Newcastle University

Introduction

I am a medical sociologist with particular expertise in qualitative studies of medical practice and research. Along with colleagues, Dr Cath Exley and Dr Tracy Finch, my work involves bringing social science perspectives and qualitative methodological expertise to clinical research and teaching. Our work is concerned with the social, experiential, organisational and technological aspects of health and health care.

Qualifications

PhD Sociology/Conversation Analysis(London)
MA Sociology with special reference to qualitative research - awarded with distinction (London)
BA (Hons) Human Geography (London)

Memberships

British Sociological Association

Research Interests

I focus on detailed empirical studies of medical practice and research. I’m interested in identifying, describing and understanding the everyday, taken-for-granted, aspects of medical work.  A focus on what people actually do, as opposed to just what they think  they do, or they tell you what they do, can offer unique, practical and tailored solutions.  My research focuses on two over-arching related questions:

•  How is medical work shaped by new and existing forms of interaction, knowledge and technology? 
•  How is research-based knowledge produced, disseminated and integrated?

 My main expertise is in:

• Sociology of medical work, knowledge and practice
• Qualitative methodology and methods

Other Expertise

• Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis
• Sociology of Social Scientific Knowledge

Current Work

·       Musculoskeletal medicine

Ongoing collaborations with Helen Foster (Clinical Medical Sciences, Newcastle), Lesley Kay (Rheumatology, Freeman) and Ben Thompson (Rheumatology, Freeman), have led to two new Arthritis Research UK grants focusing on the information needs of patients and carers.

·         Complex interventions

New collaborations with Salman Razvi (Endocrinology,
Queen Elizabeth Hospital) and Nick Embleton and Janet Berrington (Neonatal Service, RVI) have led to grants where qualitative research is used to inform feasibility studies of complex interventions.

·         NERDS - North East Research Design Services - Qualitative Advisor

I am a member of the NERDS team, where I offer support and advice on the application of qualitative research methods to health and social care research, especially in relation to qualitative research for clinical trials (including feasibility studies and parallel process evaluations of pilot and ‘definitive’ trials).

Future Research

I’m very interested in developing my work around  ‘Social Studies of Musculoskeletal Medicine’. I’m especially interested in focusing on:

·         How decision-making occurs in current practice; how practitioners (often in multidisciplinary teams), patients and parents/guardians all actively contribute to the process. 

·         How to enable the implementation of research-based knowledge, especially educational innovation, to effectively create long-term change.

·         How to increase the role and impact of social science knowledge in research and practice.

I’m also very interested in continuing to collaborate with clinical researchers who are implementing complex interventions (especially in the context of clinical trials) or who face practical, service-orientated, implementation problems. I’m keen to work with them to design and deploy appropriate and methodologically rigorous qualitative research that directly feeds into the development or enactment of their clinical work or research.

Theoretically and pragmatically speaking, I really want to continue to develop collaborative engagements with clinical colleagues, to further develop the ideas and practices of social studies *with* clinical research.

Research Roles

I am a member of:

Health Technologies and Human Relations (HTHR) Faculty Research Group
North East Research Design Services (NERDS)
Newcastle Musculoskeletal Education Research Group
Risk Communication and Decision Making (RCDM) Faculty Research Group

I am an associate member of:

Newcastle Centre for Social and Business Informatics

Esteem Indicators

2008 - Member of Consultative Group for Life Sciences, Biology and Medicine, Research Information Network (www.rin.ac.uk)

2009 & 2011 Scientific Committee Member, International Shared Decision Making Conference

Visiting Researcher, Computing Department, Lancaster University, 2006

Plenary Speaker at 'Advances in Qualitative Research', Qualitative Methods Research Network, European Sociological Association, Cardiff University, 2006.

I have given invited papers in Berlin (HU), Essex, Keele, Lancaster and Warwick.

