ABOUT THE ROLE
You will join a dynamic, multidisciplinary research team to work on an exciting an important NIHR-funded social care project 2 days per week until March 2027.
The project will use focus groups and stakeholder workshops to develop an implementation strategy for a care homes training intervention, on the topic of mealtime care for people with dementia. The project will be informed by an involvement group (comprising practitioners and members of the public), and a working group on cultural sensitivity (comprising people from diverse cultural backgrounds). You will play an integral part in organising and facilitating focus groups and involvement / working groups, data collection and analysis, and dissemination and impact activities.
For further detail see the role description.
The role is part time fixed term, until 31 March 2027. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 therefore the successful candidate will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project is about helping care homes provide excellent mealtime care for people living with dementia, as mealtimes are fundamental to health and quality of life. Some people living with dementia experience challenges at mealtimes, which can include problems recognising food and drink, reduced range of tastes and preferences, or swallowing difficulties. Excellent mealtime care can transform the health and well-being of people with dementia living in care homes. Evidence shows that better training is needed to equip and empower care staff in this area of practice.
We have previously worked with experts-by-experience to develop a care home training programme which shares good practice in mealtime care. The training covers key ingredients for positive mealtimes: choice; independence; social interaction; safety; and nutrition and hydration. It enables care home staff to consider these issues as a team, with a focus on providing person-centred mealtime care. In a previous NIHR-funded project we tested the training in care homes, receiving feedback which led to valuable enhancements to content and format.
Now, we need to ensure the training will lead to lasting improvements in mealtime care. This is complex and important work, because of the competing demands and high staff-turnover experienced by care homes. It is also important to make sure the training is meaningful for staff and residents from diverse cultural backgrounds. We will visit care homes who have already received the training, and explore with staff whether and how their practice has changed. We will also visit new care homes, to find out what gets in the way of improvements in mealtime care, and what can help these improvements to take hold. Finally, we will use this information to develop a strategy for rolling out the training more widely. We will do this through a series of workshops involving care home managers, care staff and health/social care colleagues. In these workshops we will also identify which measures can determine whether the training works.
ABOUT THE TEAM
James Faraday is a Speech and Language Therapist and Deputy Trust Lead for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions (NMAHP) Research at Newcastle Hospitals. His research is grounded in clinical practice, focusing on improving mealtime care for people living with dementia, with expertise in qualitative research methods in care homes. He also has a keen interest in building research capacity in social care, and works with regional and national networks to connect early-career researchers to peer support.
Peter van der Graaf is Professor in Public Health and Knowledge Mobilisation at Northumbria University. His current research activity includes an HSDR project to develop interdisciplinary evaluation of complex innovations in health and social care. He has expertise in implementation science, knowledge translation, and partnership work in public health and social care to increase the uptake and implementation of research evidence.
Daniel Hind is Senior Research Fellow (Social Care Research and Development) at University of Leeds. He brings exceptional implementation science expertise as SSCR-funded Senior Research Fellow embedded in Nurturing Innovation in Care Home Excellence (NICHE) Leeds Living Lab. His extensive Normalization Process Theory application experience will ensure rigorous theory-informed analysis and strategy development for sustainable implementation.
Andrew McCarthy is Assistant Professor in the School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences at Northumbria University, and a health economist with expertise in economic evaluation in health and social care. He is a health economist with a focus on economic evaluation of service provision. His research interests include evaluation of changes in social care provision, and implementation of new technologies and new methods of working.
This Research Project is being delivered within the School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences, one of four Schools within the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Northumbria University. ABOUT YOU
We are looking for someone with a background in social care. A PhD (or equivalent professional or research experience) is desirable but not essential, particularly where candidates can demonstrate strong qualitative research and public involvement/engagement experience.
You will be proactive, organised, and creative, with the ability to manage multiple activities in parallel, including organisation of workshops, and collaborative projects. Strong communication skills are essential, as the role involves working with health and care practitioners, and members of the public, as well as contributing to publications and public-facing outputs.