Staff Profile

I am the Public Involvement and Engagement Manager for Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health.

Fuse brings together six Universities in the North East and North Cumbria (Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Cumbria, Sunderland and Teesside) in a unique collaboration to deliver world-class research to improve health and wellbeing and tackle inequalities. Fuse is also a founding member of the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR).

In this role I facilitate the delivery of Fuse's public involvement and engagement strategy, co-ordinate the active public partner network, input on research event planning and support researchers with public involvement and engagement activities and queries.

Before joining Fuse, I worked with the NIHR Clinical Research Network first as an Administrative Officer and then as NIHR CRN Project Coordinator. My primary focus here was the coordination of the successful NIHR INCLUDE project - Innovations in Clinical Trial Design and Delivery for the Under-served. 

I am passionate about engaging and involving the public, patients and caregivers in all aspects of research.

Qualifications

City and Guilds Professional Recognition Award for Leadership and Management, Newcastle University

MA Sociology and Social Research, Newcastle University

BA French with Sociology, University of Warwick

Additional publications

NIHR (2020) Improving inclusion of under-served groups in clinical research: Guidance from the NIHR-INCLUDE project. UK: NIHR. Available at: www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/improving-inclusion-of-under-served-groups-in-clinical-research-guidance-from-include-project/25435

NIHR (2020) Ensuring that COVID-19 Research is Inclusive: Guidance from the NIHR CRN NIHR-INCLUDE project. UK: NIHR. Available at: www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/ensuring-that-covid-19-research-is-inclusive-guidance-from-the-nihr-crn-include-project/25441 

• Articles

  • Wearn A, Brennan-Tovey K, Adams EA, Alderson H, Baariu J, Cheetham M, Bartle V, Palfreyman L, Rooke V, Shenton F, Ramsay SE, Kaner E. Evaluating Process and Outcomes of Public Involvement in Applied Health and Social Care Research: A Rapid Systematic Review. Health Expectations 2025, 28(1), e70160.
  • Witham MD, Anderson E, Carroll C, Dark PM, Down K, Hall AS, Knee J, Maher ER, Maier RH, Mountain GA, Nestor G, O'Brien JT, Oliva L, Wason J, Rochester L. Ensuring that COVID-19 research is inclusive: guidance from the NIHR INCLUDE project. BMJ Open 2020, 11(10), e043634.
  • Witham MD, Anderson E, Carroll C, Dark PM, Down K, Hall AS, Knee J, Maier RH, Mountain GA, Nestor G, Oliva L, Prowse SR, Tortice A, Wason J, Rochester L. Developing a roadmap to improve trial delivery for under-served groups: results from a UK multi-stakeholder process. Trials 2020, 21, 694.
  • Scharf E. Entitled to Benefit? A Review of State Benefit Take Up by Older People belonging to Black and Minority Ethnic Groups. Reinvention: a Journal of Undergraduate Research 2010, 3(2).

• Report

  • Wearn A, Kaner E, Ramsay S, Aquino MRJ, Alderson H, Cheetham M, Shenton F, Lally J, Anderson E, Rook V, Palfreyman L, Bartle V. Evaluating process and outcomes of public involvement in applied health and social care research: a rapid systematic review. London: National Institute for Health and Care Research, 2022. PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022310210.