Funding

Principal Investigator

1         Arthritis Research UK (Grant 19625) How should we educate young people to help them make decisions about biologic therapies? 2011-2013 Rapley T, Kay L, Foster H, Thompson B, McDonagh J. £151,663               

 Co-Investigator

2         Arthritis Research UK (Grant 19624) The Educational Needs of Carers of People with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) 2011-2013 Thompson B, Rapley T, Kay L, Foster H, Coady D, Watts R. £158,368

3         NIHR RfPB Study of Optimal Replacement of Thyroxine in ElDerly (SORTED) - a feasibility study 2011-2013 Razvi S, Pearce S, Wilkes S, Rapley T,  Ryan V. £104,994

4         BLISS Innovation in Care Fund Support at home for infants with feeding tubes (SHIFT) 2011-2013 Embleton N, Berrington J, Robinson J, Rapley T £58,784

5         ESRC, Follow on Funding Scheme (Grant 189-25-0003) Normalizing New Health Technologies: Building a Web-Enabled Toolkit for Implementation Practitioners 2009-2010 May C, Murray E, Finch T, Mair F, Treweek S , Rapley T. £99,973

6         Arthritis Research Campaign (Grant 16516) Development of an evidence-based regional musculoskeletal examination for school aged children. 2005-2008. H Foster, C May, L Kay, T Rapley. £121,758

PhD/MD Fellowship 

7         Arthritis Research Campaign, Educational Research Fellowship (Grant 17738) What Do Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis Need and Want to Know about their Conditions 2007-2009 Thompson B, Kay L, Rapley T, May C £109, 652  

Projects

• Decision Analysis in Routine Treatment II (DARTS II): A randomised controlled trial (efficacy study) of a decision aid to support shared decision making for patients with atrial fibrillation.
  Project Leader(s): Prof Richard Thomson, Prof Martin Eccles, Dr Nick Steen
• Development of an evidence based regional musculoskeletal examination for school aged children
  Project Leader(s): Dr Helen Foster
• Evaluation of the penile cuff device for routine clinical use
  Project Leader(s): Mr Robert Pickard
• Methodology, ethics & patient and professional engagement in stroke research
  Project Leader(s): Lynne Stobbart

Undergraduate Teaching

Medicine in the Community, MBBS Module
The Sociology of Health & Illness, SOC2056

Postgraduate Teaching

Introduction to Qualitative Research, MSc Module
Further Qualitative Research, MSc Module (Convenor)         
Health and Society, MSc Module
Research Study Design & Data Interpretation, Postgrad Certificate of Clinical Research

Postgraduate Supervision

L McSweeney Early Origins of Obesity: Exploring Strategies for Intervention.

L Stobbart Processes and practices of the enrolment of patients to hyperacute randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of stroke treatment: decision making by patients, careers and professionals.

 Awarded 

2011      B Thompson, MD, What Do Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis Need and Want to Know about their Condition?

