Research History & Past Projects

April 2007 – January 2008
(with Liz Burtney)
Independent Research Consultants
Meeting client needs: An Evaluation of the Young People and Pregnancy Support Service in Easington and Horden
Funded by County Durham Primary Care Trust & the Partnership Learning Fund
The aims of this evaluation were, first, to gain a thorough understanding of the processes involved in engaging and retaining young parents and hence identify how these processes could be improved upon for future client groups and second, to explore the short-term impact of this project and extrapolate learning that could be used to inform the future development, and support the longer-term potential, of this project.

November 2006 – May 2007
(with Liz Burtney)
Independent Research Consultants
HIV and Sexual Health Promotion Activities and Services for Gay and Bisexual Men and Black and Minority Ethnic/ African Communities in Scotland
Funded by HIV Scotland
This project was commissioned by HIV Scotland to scope the nature and extent of HIV and sexual health promotion activities in Scotland for two groups:

• Gay and Bisexual Men
• Black and Minority Ethnic/African Communities

This research will feed directly back to the National Sexual Health Advisory Committee (NSHAC) which has a strategic role in the delivery of the national sexual health strategy Respect and Responsibility.

November 2005 – March 2006
(with Liz Burtney & Deirdre Fullerton)
Independent Research Consultants
Moving towards an agreed multi-agency framework for the support for pregnant and parenting teenagers in North West Ireland
Funded by North West HSE
The aim of this project was to agree and develop multi-agency framework for the care and support of pregnant and parenting teenagers in the North West HSE in Ireland. The framework will be developed based on currently available evidence of best practice in the provision of care and support for pregnant and parenting teenagers and their families (e.g. school response, antenatal and post natal care, childcare, education/training, housing etc).

November 2005 – March 2006
(with Liz Burtney & Deirdre Fullerton)
Independent Research Consultants
Analysing the grey literature evidence of sexual health interventions with young people with learning disabilities
Funded by NHS Health Scotland
The aim of this project was to first produce a systematic review of the grey literature evidence, which draws out the evidence of effective public health interventions that could support the sexual health and wellbeing of young people with learning disabilities in Scotland. The second aim of this project was to produce an overall report making clear evidence-informed recommendations for policy, practice and research.

April 2004 – July 2005
(with Janice McLaughlin, Dr Gillian Hawthorne, Head, Dr Margaret Blott)
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
Attitudes to pregnancy risk and conception among women with type 1 diabetes
Funded by Newcastle Healthcare Charity and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Charity

January 2004 - July 2004: Co-investigator
(with Peter Selman & Dave Passmore)
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
Support Services for Teenagers and Young Parents Within South Tyneside
Funders: South Tyneside Health Care Trust

May 2002 - March 2004: Research Associate
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
The education of pregnant young women and young mothers in England
Teenage Pregnancy Unit funded research into the experiences of pregnant young women and young mothers of school age. Duties included: Liaison with 8 out of 10 LEAs in project to set up and interview 80 young women; Transcription and analysis of interviews; Creation and analysis of baseline data on all pregnant young women and young mothers of school age in those 8 LEAs; Organisation and facilitation of project advisory group with a variety of education and health professionals and young mothers; Major contribution to final report and dissemination of findings to a variety of audiences and production of articles for academic journals.

April 2002 - April 2004: Research Team Member
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
Research Project into ‘Working with Boys and Young Men’
Member of management team on NHS Northern Region funded research into the use of Boys and Young Men’s Sexual Health Workers in the North East of England.
A literature review based on this project can be found by clicking here (PDF - 617 KB - external link). Final report pending.

April 2002 - August 2002: Research Consultant
Teenage Pregnancy & Parenthood Initiative, Behaviour & attendance Service, Education Leeds, The Blenheim Centre, Crowther Place, Leeds LS6 2ST.
Duties included: supervision and support to the lead researcher in Education Leeds conducting a SRE Audit as part of the Leeds Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood Strategy.

October 2001 - May 2002: Research Associate
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
Needs assessment evaluation of support services for young parents and their children in Northumberland. Duties included: design and analysis of large postal questionnaire to all potential service providers of services for young parents and their children across Northumberland (75% response rate). Liaison with local strategy groups on teenage pregnancy and parenthood and provision of advice on research findings for these groups. Development of research proposals for the department, providing advice and co-authoring of proposals.

October 2000 - October 2001: Research Associate
Department of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Newcastle
upon Tyne, Claremont Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
Monitoring of the DfES Standards Fund Teenage Pregnancy Grant
DfES funded evaluation of the implementation of the Standards Fund Grant: Teenage Pregnancy. Duties involved: Responsibility for fieldwork within 3 of 6 LEAs under evaluation. Close cooperation with reintegration officers and in-depth interviews with pregnant women and mothers of school age, nominated teachers for teenage pregnancy and reintegration officers. Joint responsibility for the production a report for the DfES, production of executive summaries regarding the evaluation and disseminating findings at local strategy group meetings, national and international conferences.

March 2001 - August 2001: Research Consultant
Health Education Board for Scotland, Cannan Lane, Edinburgh.
Sexual health policy analysis in selected European Countries
HEBS funded research: Sexual health policy analysis in selected European countries. Duties involved: developing research design in conjunction with HEBS briefing, undertaking comparative policy analysis of 5 countries within tight timescale. Production of final report and dissemination of findings as requested by HEBS.

October 1996 - January 2001: Doctoral Student (ESRC funded)
Department of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA.
A Comparative Exploration of Social Policy Relating to Teenage Pregnancy in Finland and Scotland

April 1996 - September 1996 - Research Assistant
Department of Social Policy and Social Science, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, TW20.
Duties included: liaison with General Practices and data collection for a project on Asthma amongst children and young people in the Greater London area.