Professor Pam Dawson

Professor of Health and Wellbeing

Co-Director of Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Research and Knowledge Exchange Group and Marjon Pathway Lead for Health and Wellbeing in the ESRC SWDTP

Deputy Vice-Chancellors Office

01752 636700

pdawson@marjon.ac.uk

Role Summary

Pam Dawson is Professor of Health and Wellbeing; Co-Director of Marjon’s Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Research and Knowledge Exchange Group; and Marjon Pathway Lead for Health and Wellbeing in the South West ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership. She leads on enhancing research culture across Plymouth Marjon University, including a research mentoring scheme for early career researchers and practitioner academics.

Pam is an HCPC registered Physiotherapist with a long-standing postdoctoral research track record. She has extensive experience in large-scale funded collaborative research, working in multidisciplinary research groups, in patient safety and falls prevention, with health practitioners and academic partners from other universities. Committed to research and development that promotes safe integrated care across health and social care systems, Pam’s work seeks to improve care and intervention quality in community and residential settings, particularly for older people.

An experienced REF returned senior health academic, Pam has extensive experience of higher education strategic leadership and management, including previous positions as Dean and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor. She has significant expertise in strategic workforce development, and has worked as an independent consultant to help universities establish pre-registration health programmes and develop partnerships with NHS and other health and social care providers.

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Northumbria, for a thesis entitled ‘An evaluation of a new Domiciliary Physiotherapy Service in Newcastle upon Tyne’ (2000)
Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Development, University of Northumbria (1994)
Advanced Diploma in Social Research, Newcastle Polytechnic (1985)
Sheffield Polytechnic Associateship in Physiotherapy (Awarded with Distinction and prize for achievement), Sheffield City Polytechnic (1982)

Teaching

Pam is currently supervising two PhD students at Marjon:

Victoria May - Unregulated social care workers: their lived experiences in the workplace and the development of a new conceptual approach to supervision support. Successful PhD viva 2023, amendments submitted awaiting approval.
Elena Golder - Engagement with Group-Based Self-Management Programmes in Long-Term Conditions: a realist evaluation. PhD in progress
Pam welcomes enquiries from prospective research degree students in her areas of interest/expertise and has previously successfully supervised 6 PhD and 2 MPhil students.

Previous research degree supervisions:

Frances Butler - Understanding the barriers and facilitators to successful behaviour change in self-management within the context of Pulmonary Rehabilitation using a Critical Realist approach. PhD awarded 2023, Northumbria University.

Jon Thompson - An exploration of the decision-making process between musculoskeletal extended scope practitioners and their patients. PhD awarded 2018, York St John University.

Lisa Robinson - Adherence and compliance with exercise for falls prevention in a long-term condition. PhD awarded 2012, Northumbria University.

Jason Scott - Service user perceptions of safety within organisational care transfers and development of a service user reporting mechanism. PhD awarded 2012, Northumbria University.

Nicholas Turner - Patients’ and staffs’ views of falls occurring on rehabilitation wards. An action research study to explore the voices of experience. PhD awarded 2012, Northumbria University.

Alison Blackburn - Living with Pain or Living in Pain: Narrative Journeys with Low Back Pain. PhD awarded 2011, Northumbria University.

Karthikeyan Muthumyandi - Survey and cross-sectional study of people with stroke in the community who have fallen. MPhil awarded 2012, Northumbria University.

Barbara Tait - Clinical reasoning in the physiotherapy treatment of stroke patients. MPhil awarded 2004, Northumbria University.

Research

Pam’s most recent grants and projects have been focused on patient safety and safe systems and she is co-investigator in a current multi-site (North East and South West England) study of residents’ safety during organizational care transfers pre and post COVID-19 She is part of a team working on adapting the new NHS Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework to produce a version fit for use in Nursing and Residential Home settings, to record incidents during transitions of care and promote organisational safety learning. Pam also has a longstanding interest in physical activity and falls prevention and was the physiotherapy lead researcher in two significant trials of falls prevention in older people attending the Emergency Department after a fall. Pam has led a commissioned evaluation of weight management interventions in Plymouth and has a keen interest in evaluation research and its impact on decision-making in local health services.

Selected research grants:

2020 -2023 Developing a co-designed systems level response to safety issues for residents transitioning from hospital to care homes (Safe System Transitions -SafeST). £210k from Dunhill Medical Trust. Collaboration between Northumbria University, Plymouth Marjon University, University of Birmingham, Newcastle University, North Tyneside CCG, Plymouth Strategic Commissioning Group.

