51³Ô¹Ïapp

As Associate Professor at 51³Ô¹Ïapp within the Leicester School of Nursing and Midwifery my primary role is that of developing research activity and collaboration.

My own areas of research are on older people, domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and healthcare education. I have conducted studies on older people living in care homes (the PEACH study), transitions from acute settings to home or community hospitals and the involvement of family carers for those with a cognitive impairment.

During 2020 I am leading a UK wide COVID study working with family of residents living in care homes in addition to a rapid review on communication tools used as best practice in care homes between relatives and care homes.

Most of my work is collaborative around older people and/or care homes.  I work nationally and have international collaborations with colleagues at USP, UNESP in Brazil as well as links to South African research institutions. 

In addition, a second strand of my research relates to gender based violence. I have published widely on aspects of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) including published literature reviews and empirical studies on older women who experience DVA and DVA survivor experiences of accessing emergency departments(ED). I have been commissioned to conduct service evaluations for the provision of DV services and have conducted two service evaluations in 2015 and 2016 and a national review of an intervention programme used in primary care (IRIS programme). During 2019 I was involved in a South Africa study in developing online materials to support the management and training for healthcare professionals as well as a systematic review on sexual violence in South Africa.

I am Editor for Nurse Education in Practice (NEP) (impact factor 1.314). I also conduct peer reviews for Nurse Education Today, Nurse Education in Practice and Joanna Briggs institute (JBI) systematic review international journal. In 2014 I completed the Joanna Briggs Institute systematic review programme and became a qualified trainer in 2015.

I have experience of supporting Doctoral and Masters level students and have students who have successfully defended their thesis.  I welcome applicants to our doctoral college programme at 51³Ô¹Ïapp.

Institute for Health, Health Policy and Social Care Research

In addition to the academic publications found on 51³Ô¹Ïapp DORA Kathryn has presented widely at conference and has been commissioned to conduct evaluation reviews.

In early 2020 Kathryn published a chapter in a book around domestic violence and abuse (Editors Dr Julie McGarry and Dr Parveen Ali).

Kathryn is co-editor with Dr Julie McGarry and Dr Parveen Ali on a new book: Arts Based Health Care Research: a multidisciplinary perspective to be published in Spring 2021.

Older people, domestic violence and abuse, care home settings, healthcare inequalities

Extensive experience of qualitative data collection methods, in particular individual and focus group interviews and thematic data analysis, also use of diaries for data collection. Johnna Briggs Institute (JBI) reviewer for systematic reviews Journal peer reviewer for Nurse Education Today and Nurse Education in Practice.

Module convenor for the Qualitative Methodology and Analysis module offered as part of the Masters in Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Public Health and the wider School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham. Facilitator for the .

I deliver sessions on qualitative approaches to research and research dissemination to ESRC doctoral candidates.

PhD supervision Agatha Adogho (2017 - ) current thesis title "The role of information on the perception of undergraduates towards practices of female genital mutilation".

PhD supervision Dr Gillian Jenkinson thesis (examined 2016) 'Freeing the Authentic Self: Phases of Recovery and Growth from an Abusive Cult Experience'.

Since 2012 I have supervised Masters in Nursing (MNSci) students with their research projects. This includes monthly supervision, supporting ethical approval documentation, reviewing chapters and submission of conference abstracts and journal article submissions.

PhD, Masters, PGCE, BA (HONS), HND

Masters in Research Methods

PhD December 2013

Masters in Education Research Methods 2008

PGCE in FE/HE 1998

BA (Hons) Business and Tourism Management 1st Class 1995

HND Business and Finance Distinction 1994

Postgraduate Certificate in Education

During 2020 I am leading a COVID related study within care homes.  This work is exploring the experiences of relatives who are regular visitors to a resident and due to the enforced UK lockdowns are unable to visit in the usual way.  In addtion we are producing a rapid review to develop best practice for continuing communication between care homes, residents and relatives. COVID study

I have research experience on the following key areas: domestic violence, elder abuse and gender based violence, older people and care homes and internationalising curriculum with a focus on healthcare programmes. I am engaged in collaborations with overseas partners in Brazil, South Africa and Malaysia.

I welcome invitations for collaboration from colleagues within the UK and globally from nursing, midwifery and education disciplines.

Until October 2018 I was involved on a Dunhill Medical funded grant called the PEACH study. PEACH is an acronym used to refer to a care home research project taking place in South Nottinghamshire. It stands for ' ProactivE heAlthcare for older people living in Care Homes' (PEACH). In this project we are aiming to understand how a quality improvement collaborative (QIC) can help organise healthcare services delivered to care homes to better reflect the principles of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).

Lay person overview:

The ProactivE heAlthcare for older people living in Care Homes (PEACH) study aims to understand how best to implement and organise healthcare services so they align with a process called Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). This process begins with assessing multiple aspects of an older person's health (physical, mental, functional, social and environmental). An individualised care plan is then produced, and this is delivered by a multidisciplinary team, supervised by a case manager. This is the gold-standard model of how older people who are frail should be managed.

The core of the PEACH study is service development and quality improvement, rather than research. Healthcare teams in four clinical commissioning areas in South Nottinghamshire will meet regularly over a 12 month period to consider how health care services delivered to care homes can better reflect this CGA model. Researchers will use observations, interviews and focus groups to describe how NHS, social care and care home staff work together to implement CGA and how care practices change as a result. Researchers will also collate data routinely gathered by the NHS to produce reliable summaries of care home residents' use of hospitals, GP and ambulance services. These will be used to inform healthcare teams about health service use and to consider whether the quality improvement is influencing this.

The research component of the project involves asking individual residents about quality of life, satisfaction and how people living in care homes use services. To ensure robust interpretation of these data we will randomise the order that the service improvement plans are delivered to care homes. All care home residents will continue to receive routine care throughout the study and all will receive improvements to care specified through the quality improvement programme. Only the order in which homes receiving newer models of care will be randomised. By comparing resident data between periods before and after changes to care, we aim to determine whether these influence individual resident quality of life and satisfaction.

2nd supervisor for two PhDs currently held at The University Of Nottingham