Dr Tracy Collins

Associate Professor

School: Communities and Education

Tracy is a Sociologist and registered Occupational Therapist with practice experience in the UK and USA. She completed her PhD at Keele University in 2011 and held an academic post at the University of Salford before joining Northumbria University in 2017. She is Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy at Northumbria and Programme Lead for the MSc (Pre-Registration) Occupational Therapy.

Tracy’s research interests are primarily concerned with social wellbeing, with a particular focus on managing the transition of widowhood and the prevention of loneliness and social isolation. She is currently involved in a number of research projects that utilise a range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods and has received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Forces in Mind Trust and the Wellcome Trust.

Tracy is an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Women & Aging, and an Academic Editor for Health and Social Care in the Community

Campus Address

Room H215
Coach Lane Campus
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

Email Tracy

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Exploring the lived experience of loneliness and social isolation in informal palliative caregivers: A systematic review, Cole, L., Collins, T., Speyer, R., Ellis, C., Cordier, R. 4 Dec 2025, In: Palliative Care and Social Practice
Supporting Older Men’s Social Participation: A Framework for Engagement, Cowen, K., Collins, T., Carr, S., Wilson-Menzfeld, G. 1 Mar 2025, In: The Journal of Men's Studies
Under-Served in Qualitative Health Research: Overcoming Challenges to Recruiting People Who Frequently Use Urgent and Emergency Care Services, Mason, C., Moseley, L., Ariss, S., Collins, T., Khanom, A., Pilkington, G., Porter, A., Saraiva, S., Watkins, A., Scott, J. 2025, In: The International Journal of Qualitative Methods
“You kind of want the world to stop, and it did”: shared experiences of widowhood during and following Covid-19, Collins, T., Allen, S., Scarbrough-Jelfs, C., Klidzia, S., Lai, F., Wilson-Menzfeld, G. 18 Dec 2025, In: Death Studies
A mixed methods evaluation of the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS, Shotton, L., Collins, T., Cordier, R., Chikwava, F., Steen, M. 1 Oct 2024, In: Maternal & Child Nutrition
Breastfeeding mothers' awareness and experience of using the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS: An exploratory descriptive qualitative study, Shotton, L., Collins, T. 1 Sep 2024, In: Reproductive, Female and Child Health
‘If It Was Easy Somebody Would Have Fixed It’: An Exploration of Loneliness and Social Isolation Amongst People Who Frequently Call Ambulance Services, Moseley, L., Scott, J., Fidler, G., Agarwal, G., Clarke, C., Ingram, C., Hammond-Williams, J., McDonnell, A., Collins, T. Aug 2024, In: Health Expectations
Military Widows’ Experiences of Social Isolation, Loneliness and Unmet Social Needs, Wilson-Menzfeld, G., McGill, G., Moreland, M., Collins, T., Erfani, G., Johnson, A. 16 Nov 2024, In: Journal of Loss and Trauma
Seeking consensus on a play-based intervention framework for promoting play of children with HIV/Aids in a low-resourced setting: A Delphi Study, Munambah, N., Ramugondo, E., Collins, T., Cordier, R. 1 Aug 2024, In: Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
The Role of Occupational Therapy in Community Development to combat social isolation and loneliness, Cowen, K., Collins, T., Carr, S., Wilson-Menzfeld, G. 1 Jul 2024, In: British Journal of Occupational Therapy

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Loneliness and social isolation amongst people who frequently call ambulance services: an exploratory mixed methods study, Collins, T. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/04/22 - 30/09/23, £34,977.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Aligning patient candidacy and staff legitimacy to enable person-centred care 2025
Oral presentation: ‘You kind of want the world to stop, and it did’: Shared experiences of widowhood during and following Covid-19 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Developing and Evaluating Community Christmas Events 2015
Oral presentation: Salford Community Christmas: evaluative research findings from an event for older people living with dementia and their carers 2015
Oral presentation: The personal communities of older widowed men. 2015
Invited talk: Later life widowhood and loneliness 2014
Invited talk: Christmas in later life: the experience of older widows 2014
Oral presentation: Conducting longitudinal research with older women: the benefits and challenges 2013
Oral presentation: The significance of social relationships in managing later life widowhood 2008
Oral presentation: Approaches to celebrating Christmas in widowhood 2006