Nursing research matters – learning from COVID-19

Ruth May

Ruth took up her current post in January 2019, and before this enjoyed other national appointments as well as regional and Trust leadership roles.

In her first year as CNO Ruth negotiated funding for CPD as well as financial support for those embarking on a career in nursing and midwifery. Ruth is the national Covid-19 response lead for all nursing, midwifery and care professions in England.

Passionate about nurturing the next generation of nursing and midwifery leaders, Ruth advocates for improved mental health awareness, champions professional development and volunteer activity to support the frontline workforce. She is a vocal supporter of the WRES agenda and increased diversity across the NHS.

Professor Nick Hardiker 

Associate Dean (Research & Enterprise) and Professor of Nursing and Health Informatics (PhD, RN, CMgr, FHEA, FACMI, FAAN)

Nick took up his current post in 2018 and has been in a research leadership position for over a decade. Nick has over 25 years' experience of theoretical and applied research in nursing and digital health, with a particular focus on health records and nursing languages. Nick has previously held digital health leadership roles at the UK Royal College of Nursing and the International Council of Nurses and was for 10 years Editor-in-Chief of Informatics for Health and Social Care. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and the American College of Medical Informatics.

Professor Ann-Louise Caress

Professor of Health Services Research and Director, Centre for Applied Research in Health (PhD, BNurs, RGN, DN Cert, FHEA), University of Huddersfield

Presentation title: Exploring the experiences of people shielding due to COVID-19

Ann Caress joined the University of Huddersfield in 2018, taking on the role of Professor of Health Services Research and, from Sept 2019, leadership of the Centre for Applied Research in Health. She has clinical expertise in adult nursing and community healthcare. Ann’s research expertise is in living with and management of long-term health problems, primarily in adults and particularly in the renal and respiratory fields. Her special research interests are self-management, patient and carer experience and novel approaches to service delivery.

Ann is extremely active in promoting nursing research nationally and internationally, holding executive roles for the American Thoracic Society (2010-2013) and International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research (2005-2016 and 2019-present).

Professor Carl Thompson

Chair in Applied Health Research and Dame Kathleen Raven Chair in Clinical Research (DPhil, BSc Hons, RN), University of Leeds (Honorary Professor University of East Anglia and University of Alberta, CA)

Presentation title: Appraising COVID-19 contact tracing technology in care homes

Professor Carl Thompson’s NHS career has spanned being a 16 year old nursing auxiliary in a South London “asylum” to an NHS Foundation Trust Non-Executive Director. He trained as a general nurse, working in in the UK (A&E and elderly care), Romania and the US. After a degree and ESRC-funded PhD in social policy at the University of York his research has focused on research implementation and decision making processes, outcomes and technologies in health and social care – most recently in a large RCT of wearable technology for contact tracing in care homes. He has led or been part of teams with more than £20m in research funding, published more than 200 journal articles, co-authored 3 books on decision making in nursing and is a strong believer in collaborative working across geographical boundaries – mainly with colleagues in Sweden, Holland, Canada and Australia.

Professor David Richards

Professor of Mental Health Services Research (RN, PhD, BSc Hons), Universities of Exeter, UK and Western Norway

Presentation title: Evaluating a guideline for the nursing care of hospital patients with COVID-19

David, an NIHR Senior Investigator, registered nurse and health services researcher, is at the forefront of efforts to improve the evidence base for both mental health care and nursing.He is chief investigator of the NIHR funded ‘COVID-NURSE’ clinical trial, testing a pandemic-specific nursing care protocol developed by nurses for nurses, for use in caring for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. He also leads the NIHR’s Nursing and Midwifery Incubator research masterclass programme.

David is editor of the best-selling research methods textbook 'Complex Interventions in Health' and author of more than 270 research and professional journal articles.

Professor Rebecca Lawton

Psychology of Healthcare, University of Leeds and Bradford Institute for Health Research (BA Psychology Hons, PhD)

Presentation title: Determining the impact of nurse redeployment during COVID-19

Rebecca Lawton is a psychologist with 25 years of experience conducting research in the NHS. Rebecca is Director of the Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, one of three centres in England funded by the NIHR. She is an NIHR Senior Investigator, leading a team of 40 researchers and PhD students to deliver research that makes healthcare safer. Rebecca has published over 200 articles in peer reviewed journals, attracted £8.6 million in external funding as PI in the last ten years and collaborates internationally. Rebecca's primary interests are patient safety, improvement science, workforce wellbeing and patient involvement.