Health and Social Wellbeing

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The Health and Social Wellbeing research group, led by Professors Sue Carr and Glenda Cook, aims to understand people’s experiences of health and wellbeing and their engagement with health and care services in order to improve health and social care practice knowledge, transform health and social care services, alongside improving quality of life across the life course for those living in an ageing society. 

Health and social care is provided in a complex and rapidly changing environment, as services are transformed to meet new aspirations and objectives. Innovations in provision are essential and understanding whether and how they work is important alongside being value for money.  

Members of the research group have expertise in Nursing, Health Services Research, Public Health, Health Economics, Realist research, Social and Environmental Gerontology, Care home research, Veterans research, Social work and Sociology, and undertake interdisciplinary research. 

Research includes the following key areas: 

• Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research, which focuses on improving the health and social wellbeing of veterans of their families. 
• Ageing Innovations research, which focuses on optimising wellbeing in later life, approaches to creative ageing, care provision for complex needs, supporting vulnerable ageing populations, transforming enabling environments, communities and services, integrated housing, health and care for ageing populations, and workforce development for older people’s services. This collective research is interdisciplinary, user-led, innovative, collaborative and transformative of services to optimise outcomes for an ageing society. 
• Long-term conditions, palliative care, quality of life and the engagement of 'hard to reach' groups. Analysis and articulation of complex community interventions is undertaken by this group. 
• Mental health nursing research, in partnership with service users to help them achieve their recovery goals.  

Lay and professional knowledge articulation and role collaborations are integral aspects of this research activity. 

Understanding and responding to and evaluating health needs, notably of marginalised or under-served populations is a particular focus. Vital to this work is enhancing opportunity and processes for enhanced public involvement and community engagement in public health research.  

Each of these research areas has rich partnerships with organisations such as the Ageing Well North East regional network, Fuse (Centre for Translational Research in Public Health), the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group, the, Royal British Legion and the School for Public Health Research. These partnerships extend the scope and reach of the outcomes ensuring societal impact. 

We welcome enquiries from potential doctoral or post-doctoral researchers, and other collaborators, interested in working with us.