Research, evaluation and impact
evaluation of community mental health transformation models
At the McPin Foundation, a charity committed to involving people with lived experience in mental health research, Amy managed and implemented the evaluation of new Community Mental Health Transformation Models at two NHS Trusts, focusing on people participation and reducing inequalities. Utilising a realist evaluation approach and developing theories of change, Amy worked with the ICS to understand and counter challenges faced by NHS staff and VCSEs when attempting to engage, co-design and co-produce work within complex systems.
Research excellence framework - impact case studies
As REF Impact Manager at King’s College London, Amy supported the 2021 Research Excellence Framework submission, writing impact mental health case studies to best evidence and demonstrate the material impact of the university’s research. 12/13 REF submissions were 4*, with one 3* case study, bringing-in around £20 million to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
covid-19 mutual aid
At the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Amy designed and delivered a mixed methods research project exploring how community-led Mutual Aid groups best respond to the local economic, social and health determinants of mental ill health, including economic deprivation, social isolation, food insecurity, disability, stigma and discrimination.
academic publications
Amy was joint first-author on ‘The impact of mental health recovery narratives on recipients experiencing mental health problems: qualitative analysis and change model’ and has contributed to eleven empirical research papers and six systematic reviews. Academic publications can be found here.
Narrative experiences online
On the Narrative Experiences Online (NEON) study, Amy conducted research with people who identified as having experience of serious mental health problems from underrepresented groups. Here, she project managed local study site set-up, including ensuring local approvals, the recruitment of research participants across NHS sites, analysis and reporting as part of an NIHR Programme for Applied Research Grant of £2.3m.
Amy worked with NEON’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel made-up of service users and carers, to co-design and co-produce research. People with lived experience collaborated on all aspects of study design, including the topic guide (the research questions study participants are asked), training, participant recruitment, data analysis and the writing-up and publication of research findings.
NEON won the Mental Health Research Service User and Carer Involvement Awards 2022 for its interweaving of user and carer involvement into every stage of the research.
Situational awareness for everyone - Quality improvement
At the Anna Freud Centre’s Evidence Based Practice Unit, Amy managed the evaluation of the Situational Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) programme (funded by The Health Foundation and WellChild), coordinating the collection of qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Quality Improvement Intervention, designed to reduce mortality rates on children’s wards across England.
national institute for health research: clinical trials
Amy set up 70+ NIHR portfolio cancer studies across Leeds, Airedale, Bradford, Calderdale & Huddersfield, Harrogate, Mid Yorkshire, York and Scarborough (phases I/II/III/IV). Worked closely with clinical teams, universities, trials units and industry, from point of local interest to first patient recruited.