Research Team
Amanda Owen Smith (Principal Investigator: University of Bristol)
Amanda will lead the research team and take responsibility for project delivery and dissemination of results. She will draw on her extensive experience of qualitative research to lead the planning and delivery of the fieldwork and guide the interpretation of results into useful guidelines for commissioning services.
Maria Barnes (University of Bristol)
Maria will be the main researcher on the project, responsible for liaising with gatekeepers, recruiting participants, data collection and overall analysis. She will apply for regulatory approvals in liaison with Amanda and contribute to patient and public involvement by attending PPIE meetings and working with the Karen and Nadya to ensure that all insights are fed into the research process at the earliest opportunity.
Karen Coulman (University of Bristol)
Karen will lead the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) process, support Amanda with the overall management of the research, and provide dietetic expertise to the steering group. She will also contribute to the management of the qualitative work, in particular providing advice on negotiating participant access via clinical gatekeepers and reviewing all key analytic documents to provide an additional clinically informed perspective on emerging findings.
David Kessler (University of Bristol)
David will provide senior oversight on the project, and use his substantial experience of managing complex NIHR-funded projects to support Amanda with overall leadership and project delivery. He will contribute substantial expertise relating to the delivery of mental healthcare within primary care settings and use his clinical expertise to advise on key aspects of the research, including recruiting and interviewing people currently experiencing mental health difficulties.
Katrina Turner (University of Bristol)
Katrina will provide senior oversight for the research. She will also bring extensive expertise in using qualitative research methods to explore patient and practitioner perspectives and experiences of using community-based services, and her knowledge of conducting primary care research in the areas of depression and anxiety.
Helen Parretti (University of East Anglia)
Helen is a GP and consultant clinical associate professor in primary care. She has experience of working as a bariatric physician in Tier 3 weight management services and sits on several national groups related to obesity, including NICE guidelines committee for weight management and the patient organisation, Obesity Empowerment Network. She contributes clinical and academic expertise in obesity management in primary and secondary care and provides links into national bodies including NICE and RCGP.
Laura Jones (University of Birmingham)
Laura will contribute to the management of the qualitative study, bringing expertise from outside Bristol, particularly with respect to the utilisation of Grounded Theory. She will also sit on the Study Management Group, and will contribute particular insight around recruitment of minority populations.
Nadya Isack (Patient and Public Involvement Representative)
Nadya will have responsibility for co-leading the PPI study group as well as contributing to study management group meetings. She will assist Amanda and Karen in specifying the roles and training requirements for other PPI contributors, ensure PPI contributors are clear about their role in the research, and be a champion for the inclusion of the patient voice in both project management and the overall dissemination and impact strategy.
James Nobles (Leeds Beckett University)
James is a mixed-methods researcher and has particular expertise in the implementation and evaluation of weight management services, especially those in the UK. His research has previously focused on how to improve engagement in such services. He has many links with local and national policy-makers in this field, and will therefore lead the dissemination strategy of this project.
Vanessa Snowdon-Carr (E-Weight Loss Surgery Limited)
Vanessa will provide psychological expertise to the project steering group, will comment on patient-facing material, and where appropriate assist in data interpretation. She will also help define the interview participant distress protocol and be available to PPI contributors as a first-line source of advice /support, if required.
Justine Womack (Department of Health and Social Care)
Justine will advise on the recruitment strategy for the research, including identifying appropriate areas to establish recruitment sites. In addition, she will sit on the Study Management Group and use her extensive contact network to aid policy formulation and help disseminate results.
Sarah Amos (South Gloucestershire Council)
Sarah leads the development of South Gloucestershire Tier 2 WMS and will contribute knowledge and understanding relating to Tier 2 provision in practice to the Study Management Group. In addition, she will be a point of contact with local service leads / clinical gatekeepers within the South Gloucestershire area.
Practice and Policy Advisory Group
- Tracy Marshall (Gloucestershire County Council)
- Sally Hogg (Bristol City Council)
- Lewis Bird (Swindon Borough Council)
- Rachel Clarke (Swindon Borough Council)
- David Peters (NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB)
Patient and Public Involvement Group
- Nadya Isack
- Nysha Givans
- Nick Pickering
- Samina Begum