Royal College of Nursing Research Institute
RCN Research Institute
Staff Biographies
Professor Kate Seers, Director
I am Director of the Royal College of Nursing Research Institute, which forms an exciting strategic
alliance between the Royal College of Nursing and The University of Warwick. Prior to this I was Head of
Research at the Royal College of Nursing from 1987. My research interests include; pain and its
management, evidence based health care and knowledge translation, systematic reviews, RCTs,
qualitative methodologies and using mixed methods.
kate.seers@warwick.ac.uk
Paul Kent, PA to the Director/Centre Administrator
My role is to provide professional, confidential and comprehensive administrative support to the RCNRI
Director and the Research Team, and to manage effective administration systems within the Research
Centre. I have worked at the Royal College of Nursing Research Institute since October 2007. Prior to
this post I worked for a national Charity and the Independent Police Complaints Commission. In April
2006, I left the Royal Air Force after almost 22 years service as a Personnel Administrator, serving in
varied posts from the British Embassy in Washington DC, a remote Radar site in the Falkland Islands,
the Ministry of Defence in London and several main operational bases throughout the world.
p.d.kent@warwick.ac.uk
Kathleen Gunn, Research Fellow
My current research is focused on patient and public involvement in evidence-based healthcare. I am a
member of the project team researching pathways to urgent care for people with diabetes. My previous
work includes research on carers of people with dementia, mental health inpatient staff morale, and
families and friends of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. I am especially interested in service
user and carer experiences and partnership working in mental health. Before specialising in health
research, I was a practitioner and teacher of usability and information design.
kathleen.gunn@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Kirstie Haywood, Senior Research Fellow (Maternity Leave)
I am a Senior Research Fellow at the RCN Research Institute, leading on the Patient Reported Outcome
(PRO) work-stream. Prior to this role I was Co-Director of the Patient-Reported Health Instruments
Group, National Centre for Health Outcomes Development, University of Oxford.
My research interests include: patient reported outcomes - how the patient communicates their
experience of health and healthcare; the development, appropriate use and evaluation of patient
reported outcome measures (PROMs); measuring quality in healthcare; quality of life in clinical trials and
routine practice; structured reviews; survey research; epidemiology – exploring the patient reported
burden of disease. My current and future work aims to provide an informed and scientific focus to
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Royal College of Nursing Research Institute
promote and extend appropriate use of patient reported outcomes and related methods for supporting
patient participation in health care evaluation within research, routine practice, and healthcare quality
assessment. I am currently involved in research projects across a range of specialties including
rheumatology, continence, chronic fatigue, and older people.
k.l.haywood@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Carole Mockford Senior Research Fellow
I am a senior research fellow currently working on the SHARED study – Services after Hospital: Action to
develop REcommenDations, which is a study examining patient and carer experiences of services from
hospital discharge to 12 weeks post discharge where the patient has some cognitive impairment,
particularly dementia. We are also including the experiences of health and social care professionals.
The SHARED study has a substantial service user involvement as co-applicants, on the Project Advisory
Group and as trained co-researchers. Prior to this, I have worked on systematic reviews for DNACPR
orders with Professor Gavin Perkins, and Patient and Public Involvement in the Health Services
(PAPIRIS study) with Dr Sophie Staniszewska. I was also part of an international project working on the
FIRE study (Facilitating Implementation of Research Evidence) with PI, Professor Kate Seers. I was
previously a research officer in what is now known as the Nuffield Department of Population Health at
the University of Oxford. My research interests include: experiences of services for people with dementia
and their family carers, carers of people with motor neurone disease, instrument design using
psychometric analytical techniques, intensive health visiting programmes and parenting programmes,
the use of both qualitative and quantitative methodology, RCTs, and systematic reviews.
carole.mockford@warwick.ac.uk
Claire New, SHARED Study Project Secretary
My role is Project Secretary for the SHARED (Services after Hospital: Action to develop
REcommenDations)) research study. I provide clerical support to Dr Carole Mockford, Senior Research
Fellow and Project Lead. My background includes 20 years working at the University of Warwick in
various administrative roles.
c.e.new@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Sophie Staniszewska, Senior Research Fellow
Lead for Patient and Public Involvement and Experiences of Care Programme
Patient and Public Involvement - I lead the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and Patient
Experiences Programme at the RCN Research Institute, Warwick Medical School. I recently completed
the GRIPP 2 study, the first international EQUATOR guidance to enhance the quality and transparency
of PPI reporting. GRIPP developed from the PIRICOM systematic review that I led which focused on the
impact of patient and public involvement on health and social care research, funded by the UKCRC. Until
recently I chaired the Evidence, Knowledge and Learning Group of INVOLVE and was a member of the
Main Group of INVOLVE. I am now an INVOLVE Associate having completed my term of office. I am a
member of the NETCC PPI Reference Group. I am also a member of the Health Technology
Assessment International Patient/Citizen Involvement Steering Group and co-chairs the Methods and
Impact Group. I am Co-Editor in Chief of the Biomed Journal, Research Involvement and Engagement.
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Experiences of Care – I recently chaired the NICE Patient Experiences Guideline and Quality Standard
and subsequently the NICE Evidence Update. This work was informed by the scoping study I led which
developed the Warwick Patient Experiences Framework. I work closely with NHS England, advising key
policy makers in relation to experiences of care. I am a member of the Internal Methods Advisory Group
at NICE and an expert member of the National Quality Board Patient Experiences Sub-group and an
advisor to EUPATI. I led the POPPY Project which examined parents’ experiences of having a pre-term
baby (www.poppy-project.org.uk) which now underpins Department of Health and UNICEF guidance on
neonatal care.
I was a member of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 Public Health, Health Services and
Primary Care Panel. I review for a range of funding bodies and international journals, am on the editorial
board of the International Journal for Quality in HealthCare, Patient Experiences Journal, The Patient:
Patient Centered Outcomes Research and supervise a number of PhD students.
sophie.staniszewska@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Stephanie Tierney, Senior Research Fellow
My research to date has focused on a range of long-term conditions; I have conducted studies with
patients who have cystic fibrosis, heart failure, diabetes, eating disorders and cleft palate. My work at the
Royal College of Nursing Research Institute centres on compassionate care, which I anticipate will
benefit those receiving and those providing health services. My background is as a health services
researcher, with a particular interest in qualitative methods, although I have also worked on published
systematic reviews. I undertook a degree in Journalism Studies, followed by a MA in Disability Studies
and a PhD in Medical Sciences, which focused on the care of young people with anorexia nervosa. After
my PhD, I was employed for several years by the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the
University of Manchester. Whilst at Manchester, I gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Health
Psychology and worked for the Research Design Service.
stephanie.tierney@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Liz Tutton, Senior Research Fellow
I currently hold two posts, at the RCN Research Institute at the University of Warwick and at the Trauma
Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital based in the Kadoorie Centre. I have spent many years in nursing practice
in a range of clinical specialities and as a Principal Lecturer teaching on undergraduate and post
graduate degree courses. My research interests focus on multidisciplinary staff, older people and people
suffering acute traumatic injury. Patient and staff experiences of care have been explored through core
concepts such as comfort, participation, and hope. A range of qualitative methodologies have been
utilised such as ethnography and action research.
liz.tutton@warwick.ac.uk
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