The overarching research cluster of the School is Health Services Research in Nursing and Midwifery. Within this cluster two research themes have been identified:

• Maternal and Child Health

• Evaluation of Complex Healthcare Interventions

Maternal and Child Health   (click to find out more)

Theme co-ordinator:  Dr Fiona Alderdice

This theme is a coherent multi-disciplinary funded programme of work which focuses predominately on 'high risk' groups in pregnancy, childbirth, infancy and childhood.  This programme makes a high quality contribution to the international research and service agenda in maternal and child health and comprises three subthemes: 

• monitoring and surveillance of high risk childhood populations
• investigating access to effective health care
• investigating health and quality of life

Evaluation of Complex Healthcare Interventions  (click to find out more)

Theme co-ordinator:  Professor Sam Porter

The need to identify and assess the effects of the various components of care given to patients makes evaluation of services problematic and requires an approach in health services research which evaluates both outcomes and the processes of care leading to those outcomes.  This programme of research has focussed on three key areas:

• developing methods for evaluating complex healthcare interventions
• conducting intervention studies
• exploring lay perspectives of healthcare interventions