2010       J Patterson, PhD, Swallowing in head and neck cancer following (chemo)radiotherapy

• May CR, Finch T, Ballini L, MacFarlane A, Mair F, Murray E, Treweek S, Rapley T. Evaluating complex interventions and health technologies using normalization process theory: development of a simplified approach and web-enabled toolkit. BMC Health Services Research 2011, 11(1), 245.
• Foster H, Kay L, May C, Rapley T. pREMS – pediatric Regional Examination of the Musculoskeletal System – a consensus based approach. Arthritis Care & Research 2011. In Press.
• Foster H, Rapley T. Access to Pediatric Rheumatology Care - A Major Challenge to Improving Outcome in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Journal of Rheumatology 2010. Toronto, Canada:Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Co. Ltd.,37 11 2199–2202.
• Rapley T. Analiza konwersacji, dyskursu i dokumentów. Warsaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN/Sage, 2010.
• Rapley T, Jenkings KN. Document Analysis. In: Baker, E; Peterson, P; McGaw, B, ed. The International Encyclopedia of Education. London: Elsevier Science, 2010. In Press.
• Foster H, Rapley T, May C. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis: improved outcome requires improved access to care. Rheumatology 2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 49(3), 401-403.
• Murray E, Treweek S, Pope C, MacFarlance A, Ballini L, Dowrick D, Finch T, Kennedy A, Mair F, O'Donnel C, Ong BN, Rapley T, Rogers A, May C. Normalisation process theory: a framework for developing, evaluating and implementing complex interventions. BMC Medicine 2010, 8(1), 63.
• Rapley T. Some Pragmatics of Qualitative Data Analysis. In: Silverman, D, ed. Qualitative Research: Theory, Method & Practice. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd, 2010, pp.273-290.
• Rapley T. The art(fullness) of open-ended interviewing: some considerations on analysing interviews (Reprint of my 2001 article originally published in Qualitative Research). In: Atkinson, P., Delamont , S., ed. SAGE Qualitative Research Methods. London: Sage, 2010. In Press.
• Lecouturier J, Stobbart L, Murtagh MJ, Ford GA, Rapley T, Louw S, Rodgers H. The challenges of seeking consent from adults to participate in acute research studies. Clinical Ethics 2010, 5(2), 73-76.
• Moreira T, Rapley T. Understanding the Shaping, Incorporation and Coordination of Health Technologies through Qualitative Research. In: Bourgeault, I; DeVries, R; Dingwall, R, ed. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research. London: Sage Publications, 2010. In Press.
• Rapley T. 對話、論述研究法與文件分析. Beijing, China: Weber Publication International Ltd/Sage, 2010.
• Rapley T, Heaven B, May C, Kay L, Foster H. An Evidence and Practice Based Regional Musculoskeletal Examination for School-Aged Children - pREMS. Rheumatology 2009, 48, I22-I23.
• Jandial S, Rapley T, Foster H. Current teaching of paediatric musculoskeletal medicine within UK medical schools – a need for change.. Rheumatology 2009, 48(5), 587-590.
• May CR, Mair F, Finch T, MacFarlane A, Dowrick C, Treweek S, Rapley T, Ballini L, Ong BN, Rogers A, Murray E, Elwyn G, Legare F, Gunn J, Montori VM. Development of a theory of implementation and integration: Normalization Process Theory. Implementation Science 2009,4 1 29.
• Thompson B, Rapley TJ, Broderick W, May CR, Kay LJ. Education for People with Ankylosing Spondylitis: Current Practice in the UK. In: Rheumatology: Annual Meeting of the British Society of Rheumatology.2009,Glasgow, UK:Oxford University Press
• Rapley T, May C. Evidence and risk: The sociology of health care grappling with knowledge and uncertainty. In: Edwards, A; Elwyn, G, ed. Shared Decision Making in Health Care: Achieving Evidence Based Patient Choice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 53-58.
• Jandial S, Rapley T, Foster HE. Teaching of paediatric musculoskeletal medicine at UK medical schools – a need for change.. Rheumatology 2009, 48(5), 587-590.
• Lecouturier J, Rapley T, Stobbart L, Ford G, Louw S, Rodgers H, Murtagh MJ. Clinical research without consent in adults in the emergency setting: a review of patient and public views. BMC Medical Ethics 2008, 9, 9.
• Rapley T. Distributed decision making: The anatomy of decisions-in-action. Sociology of Health and Illness 2008, 30(3), 429-444.
• Rapley T. The art(fullness) of open-ended interviewing: some considerations on analysing interviews (Reprint of 2001 article originally published in Qualitative Research). In: Fielding, N, ed. Interviewing II. London: Sage, 2008.
