Newcastle University

Introduction

I am currently working in the Risk Communication and Decision Making research group on the Developing and Assessing Services for Hyperacute Stroke (DASH) programme. My work involves looking at the barriers to timely admission to hospital for patients with acute stroke. I am currently writing up some qualitative work carried out with patients and witnesses and the results of this work will inform the development of interventions to increase awareness of stroke symptoms and improve the timely accessing of stroke services at the onset of stroke amongs patients, the public and primary care staff.

Projects

• DASH Objective III
  Project Leader(s): Professor Gary Ford and Dr Chris Price
• Development and Assessment of Services for Hyper-acute Stroke (DASH): Objective 1
  Project Leader(s): Prof Gary Ford, Prof Helen Rodgers, Prof Richard Thomson, Prof Martin White, Prof Martin Eccles, Dr Madeleine Murtagh
  To determine the effectiveness of a multi faceted community programme to increase awareness of and response to symptoms of stroke by the public, patients and health service staff

• Burges Watson DL, Sanoff R, Mackintosh JE, Saver JL, Ford GA, Price C, Starkman S, Eckstein M, Conwit R, Grace A, Murtagh MJ. Evidence from the Scene: Paramedic perspectives on involvement in out-of-hospital research. Annals of Emergency Medicine 2012, (epub ahead of print).
• Mackintosh JE, Rodgers H, White M, Thomson RG, Ford GA, Murtagh MJ. Why people do, or do not, immediately contact emergency medical services following onset of acute stroke: qualitative interview study. PLoS One 2012. In Press.