Dr Deborah Edwards
Research Fellow
- edwardsdj@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 225 10703
- Room 701, 7th floor, Eastgate House, 35 - 43 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0AB
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a research fellow at the School of Healthcare Sciences and Co-Director of the Wales Centre For Evidence Based Care, a JBI Centre of Excellence https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/explore/research-units/wales-centre-for-evidence-based-care
In May 2021, along with five other centres across Wales, the Wales Centre For Evidence Based Care was contracted by the Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre (https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/about-research-community/wales-covid-19-evidence-centre) to provide 50 rapid reviews per year answering priority questions for policy and practice in Wales. The Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre work with stakeholders who are involved in health and social care across Wales, to understand the impact of the pandemic on the health and care delivery systems in Wales, prioritise questions that are answerable from the research evidence, and ensure the best available, up-to-date, and relevant evidence is readily available to inform their decision making. Stakeholders include the Welsh Government COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group.
I am interested in healthcare inequalities across vulnerable groups and my PhD focused on addressing the needs of vulnerable population in healthcare. I drew on evidence from five mixed methods systematic reviews to explore how healthcare inequalities can be reduced in this population. Current topics of interest include access to cancer services and experiences of cancer care for adults with a physical disability, continence care for people living with dementia, end of life care for people with severe mental illness and crisis responses for children and young people.
Biography
Work history
|
2021-present |
School of Healthcare Studies, Cardiff University |
Research Fellow |
|
2003-2021 |
School of Healthcare Studies, Cardiff University |
Research Associate |
|
1999-2003 |
School of Nursing & Midwifery Studies, University of Wales College of Medicine |
Research Assistant |
|
1996-1998 |
Department of Social Medicine. University of Bristol |
Research Associate |
|
1994- 1996 |
Department of Oral Surgery, Medicine and Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine |
Research Assistant |
Research experience
Which interventions improve HPV vaccination uptake and intention in children, adolescents and young adults? An umbrella review.
Technologies used to facilitate remote rehabilitation of adults with deconditioning, musculoskeletal conditions, stroke, or traumatic brain injury. An umbrella review
Crisis responses for children and young people: an evidence synthesis of effectiveness, experiences and service organisation (CAMH-Crisis).
End of life care for people with pre-existing, severe, mental health problems: an evidence synthesis (the MENLOC study)..
Men’s perceptions of the impact of the physical consequences of a radical prostatectomy on their quality of life: a qualitative systematic review.
Barriers to and facilitators of, access to cancer services and experiences of cancer care for adults with a physical disability. A mixed methods systematic review.
Understanding continence in acute settings for people with dementia: raising awareness and improving care.
Assistance at mealtimes in hospital settings and rehabilitation units for older adults from the perspective of patients, families and healthcare professionals
The RISC Project. An evidence synthesis of risk identification, assessment and management for young people using tier 4 inpatient child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
The ‘EPIC Project’: Developing and evaluating a child-centered intervention for diabetes medicine management using mixed-methods and a multi-centre Randomised Controlled Trial
Publications
We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.Teaching
The subjects I teach are all aligned to my expertise in evidence synthesis which I teach at postgraduate level to healthcare students spanning a range of academic disciplines (nurses, midwives, radiographers, physiotherapists & occupational therapists).
I lead the organisation and delivery of the JBI evidence synthesis training programmes - comprehensive systematic review training and scoping review workshop.
- Evidence synthesis for vulnerable groups in healthcare
Methodological expertise and editorial appointments
- Associate editor for JBI Evidence Synthesis.
- Systematic review consultant for Arts and Health Journal.
- Memebr of the Wales Covid-19 Evidence Centre Methodology subgroup.
- Member of the JBI Evidence Synthesis Taxonomy Advisory Panel (International group led by the JBI Collaboration, the University of Adelaide, Australia).
- Member of the JBI Textual Evidence Methods group contributing to the international development of these methodologies (International group led by the JBI Collaboration, the University of Adelaide, Australia)..
- Member of the Population and Public Health Review Methods Working Group (International group led by the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools McMaster University, Canada).
- Reviewer for Appetite, BMJ Open, Cogent Social Sciences, International Journal of Nursing Studies, International Journal of Nursing Older People, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, BMC Systematic Reviews.
WCEBC commissions
I have been the principal nvestigator on several evidence synthesis projects, commissioned from organisations including European Cancer Organisation, World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Midwifery Development, Royal College of Midwivies, James Lind Alliance, Welsh Government, and the Schools of Engineering and Psychology at Cardiff University. Our current programme of work is with the Wales Covid-19 Evidence Centre.
Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre | Health Care Research Wales (healthandcareresearchwales.org)
Supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of
- Evidence synthesis
- Healthcare inequalities
- Vulnerability
Past projects
Methodological expertise in evidence synthesis
Clare Hawker - Aseptic technique: a mixed methods study exploring undergraduate nursing students' education and training in the United Kingdom (awarded 2019).
Laura Ingham - Evaluation methods used by occupational therapists in primary care
Rachael Hewitt - Digital interventions to support the psychological health and well-being of people living with dermatological conditions (ongoing).
Co-supervision
Mads Boots - Physical activity brief intervention and behaviour change (ongoing)