2017-18 Resident Experiences of Care Home transitions (REaCH). £50k from North East and North Cumbria Academic Health Science Network (AHSN). Collaboration Northumbria University and North Tyneside CCG

2013-16 Patient reporting of safety in organisational care transfers (PRoSOCT): A feasibility study of a patient reporting tool as a proactive approach to identifying latent conditions within healthcare systems. £200k from the Health Foundation. Collaboration between York St John University, Nottingham University and three NHS Foundation Trusts.

2021-22 Narrative review and appreciative inquiry evaluation of behavioural weight management programmes. £10k from Plymouth City Council.

Publications

Selected publications

Newman C, Mulrine S, Brittain K, Dawson P, Mason C, Spencer M, Sykes K, Underwood F, Young-Murphy L, Waring J, Scott J, (2023) Challenges and improvements associated with transitions between hospitals and care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study with care home and healthcare staff in England. Age and Ageing, Volume 52, Issue 9, September 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad146

Abe E, Dawson P, Scott J (2023) Media presentation of hospital discharge to care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Integrated Care https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-02-2023-0013

Scott J, Brittain K, Byrnes K, Dawson P, Mulrine S, Spencer M, Waring J, Young-Murphy L (2022) Residents transitioning between hospital and care homes: protocol for codesigning a systems-level response to safety issues (SafeST study) BMJ Open: first published as 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050665 on 6 January 2022).

Scott J, Dawson P, Heavy E, De Brún A, Buttery A, Waring J, Flynn D (2019) Content Analysis of Patient Safety Incident Reports for Older Adult Patient Transfers, Handovers and Discharges: Do they Serve Organisations, Staff or Patients? Journal of Patient Safety https://doi.org/10.1097/PTS.0000000000000654

Scott J, Heavy E, Waring J, De Brún A, Dawson P (2019) Implementing a survey for patients to provide safety experience feedback following a care transition: A feasibility study. BMC Health Services Research,19, 613. doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4447-9

Heavey, E., De Brún, A., Dawson, P., Scott, J. and Waring, J., (2019) Patients’ Conceptualizations of Responsibility for Healthcare: A Typology for Understanding Differing Attributions in the Context of Patient Safety. Journal of Health and Social Behavior Jun;60(2):188-203. doi: 10.1177/0022146519849027. Epub 2019 May 22.

De Brún A, Heavey E, Waring J, Dawson P, Scott J (2016), PReSaFe: A model of barriers and facilitators to patients providing feedback on experiences of safety. Health Expectations. doi:10.1111/hex.12516

Scott, J, Heavey E, Waring J, Jones D, Dawson P (2016) Healthcare professional and patient codesign and validation of a mechanism for service users to feedback patient safety experiences following a care transfer: a qualitative study BMJ Open 2016;6: e011222 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011222

Leyland A, Scott J, Dawson P (2016) Involuntary relocation and safe transfer of care home residents: a model of risks and opportunities in residents' experiences. Ageing and Society 36 (2) p376-399 DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X14001202, Published online: 30 October 2014.

Scott J, Waring J, Heavey E, Dawson P (2014). Patient Reporting of Safety experiences in Organisational Care Transfers (PRoSOCT): a feasibility study of a patient reporting tool as a proactive approach to identifying latent conditions within healthcare systems. BMJ Open http://bmjopen.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmjopen- 2014-005416?ijkey=cNVqPEK2AkDTml6&keytype=ref

Scott J, Dawson P and Jones D (2012) Do older patients' perceptions of safety highlight barriers that could make their care safer during organisational care transfers? BMJ Quality & Safety, 21, 112-177.

Robinson L, Newton J and Dawson P (2012) Professionals and the public: power or partnership in health research? Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18 (2) 276-82.

Davison J, Bond J, Dawson P, Steen IN, Kenny RA (2005) patients with recurrent falls attending accident and emergency benefit from multifactorial intervention – a randomised controlled trial. Age and Ageing, 34, 1-7.

Shaw FE, Bond J, Richardson DA, Dawson P, Steen IN, McKeith IG, Kenny RA (2003) Multifactorial intervention after a fall in older people with cognitive impairment and dementia presenting to the accident and emergency department: randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 326, 73-9.

Expert Membership of professional bodies

Registered Physiotherapist with the Health and Care Professions Council
Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Roles on external bodies

Independent Governor on the Board of Corporation of Education Partnership North East