Fiona Aspinal

Biography

Fiona joined Keele's School of Medicine in April 2026, where she is working on the PRevention of Osteoporosis fractures through Equitable Case finding and Treatment Support (PROTECTS) study. She is a mixed-method and qualitative researcher who has previously worked at University College London (UCL), the University of York, and King’s College London. She holds associate status at the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC), London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

She previously worked as a registered nurse in elderly care and palliative care settings. She undertook a BA (Hons) (Social Policy and Administration) and MSc (Public Policy) at the University of York. Her first research role was at King's College London in the Department of Palliative and Supportive Care (now named Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation) developing and testing outcome measurement scales (POS, VOICES) for use in different care settings.

She then returned to the University of York and completed an ESRC-funded PhD in Politics/Health Sciences on a policy-focused study about public and patient involvement in NHS decision-making. Following PhD studies, she undertook research in the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, where using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, she worked on/led several complex mixed-methods evaluations of systems, services and interventions across health and social care settings, including integrated and community neurological services, support for carers of people with dementia, personal budgets, and reablement.

Recently, she was based in the Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health at UCL working for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North Thames as 'Senior Research Associate in Qualitative Methods Applied to Organisational Research in Health', helping to build research capacity across the region and facilitate/support social care and health research with local, regional and national relevance. Research topics included frailty, social support for people with dementia and underserved groups, and reablement. She was a member of the Centre for Excellence in Qualitative Health Research and Teaching, co-leading modules for the Qualitative Research Methods in Health course.

Research and scholarship

I have wide topic and research methods interests including experiences of accessing and using health and social care, evaluation of health and social care provision and systems, and qualitative research methods.

At Keele, I am currently working on the PRevention of Osteoporosis fractures through Equitable Case finding and Treatment Support (PROTECTS) study.

Teaching

I support the online MSc in Public Health.

Collaborations and grants awards

Selected grant awards:
Di Lorito C., Edwards M., Aspinal F., et al. (2025) How can access and use of social support/care services be equitable for people living with dementia from LGBTQ+ communities? Setting research priorities through a stakeholders’ partnership. UCL Grand Challenges Justice & Equality Special Initiative 2024-2025, £9,495.00

Henderson C., (PI), Fernadez J-L., Wistow G., Whitehead P., Brimblecombe N., Stevens M., Cartagena-Farias, J., Bostock J., Aspinal F. (2024) Selecting reablement models that best support people leaving hospital after an unplanned admission (REABLE-M). NIHR HSDR, £1,194,296.68

Nimmons D., Walters F., Aspinal F. (2023) Exploring how the electronic frailty index (eFI2) can be best utilised in clinical practice. NIHR ARC North Thames extension funds, £46,452.55

Brooks J., Aspinal F., Willcox A., Murphy D., Sanders T. (2023) Improving social care services for people with dementia who live alone without informal support. NIHR RfSC Knowledge Mobilisation, Implementation and Impact Funding, £55,271.

Jasim S., Aspinal F., Strelitz J., Loades S., Nyero G., Grimshaw C., Begum C. (2022) Understanding the influence of diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnicity as barriers to access and uptake of social care services: a realist action research scoping study. NIHR ARC North Thames, £37,163

Aspinal F. (co-PI), Boa C., Bowen A., Dougan S., Edeki V., Hutchings A., Moore C., Raine R., Sheringham J., Watson G. (2021) Evaluation of population health management system for population health and care. NIHR Clinical Research Network North Thames, Agile Workforce Funding Call, £100,000.

Brooks J., Aspinal F., Sanders T., Murphy D. (2021) Living alone with dementia: managing without informal support to contact and navigate services. NIHR RfSC, £296,619. When completed in 2024, it was named one of the top 20 research stories across the ARCs.

Gomez M., Aspinal F. (2019) Evaluating the impacts of digital health interventions of health and social care service use. PhD Studentship, NIHR ARC North Thames studentship (Awarded to Tiyi Morris), £121,304.

Black G., Aspinal F., Barratt H., Fulop N., Ramsey A., Vindrola C. (2019) A critical analysis and development of rapid ethnographies in healthcare quality improvement. Health Foundation (THIS Fellowship), £120,360

Aspinal F., Beresford B., Parker G., Rabiee P., Weatherly H., Faria R., Laver-Fawcett A., Pilkington G. (2014) Models of Reablement Evaluation: a mixed methods evaluation of a complex intervention (MoRE Project). NIHR HSDR, £891,599

Birks Y. & Aspinal F. (2013) Risk, Safety and Safeguarding: understanding and application of concepts and implications for integrated care services. A scoping review. NIHR SSCR, £14,272

Parker G. & Aspinal F. (2010) Assessing outcomes of integrated care for long-term conditions. NIHR SDO, £450,026

Aspinal F. (2003) Evaluating the effects and effectiveness of patient and public involvement strategies in the National Health Service. ESRC Research Studentship Award (PhD)