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 Oct
07. 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
Jo Brett, Research Fellow
My projects are: patient outcomes in hip fracture; the impact of user involvement in research:
researcher and user experience; a structured review of evidence on the conceptualisation,
measurement, impact and outcomes of patient and public involvement in health and social care
research; and POPPY (Parents of Premature Parents – Your Needs), assessing the support
needs, information needs and communication needs of parents that have had a premature baby.
I previously worked as a Research Fellow for the RCN National Collaborating Centre on the
Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis Guideline for NICE. From 1994 to 2004 I worked as a
Research Fellow at the Department of Primary Health Care, Oxford University. The research
here included a study of the psychological consequences of routine mammography and
development of breast awareness training resources for Practice Nurses, men’s experiences and
GP’s views of asymptomatic PSA testing for prostate cancer, and the development of the patient
information sheet for the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme. I also co-authored a
HTA report on the impact of screening on future health promoting behaviours and health beliefs.
j.brett@warwick.ac.uk
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Royal College of Nursing Research Institute
Kathleen Gunn, Research Assistant
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 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
Deirdre Kennedy, FIRE Project Manager
My role with the RCNRI is as the Project Manager for the EC funded FIRE (Facilitating
Implementation of Research Evidence) research study. I am responsible for the operational,
financial and administrative support for the international team based in the UK, Europe, Canada
and Australia. My background includes 17 years in university administration in Scotland and New
Zealand (Economics, Sports Studies, Nursing and Marine Science). My earlier experience
included secretarial and administrative work in a legal office, government department, consultancy
firm and a rest home.
d.r.kennedy@warwick.ac.uk
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Royal College of Nursing Research Institute
Dr Carole Mockford Senior Research Fellow
I am a senior research fellow currently working on the FIRE study which is an international study
examining different ways of supporting staff in the implementation of recommendations on
continence care in nursing homes. Prior to this I worked on a systematic review on the impact of
patient and public involvement on the healthcare services. I was previously a research officer in
the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford. My research interests include:
instrument design using psychometric analytical techniques, the use of both qualitative and
quantitative methodology, RCTs, systematic reviews, carers of people with motor neurone
disease, intensive health visiting programmes and parenting programmes.
carole.mockford@warwick.ac.uk
Claire New, FIRE Research Secretary
My role with the RCNRI is as a Research Secretary for the EC funded FIRE (Facilitating
Implementation of Research Evidence) research study. I provide clerical support to Deirdre
Kennedy the FIRE Project Manager and Carole Mockford, Senior Research Fellow. My
background includes 17 years working at the University of Warwick in various administrative roles.
c.e.new@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Sophie Staniszewska, Senior Research Fellow
Sophie is a Senior Research Fellow at the RCN Research Institute and leads work around patient
and public involvement, experiences and evaluation
(www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/shss/rcn/research). Sophie is also seconded as Principal Research
Fellow and Director of the Evidence for Practice Programme of Research at NHS Centre for
Involvement. (www.nhscentreforinvolvement.nhs.uk). Sophie has carried out a range of externally
funded studies looking at different aspects of users’ experiences of healthcare. Sophie leads the
POPPY Project which is examining parents’ experiences of having a pre-term baby and has
integral user involvement throughout the study (www.poppy-project.org.uk). We recently
completed the PRIME study which developed the first data-base of patient-based evidence which
describes the experiences of people living with ME/CFS (http://www.prime-cfs.org/). We have
recently started a study examining the impact of user involvement on research, which is being led
by Jo Brett and funded by UKCRC. Sophie chairs the Evidence, Knowledge and Learning Group
of INVOLVE and is a member of the Main Group of INVOLVE. Sophie reviews for a range of
funding bodies and international journals and supervises a number of PhD students.
sophie.staniszewska@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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