/j.1601-6343.2008.01435.x)
2008
- Popat, H.et al. 2008. Three-dimensional motion analysis - an exploratory study. Part 1: Assessment of facial movement. Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research 11(4), pp. 216-223. (10.1111/j.1601-6343.2008.00433.x)
- Toma, A. M.et al. 2008. A three-dimensional look for facial differences between males and females in a British-Caucasian sample aged 15 1/2 years old. Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research 11(3), pp. 180-185. (10.1111/j.1601-6343.2008.00428.x)
- Popat, H.et al. 2008. Three-dimensional motion analysis - an exploratory study. Part 2: Reproducibility of facial movement. Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research 11(4), pp. 224-228. (10.1111/j.1601-6343.2008.00435.x)
2007
- Thomas, H.et al. 2007. Mental health and quality of residential environment. British Journal of Psychiatry 191(6), pp. 500-505. (10.1192/bjp.bp.107.039438)
2006
- Ong, E., Playle, R. A. and Richmond, S. 2006. Peer assessment of dental attractiveness. American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics 130(2), pp. 163-169. (10.1016/j.ajodo.2005.02.018)
- Araya, R.et al. 2006. Perceptions of social capital and the built environment and mental health. Social science & medicine 62(12), pp. 3072-3083. (10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.037)
- Araya, R.et al. 2006. Perceptions of social capital and the built environment and mental health. Social science & medicine 62(12), pp. 3072-3083. (10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.037)
2005
- Kau, C. H.et al. 2005. Reliability of measuring facial morphology with a 3-dimensional laser scanning system. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 128(4), pp. 424-430. (10.1016/j.ajodo.2004.06.037)
- Tatarunaite, E.et al. 2005. Facial attractiveness: a longitudinal study. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 127(6), pp. 676-682. (10.1016/j.ajodo.2004.01.029)
- Playle, R. A. and Richmond, S. 2005. An update on the analysis of agreement for orthodontic indices. The European Journal of Orthodontics 27(3), pp. 286-291. (10.1093/ejo/cjh078)
- Chadwick, B. L., Treasure, E. T. and Playle, R. A. 2005. A randomised controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of glass ionomer sealants in pre-school children. Caries Research 39(1), pp. 34-40. (10.1159/000081654)
2004
- Chestnutt, I. G.et al. 2004. A comparison of a computer-based questionnaire and personal interviews in determining oral health-related behaviours. Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology 32(6), pp. 410-417. (10.1111/j.1600-0528.2004.00160.x)
1999
- Ollerton, R. L.et al. 1999. Day-to-day variability of fasting plasma glucose in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic subjects. Diabetes Care 22(3), pp. 394-398. (10.2337/diacare.22.3.394)
1998
- Playle, R. A.et al. 1998. Determining true glomerular filtration status in newly presenting type 2 diabetic subjects using age and sex adjustment. Diabetes Care 21(11), pp. 1893-1896. (10.2337/diacare.21.11.1893)
1995
- Moore, L. A. R., Playle, R. A. and Smith, C. 1995. Social group trends in smoking in Wales, 1985-1993. Presented at: 9th World Conference on Tobacco and Health, Paris, France, 10-14 October 1994 Presented at Slama, K. ed.Tobacco and Health: Proceedings of the 9th World Conference on Tobacco and Health, Paris, France, 10-14 October 1994. New York: Plenum Press pp. 575-578.
Research awards
- 2018-2019 Jacques and Gloria Gossweiler Foundation. Physical Activity and Exercise outcomes in Huntington’s disease. £411,005 (Co-applicant)
- 2018-2021 Multiple Sclerosis Society. Life-style, Exercise and Activity Package for People living with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. £298,509 (Co-applicant)
- 2018-2020 Health and Care Research Wales. SEWTU Infrastructure funding extension. £173,3333 (Co-applicant)
- 2017-2019 COGTRAIN Health and Care Research Wales. Exploring computerised cognitive training as a therapeutic intervention for people with Huntington's disease £329, 695 (Co-applicant)
- 2015-2018 NISCHR. South East Wales Trials Unit Infrastructure Funding. (£2.6M) (Co-applicant)
- 2014-2016 NIHR HTA. MAMKIND: A novel peer support intervention using motivational interviewing for breast feeding maintenance, a UK feasibility study (£293,307) (Co-applicant)
- 2013-2018 European Commission (Framework Programme 7). BRAINTRAIN: Taking imaging into the therapeutic domain: Self-regulation of brain systems for mental disorders. (€5.9mio across 10 partners) (Co-applicant)
- 2013-2016 SCRA. GASP: Early intervention for alcohol and illicit drug using pre-trial prisoners (£213,620) (Co-applicant)
- 2010-2016 HTA. Seal or Varnish? A randomised trial to determine the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay. (£1,258,498) (Co-applicant)
Research interests
My areas of methodological interest include dealing with clustering within group delivered intervention trials, handling missing data and independent patient data meta-analysis. The clinical areas I have experience in include public health, diabetes, health services care pathways, oral health and neuroscience