Primary Care & Health Sciences

I qualified as a physiotherapist at Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1982. My clinical career was undertaken in Withington, Sevenoaks, Medway and Rochester Hospitals; and the Staffordshire Rheumatology Centre, the Haywood, Burslem. I completed my PhD at Keele University in 1997 and became a Senior Research Fellow at Keele and West Midlands Physiotherapy Clinical Trialist, a post focussing on enhancing evidence based physiotherapy practice through randomised controlled clinical trials. In 2000 I was appointed Arthritis Research UK Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy. This post was created by the Arthritis Research UK to develop and expand academic activities in research, to provide inspiration and leadership to other allied health professionals, to work in a wider context within research in community rheumatology and to exert an influence at national and international levels. In 2007 Keele was awarded funding from Arthritis Research UK for their first multi-centre trial of Occupational Therapy exercise and joint protection for people with hand osteoarthritis. Then in 2008, the National Institute of Health Research funded a study to see how best to deliver high quality research in primary care practice for people with osteoarthritis. I work as part of an interdisciplinary research team at Keele who was awarded Arthritis Research UK funding as the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre in 2008 and was recognised in 2009-10 by the award of a prestigious Queens Anniversary Award to Keele University. I was awarded a personal chair by Keele University in 2010, as Arthritis Research UK Professor of Musculoskeletal Therapies.

I have led innovations to engage clinical physiotherapists to define questions and develop study proposals in musculoskeletal pain. A workshop for 55 physiotherapists developed a successful funding proposal, and delivered and published it. I have also led initiatives to facilitate therapists and other disciplines to engage with research. I led a group of occupational therapists to develop and design a proposal for a community trial of treatment of hand problems, awarded a grant by the Arthritis Research UK.

I have initiated one of the largest longitudinal clinical hand studies in Europe and established the hand group in the Centre’s epidemiology section. I am a Co-applicant on the Centre’s National Institute of Health Research osteoarthritis programme. 

For my research I have

• Been awarded two personal externally-funded posts - West Midlands Regional Trialist in Physiotherapy (1996-2000); Arthritis Research UK Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy (2000-2005)
• Published  original research publications in high impact journals (e.g. Lancet, BMJ)
• Obtained with senior colleagues at Keele external research funding
• Supervised 6 Allied Health Professional research degrees.

Clinical trials have provided evidence for the place and value of physiotherapy nationally and internationally through:

• A trial of pain management delivered by physiotherapists (Hay et al 2005)
• A trial of shoulder pain management (Hay et al 2003)
• A neck pain trial, which supported simple information provision as the most effective intervention (Dziedzic et al 2005)
• Publication in high-ranking journals (e.g. Howell et al 2002)
• Regional facilitation of individual physiotherapists
• International collaboration with the musculoskeletal research groups e.g. Rotterdam.

My clinical epidemiology research has

• Influenced international recommendations on the management and diagnosis of hand osteoarthritis
• Highlighted the impact of hand problems on everyday lives
• Uncovered the importance of beliefs and perceptions in determining disability
• Been invited as oral presentations at the European League Against Rheumatism and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International

My current research aims are:

• To lead completion and dissemination of results from my current programme under the general theme of “improving the management of osteoarthritis in primary care”.
• To extend my research into innovative areas, including the extended role of health care professionals, such as practice nurses, in primary care management of joint pain.
• To continue to increase research capacity and training - in the Centre, and regionally and nationally - for non-medical health professionals.

My contribution at Keele and nationally has included

• Leading innovations in evidence-based practice training at Keele by:
  • developing programmes and teaching on trials and systematic reviews for the Masters in Medical Science, a unique setting for general practice training as well as postgraduate training for other professions.
  • co-editing a book on evidence based rheumatology practice for therapists

• Invited by the British Society for Rheumatology to sit on the Guideline Development Group for the NICE osteoarthritis guidelines, a national and international resource for osteoarthritis care. 
• Invited by the Arthritis Research Campaign to contribute to policy committees for Osteoarthritis Clinical Studies, and Research and Academic Capacity.