• Stobbart L, Murtagh MJ, Rapley T, Ford G, Louw S, Rodgers H. “We saw human guinea pigs explode”: coverage of adverse events in the TGN 1412 trial in the printed media. British Medical Journal 2007, 334, 566-567.
• Rapley T. Doing Conversation, Discourse and Document Analysis. London: Sage, 2007.
• Hindmarsh J, Jenkings KN, Rapley TJ. Introduction to healthcare technologies in practice. Health Informatics Journal 2007. , 13(1), 5-8.
• Kaner EFS, Heaven BRJ, Rapley TJ, Murtagh MJ, Graham RH, Thomson RG, May CR. Medical communication and technology: a video-based process study of the use of decision aids in primary care consultations. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2007, 7(1), 2.
• Murtagh MJ, Thomson RG, May CR, Rapley TJ, Heaven BRJ, Graham RH, Kaner EFS, Stobbart L, Eccles PJ. Qualitative methods in a randomised controlled trial: the role of an integrated qualitative process evaluation in providin evidence to discontinue the intervention in one arm of a triapof a decision support tool. Quality and Safety in Health Care 2007, 16(3), 224-229.
• May C, Finch T, Mair F, Ballini L, Dowrick C, Eccles M, Gask L, MacFarlane A, Murray E, Rapley T, Rogers A, Treweek S, Wallace P, Anderson G, Burns J, Heaven B. Understanding the implementation of complex interventions in health care: The normalization process model. BMC Health Services Research 2007, 7(148), 7.
• Wride N, Finch T, Rapley T, Moreira T, May C, Fraser S. What's in a name? Medication terms: What they mean and when to use them. British Journal of Ophthalmology 2007. , 91(11), 1422-1424.
• May C, Rapley T, Kaner E. Clinical reasoning, clinical trials and risky drinkers in everyday primary care: A qualitative study of British general practitioners. Addiction Research and Theory 2006, 14(4), 387-397.
• Rapley TJ, May CR, Heaven BRJ, Murtagh MJ, Graham RH, Kaner EFS, Thomson RG. Doctor-patient interaction in a randomised controlled trial of decision-support tools. Social Science & Medicine 2006, 62(9), 2267-2278.
• Heaven BRJ, Murtagh MJ, Rapley TJ, May CR, Graham RH, Kaner EFS, Thomson RG. Patients or research subjects? A qualitative study of participation in a randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention. Patient Education and Counseling 2006, 62(2), 260-270.
• Kaner E, Rapley T, May C. Seeing through the glass darkly? A qualitative exploration of GPs' drinking and their alcohol intervention practices. Family Practice 2006, 23(4), 481-487.
• Rapley T, May C, Kaner EFS. Still a difficult business? Negotiating alcohol-related problems in general practice consultations. Social Science and Medicine 2006, 63(9), 2418-2428.
• May C, Rapley T, Moreira T, Finch T, Heaven B. Technogovernance: Evidence, subjectivity, and the clinical encounter in primary care medicine. Social Science and Medicine 2006, 62(4), 1022-1030.
• Rapley T. Analysing conversations. In:C. Seale, ed. Researching Society and Culture.London:Sage,2004, pp. 383-396.
• Rapley T. Interviews. In: Seale, B.S., Gobo, G., Gubrium, J.F., Silverman, D., ed. Qualitative Research Practice. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd., 2004, pp. 15-33.
• Rapley TJ, Heaven B, Kaner EFS, Murtagh MJ, May CR, Thomson RG. “Well, we’ll come back to that question”: The impact of a computerised decision-support tool on doctor-patient interaction. In: International Shared Decision Making Conference. 2003, Swansea, UK.
• May C, Moreira T, Rapley T, Finch T, Heaven B. Hybrid Medicine: Technogovernance, subjectivity and primary care. In: Devices and Designs: Medical Innovation in Historical Perspective. 2003, University of Manchester, UK.
• Rapley T, Finch T, May C, Moreira T, Heaven B. Hybrid medicines: technologies and subjects in primary care. In: BSA Medical Sociology Group: 35th Annual Conference Programme. 2003, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Rapley T, Finch T, May C, Moreira T, Heaven B. Hybrid Medicines: Technologies And Subjects In Primary Care. In: British Sociological Association - Medical Sociology Conference. 2003, University of York, York, UK.
• Heaven BR, Murtagh MJ, Rapley T, Kaner EF, May CR, Thomson RG. You go and see a doctor at the surgery, not at research”: How 'patients' in an RCT understand themselves as experimental subjects. In: British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference. 2003, York, UK.
• Rapley, T. The art(fulness) of open-ended interviewing: some considerations on analysing interviews. Qualitative Research 2001, 1(3), 303-323.