I joined CHSS as a Senior Research Fellow in April 2019, after sixteen years at the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Kent. I am a collaborator for the NIHR Research Design Service South East, a panel member for NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (South East) and lead a programme of work to develop, test and support the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT).
I am a mixed-methods researcher, using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. I have a special interest in how we might employ qualitative methods, such as observations, supported interviewing techniques and forms of adapted communication, to try and ascertain the views and experiences of care home residents and people with cognitive and communication difficulties. I have been the principal or co-investigator on several grants and have received funding from the Big Lottery fund, the NIHR School for Social Care Research, NIHR Health Services and Delivery, NIHR Research for Patient Benefit and most recently, from NIHR for one of the new Policy Research Units (Quality, Safety and Outcomes of Health and Social Care Research Unit).
As well as traditional research, I deliver training and consultancy in the UK and internationally to support the wider use of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit in research, policy and practice. Recent examples include:
- Writing and delivering new ‘train the trainer’ courses in Australia to support the use of ASCOT in care planning conversations.
- Working with the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Board to support their use of ASCOT in the evaluation of self-directed support.
- Training NHS England to use the ASCOT in their national evaluation of the care home vanguard sites.
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Ann-Marie will work with PSSRU colleagues Shereen Hussein, Sinead Palmer, Nadia Brookes and Barbora Silarova Start date: September 2019; End Date: September 2020 Funder: NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Funding: £15,665 -
Measuring the social care outcomes of people with dementia and their carers
Currently over 767,000 people live with dementia in England and Wales. Two thirds live in their own home but this is expected to increase to over 1 million people by 2030. The ability to stay at home, in familiar surroundings, is important to people with dementia and their families. For many, community-based social care services, like personal care in the home, enable them to maintain their independence, stay connected to their local community, and to live well with dementia. For families and friends who care for someone with dementia, these services may also help them. An important question is what type(s) of community-based services, like personal care in the home and day activities, best support people with dementia and their carers. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) is a questionnaire that asks people about aspects of their life that might be affected by social care services (for example, having control over everyday life). This questionnaire has already been used by researchers and care providers to review how well services support people. It is, however, difficult to collect this information from people who have memory or communication difficulties, including people with moderate to severe dementia. To work around this, we have developed a new version of ASCOT, the ASCOT-Proxy. This version is completed on behalf of a person by someone who knows him/her well – such as, a close friend or relative. There is also another version of the questionnaire called the ASCOT-Carer, which looks at aspects of life that are important to friends and relatives who look after someone. This includes things like feeling supported and encouraged in their caring role. This study will test the ASCOT-Proxy and the ASCOT-Carer with 300 carers of people with dementia living in their own home. People will be invited to complete the survey as a paper questionnaire or online. The study will be advertised with the help of others interested in this work. These will include local authority adult social care departments, carers organisations and care providers. We will advertise the study on social media. The information collected will be used to assess whether the questionnaires are easy to complete and measure what they are intended to measure – aspects of people's lives that might be affected by social care services – in a way that is stable over time. Ann-Marie will work with PSSRU colleagues (Chief Investigator) Stacey Rand, Dr Karen Jones and Professor Julien Forder Start date: September 2019; End Date: September 2021 Funder: NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Funding: £149,786 -
Retention and sustainability of social care workforce (RESSCW)
Funded by the Health Foundation's Efficiency Research Programme, this project aims to tackle persistent high staff turnover in social care, to help the industry meet growing demand for high-quality and sustainable services. Working with Dr Eirini Saloniki and PSSRU colleagues, (project lead) Dr Florin Vadean and Professor Shereen Hussein, Ann-Marie will compare social care with other low-wage industries and explore staff characteristics, job commitment and retention. This will help commissioners, providers and policy-makers to understand the drivers behind staff leaving their jobs and influencing choices of subsequent jobs. As well as defining 'quality jobs' in social care, the research will help to develop pathways to achieve these nationally. More information on the Health Foundation website >
Applied health research, health and social care evaluation, vulnerable groups, complex health needs, long term care of older people, integrated care, mixed methodology, qualitative research, children's hospices, European research, health visiting
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