At the moment I am finishing my PhD at the University of Lincoln and working as a postdoctoral researcher at UCL (UCLIC). More information on my current is outlined below. Please use the contact form to get in touch about any of the projects. Additional updates can be found on Twitter.

Projects I have contributed to in the past are at the end of this page.

Current Projects

Exploring the Current Landscape of Intravenous Infusion Practices & Errors (ECLIPSE)

ECLIPSE is a research project funded by NIHR (2014-2017) studying medication practices with infusion devices, to document the variety of existing practices and deliver recommendations for best practice in different situations. More details are available on this site and on the NIHR site (including the research protocol).

ICT to support older people with multiple diseases to navigate their care network: What is feasible and acceptable?

A brief overview of my PhD research project can be found here. The project was divided into four main work streams or phases in order to address the overarching question: “What is feasible and acceptable with regard to using ICT to support older people with multiple morbidities in their navigation through the care system?”

The first work stream (literature review) finished near the end of 2014. The preparation of the second work stream started in July 2014 and data collection (through a questionnaire) was finished in June 2016. The questionnaire data helped us gain an understanding of the people that surround older adults with multiple morbidities, particularly that support them in their care (their care network). Following the questionnaire, in-depth interviews were be held with participants to gain insight in the interactions that take place within this care network.
Both the interview and questionnaire data fed into the final work stream in which design requirements were presented to paper prototype a tool that can support this population.

The Chromed Study

The Clinical Trials for Elderly Patients with Multiple Diseases project is an international study with five European regions involved. Lincoln is one of the sites in the UK taking part in this project. The CHROMED study collects and processes clinical data at patient’s home using a specific ICT platform. The project involves the implementation of a large clinical trial to improve the quality of life and healthcare costs associated with patients with multiple diseases. At this stage the first phase of the study is completed and we are moving to the second phase. More information can be found at the Chromed website.

Staying Well in Your Neighbourhood Programme Evaluation – Calderdale Council

This study is to explore the impact of community-based interventions for lonely and isolated individuals. The impact of the interventions (set up by Calderdale council) on the health and well being of individuals is to be evaluated with an assessment of their impact on primary care services.

Past Projects

Lincolnshire Health and Care (LHAC): Evaluation of integrated neighbourhood teams

The evaluation of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams will map the mechanisms and outputs associated with integrating care across Lincolnshire. The following two overarching aims are guiding this evaluation:

• Which approaches (models) to integrating health and social care are effective in which organisational and socio-geographical contexts?
• What cost improvements can be made through integrating health and social care while maintaining or improving the quality of care for users and carers?

The project involves interviews with strategic and operational staff and standardised measure of interdisciplinary team performance, assessment of set-up cost and impact on national and local metrics. It further measures outcomes for older people, community and cost and cost-effectiveness.

PALS for PhDs

The Peer Assisted Learning Support (PALS) Scheme for PhD students is a project in collaboration with the University of Lincoln’s Graduate School and the Educational Development and Enhancement Unit launched in April 2014. It is focusing on PhD students in particular, starting from the principles of Action Learning. Although this project is not immediately classifiable as a ‘traditional’ research project, it certainly has strong links with it.
The PALS project was piloted from May 2014 until August 2014. During this period participating PhD students were asked to attend four meetings in total. Together with a ‘facilitator’ students consulted each other about the challenges they face, developed creative problem solving skills and built a network of support outside their supervision team.
After a positive and successful evaluation of this project, a new cohort of students was recruited in February 2015!

Evaluation of the Lincolnshire Admission Avoidance Programme
(University of Lincoln)
The Clinical Commision Groups (CCGs) in Lincolnshire provided funding for six new interventions aiming at reducing or avoiding emergency admissions. The services developed include contact centres, rapid response teams, enhanced community teams, ambulatory care and two discharge projects (together = the Admission Avoidance Programme).
Our evaluation of the programme was set up to determine whether the programme contributed to a visible, quantifiable reduction in acute emergency admissions and whether the programme was cost-effective in this matter. Click here to access the final report.

Care pathways of non-western immigrant cancer patients in Belgium: having cancer in a foreign country
(Ghent University)
This qualitative study looked at the perceptions and experiences of non-western immigrants in Belgium with regard to cancer care. Click here to find a summary and overview of the study and its results.

Flemish themes regarding primary care, focus on Flemish general practice: priorities
(Ghent University)
Changes in current society are posing challenges for healthcare systems. Over the last years the Flemish and Federal government in Belgium has stated some important indicators regarding primary care. This study synthesised six priority themes from policy documents and assessed the performance of Flemish general practice in relation to these themes. The following themes were selected. The project report is written in Dutch.

QUALICOPC
(Ghent University)
Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) involves the analysis and comparison of the performance (quality, costs and equity) of primary care systems across 34 countries. More information on this project can be found on here.