Dr Phill Harniess

Phill is post-doc clinical academic physiotherapist, with expertise in early identification and early intervention in childhood-onset disability. His research interests broadly include child neurodisability, family-centred care and parent carer wellbeing - explored using participatory qualitative methods through an applied health sociological lens.

He is currently undertaking a process evaluation study within the CHildren’s Early Self-care Support (CHESS) study for children with neurodisability, a cluster randomised controlled trial: Investigating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the CHESS intervention. This is a large UK collaborative trial funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme (project number NIHR156487).

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Adapting a Participatory Group Programme for Caregivers of Children with Complex Neurodisability from Low-, Middle-Income Countries to a High-Income Setting: Moving from “Baby Ubuntu” to “Encompass”, Prest, K., Barnicot, K., Hurt, C., Badenhorst, F., Borek, A., Whyte, M., Harniess, P., Jannath, A., Lassman, R., Morris, C., Osbourne, R., Smythe, T., Tann, C., Thomas, K., Wilson, E., Harden, A., Heys, M. 18 Jul 2025, In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Barriers and facilitators to parent-delivered interventions for children with or infants at risk of cerebral palsy. An integrative review informed by behaviour change theory, Massey, J., Harniess, P., Chinn, D., Robert, G. 16 Jan 2025, In: Disability and Rehabilitation
• Evaluation of the Ei SMART training programme in the UK, Viviers, M., Jary, S., Basu, A., Moffat, J., Harniess, P., Erdmann, S., Hutchon, B. 1 Feb 2025, In: Journal of Neonatal Nursing
• The Interactive Work of Implementing Synchronous Video‐Conference Calls—A Qualitative Study Within Early Intervention for Infants With Childhood‐Onset Neurodisability, Harniess, P., Basu, A., Gibbs, D., Bezemer, J. 1 Apr 2025, In: Health Expectations
• What Are the Important Health and Well‐Being Outcome Dimensions for Parent Carers of Disabled Children? A Qualitative Study, McGlinchey, C., Harniess, P., Borek, A., Garrood, A., McDonald, A., Boyle, F., Logan, S., Morris, C. 1 Aug 2025, In: Health Expectations
• Developing and testing a toolkit of interventions to improve adherence to non-invasive ventilation in children: the SPIRITUS study protocol, Russell, J., Chan, E., Davies, G., Gibson, F., Harniess, P., Rendle, G., Wray, J. 28 Nov 2024, In: BMJ Open
• Ensuring equitable access, engagement and ability of socially and ethnically diverse participants to benefit from health promotion programmes: a qualitative study with parent carers of disabled children, Harniess, P., McGlinchey, C., McDonald, A., Boyle, F., Garrood, A., Logan, S., Morris, C., Borek, A. 30 Sep 2024, In: Frontiers in Public Health
• How do parents frame their engagement experience in early intervention? A grounded theory study, Harniess, P., Basu, A., Bezemer, J., Gibbs, D. 2 Jul 2024, In: Disability and Rehabilitation
• ‘I Didn’t Know What Was Going to Happen’: Children’s and Young People’s Experiences and Their Involvement Before and After Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, Chugh, D., Waite, G., Harniess, P., Oulton, K., Wray, J., Cawker, S. 2 Sep 2024, In: Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics
• ‘There was nothing, just absolute darkness’: Understanding the needs of those caring for children and young people with complex neurodisability in a diverse UK context: A qualitative exploration in the ENCOMPASS study, Prest, K., Wilson, E., Vassiliadou, I., Ali, S., Lakhanpaul, M., Morris, C., Tann, C., Harniess, P., Lewis‐Jackson, S., Kuper, H., Heys, M. Jul 2024, In: Child: Care, Health and Development

• PhD
• Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy AFHEA
• MSc, Neurorehabilitation (distinction)
• BSc, Physiotherapy