University of Kent

Research

Andy is an applied social scientist who has been engaged in health services research since 1972. His main interests include:

• the organisation, delivery and evaluation of health and welfare services
• the analysis and management of risk in health and welfare agencies
• the development of services for vulnerable individuals, especially older people and people with learning disabilities.

Current Research Projects

Andy is an experienced researcher and research manager. He is Director of the NHS-funded Research and Development Support Unit which provides support for research capacity development in Kent and Surrey. Since 1972 he has been the grantholder or co-grant holder of over 50 grants valued at over £3.2 million. His recent grants include:

• 2001-4 £215,389 West and East Kent Health Authorities, Kent Council on Drugs and HM Prison Service, Drug Needs Assessment in Kent Prisons (with Ann Palmer)
• 2001-3 £40,000 SE Public Health Observatory, Kent and Medway Lifestyle Survey (with Ann Palmer, senior grant holder, and Barbara Wall)
• 2001-2 £20,000 Hastings and Rother NHS Trust, Users Perspectives on Service Delivery
• 2001-2 £9692.62 ESRC in partnership with MRC, Health and Risk Consultancy L700310033 (with Tom Horlick-Jones)
• 2002-4 £687,667 South East Region, NHS Executive, Research and Development Support in Kent and Surrey
• 2002-4 £35,684 East Kent Hospitals Trust, Provision of Consultancy Services: Health Care of Older People
• 2002-3 £52,000 South East Public Health Observatory, Electronic Lifestyle Toolkit (with Declan O’Neill senior grant holder and Ann Palmer)
• 2002-3 £6,800 Kent, Surrey and Sussex Workforce Development Corporation, Research and Development Support
• 2002-4 103,500 Euros (direct conversion £68,310) European Commission, Providing integrated health and social care for older people—issues, problems and solutions (PROCARE) (with John Baldock and Julia Twigg)
• 2002 £3,500 East Kent Coastal Primary Care Trust, NSF for Older People, Rooting out Ageism (with Jenny Billings, senior grant holder)
• 2002-3 £40,000 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, Stroke and Rehabilitation: identifying and managing the risks of everyday life
• 2003 £5,000 West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust, Improving the reporting of adverse clinical events
• 2003-6 £122,430 The Stroke Association, Stroke and younger people: A longitudinal study of post-stroke normalisation and rehabilitation
• 2003 £22,724.50 Ashford Primary Care Trust, Consultation Exercise on East Kent Hospitals Reconfiguration Plan
• 2003-2005 £72,938 Department of Health, Kent Primary Care Research Network
• 2004-2005 £356,781 Department of Health, Research and Development Support in Kent and Surrey
• 2004-2007 £168,245 Kent Teenage Pregnancy Partnership, KCC, Teenage Pregnancy and Family Support Services Evaluation Study (with Jenny Billings)

Research Supervision

Andy is an experienced research supervisor and examiner. He has successfully supervised 17 research students, currently supervises 5 research students and has examined 16 MPhil/PhD theses. He is keen to discuss potential topics with research students who would like to do work on health, risk and society.

Teaching

Andy is Director of the MA in Health Studies and currently teaches the Making and Implementing Health Policy module.

Publications

Andy’s research has resulted in nearly 200 publications including:

• (with H. Alaszewski, S Ayer and J Manthorpe) Managing Risk in Community Practice: Nursing , Risk and Decision making, Balliere Tindall, London, 2000,
  (with I. Harvey) Health Technology and Knowledge’, in: B. Davey, A. Grey and C. Seale (eds) Health and Disease: A Reader, Open University Press, Buckingham, 2001
  ‘ Risk and dangerousness’, in: Bytheway, B., Bacigalupo, V., Bornat, J., Johnson, J. and Spurr, S. (eds.) Understanding care, welfare and community: A reader, London, Routledge, 2002
  (with H. Alaszewski) ‘Towards the creative management of risk: perceptions, practices and policies,’ British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 56-62, 2002
  ‘ The impact of the Bristol Royal Infirmary disaster and inquiry on public services in the UK,’ Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16, 385-392, 2002
  ‘ Risk, decision-making and mental health’, in: B. Hannigan and M. Coffey (eds.) The Handbook of Community Mental Health Nursing, Routledge, 2003, pp.187-197
  (with J. Manthorpe, B. Gates, S. Ayer and E. Motherby) ‘Learning disability nursing: User and carer perspectives’, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 7, pp. 119-135, 2003
  ‘ Risk, clinical governance and best value: restoring confidence in health and social care’, in: S. Pickering and J. Thompson (eds.) Clinical Governance and Best Value: Meeting the Modernisation Agenda, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 2003
  (with H. Bungay) Handle with Care, Health Services Journal, 31st July 2003, pp.28-29
  (with T. Horlick-Jones).How can doctors communication about risk more effectively? British Medical Journal, 327, 27th September 2003, pp. 728-31
  (with J. R. Billings, K. Coxon) ‘Towards Integrated Health Care and Social Care for Older People: A European Review’, Journal of Integrated Care, 12, 1, pp. 3-8, 2004

 

Memberships

1999- Founding editor, Health, Risk and Society, published by Taylor and Francis
2001 ESRC Reviewer and expert panel member for Risk Network competition
2002- Research Assessor, Primary Care Research Teams, Royal College of General Practitioners
2002- Co-opted academic member, DoH Service Development and Organisation programme
2004 National Electronic Library, Expert Adviser on Development of Library Resources for Risk Communication