Professor Tracy Finch

Professor

Department: Nursing, Midwifery & Health

Tracy is Professor of Healthcare & Implementation Science in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery & Health, having joined Northumbria University in November 2017. Tracy has a background in health psychology, with broad experience in teaching and research. She has built her academic career in the UK with appointments at Manchester University & Newcastle University, after completing her PhD in 1999, from Deakin University, Australia.

Tracy’s research focuses on the social, psychological and organisational aspects of implementing new interventions in health and wellbeing. Her research interests include applied health research (qualitative/mixed methods) in relation to a broad range of health issues, including mental health, intervention and services for older people, patient safety systems, health care experiences, and e-health interventions.

Tracy is known for her work in implementation science, most notably Normalization Process Theory (NPT), of which she is co-developer. This work includes applying theoretical perspectives and novel research methodologies to understand and shape the processes of healthcare improvement through implementation of changes in practice; development and application of theory based tools and assessment instruments to support non-academic users conducting implementation work in practice settings; and development of qualitative and mixed methods process evaluation methodology in trials of therapeutic and healthcare delivery interventions.

Campus Address

Room B126 Coach Lane Campus West
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

Email Tracy

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Key areas of expertise:

• Implementation science

• Healthcare technology (ehealth, telehealth)

• Qualitative Research Methods

• Health technology and health service evaluation

• Process evaluation of Randomised Controlled Trials

Key current projects include:

European Union Horizon 2020 funded study: ImpleMentAll: Towards evidence-based tailored implementation strategies for eHealth. Lead partner: University of Southern Denmark. Jan 2017-Mar 2021. Website: http://www.implementall.eu/

The Health Foundation, Scaling up programme. Telemedicine for adults with cochlear implants in the UK: empowering patients to manage their own hearing healthcare. Led by Dr Helen Cullington. See: https://ciremotecareblog.wordpress.com/about/

NIHR HTA: RATULS: Robot Assisted Training for the Upper Limb after Stroke. Led by Prof Helen Rodgers. Website: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/ratuls/

NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research: Improving the diagnosis and management of neurodegenerative dementia of Lewy body type in the NHS (DIAMOND-Lewy). Led by Prof John O'Brien. Website: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/diamondlewy/

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
‘A Constant Black Cloud’: The Emotional Impact of Informal Caregiving for Someone With a Lower-Grade Glioma, Rimmer, B., Balla, M., Dutton, L., Lewis, J., Burns, R., Gallagher, P., Williams, S., Araújo-Soares, V., Finch, T., Sharp, L. 1 Feb 2024, In: Qualitative Health Research
A qualitative exploration of ambulance clinician behaviour and decision making to identify factors influencing on-scene times for suspected stroke patients in North East England, Alton, A., Shaw, L., Finch, T., Price, C., McClelland, G. 1 Mar 2024, In: British Paramedic Journal
Barriers and facilitators to self-management in people living with a lower-grade glioma, Rimmer, B., Balla, M., Dutton, L., Williams, S., Araújo-Soares, V., Gallagher, P., Finch, T., Lewis, J., Burns, R., Menger, F., Sharp, L. 21 Mar 2024, In: Journal of Cancer Survivorship
How is tailored implementation undertaken using a self-guided toolkit? Qualitative study of the ItFits-toolkit in the ImpleMentAll project, Finch, T., Potthoff, S., May, C., Girling, M., Perkins, N., Vis, C., Bührmann, L., Etzelmueller, A., van Genugten, C., Schuurmans, J., Piera-Jiménez, J., Rapley, T. 11 Jul 2024, In: Implementation Science
Implementing an educational resource for patients participating in cancer clinical trials during the pandemic, Hood, B., Finch, T. 23 May 2024, In: British Journal of Nursing
“It changes everything” Understanding how people experience the impact of living with a lower-grade glioma, Rimmer, B., Balla, M., Dutton, L., Williams, S., Lewis, J., Gallagher, P., Finch, T., Burns, R., Araújo-Soares, V., Menger, F., Sharp, L. 1 Jun 2024, In: Neuro-Oncology Practice
Managing fatigue transdiagnostically: a qualitative study among people with chronic conditions on optimizing daily activity, Barakou, I., Hackett, K., Abonie, U., Hettinga, F., Finch, T. 27 Aug 2024, In: Disability and Rehabilitation
Mapping regional implementation of 'Making Every Contact Count': mixed methods evaluation of implementation stage, strategies, barriers and facilitators of implementation, Rodrigues, A., Nichol, B., Wilson, R., Charlton, C., Gibson, B., Finch, T., Haighton, C., Maniatopoulos, G., Giles, E., Harrison, D., Orange, D., Robson, C., Harland, J. 22 Jul 2024, In: BMJ Open
On-scene times during ambulance assessment of suspected stroke patients across England from December 2021 to November 2022, McClelland, G., Stagg, H., Shaw, L., Finch, T., Price, C. 6 Aug 2024, In: Emergency Medicine Journal
Psychometric properties of two implementation measures: Normalization MeAsure Development questionnaire (NoMAD) and organizational readiness for implementing change (ORIC), Batterham, P., Allenhof, C., Cerga Pashoja, A., Etzelmueller, A., Fanaj, N., Finch, T., Freund, J., Hanssen, D., Mathiasen, K., Piera Jiminez, J., Qirjako, G., Rapley, T., Sacco, Y., Samalin, L., Schuurmans, J., van Genugten, C., Vis, C. 28 Apr 2024, In: Implementation Research and Practice

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Promoting values based recruitment in community dementia support through situational judgement tests, Finch, T. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/01/23 - 30/06/25, £6,433.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: ASME, AGM: How can theory help us? Exploring Normalization Process Theory (NPT) as a tool for implementing new ideas in practice and education 2019

PGR Supervision

Jane Douthwaite An action research study of the process of co-created improvements in a Midwifery service context and stakeholders experience of participation Start Date: 24/07/2020
Karen Corder 'How can patient self-management of the physical and psychological aspects of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) be improved through co-design approaches to intervention?' Start Date: 01/03/2019
Ioulia Barakou Understanding and Enhancing Fatigue Management in Chronic Conditions: Exploring the Role of Activity Pacing and Physical Activity Start Date: 01/04/2022
Jane Douthwaite An action research study of the process of co-created improvements in a Midwifery service context and stakeholders experience of participation Start Date: 24/07/2020 End Date: 25/02/2022
Ruth Muscat Enhancing knowledge mobilisation skills and training for health librarians: comparative case study analysis in the North East and North Cumbria Start Date: 01/10/2020 End Date: 01/06/2022

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