Dr Hayley Alderson
NIHR Advanced Fellowship
I am currently a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Advanced Fellow at Newcastle University and a Senior Research Fellow with the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC).
I think of myself as a practitioner-researcher working at the interface of Social Care and Public Health. My work focuses on individuals with multiple disadvantages and complex needs, particularly in the arena of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), mental health, substance use and safeguarding.
Prior to commencing a career in research, I had 12 years’ practitioner experience working in voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, local authorities and HMP Prison service establishments. The opportunity to undertake a PhD ultimately led me to a research associate role in the Faculty of Medical Sciences in 2016.
Why FMS?
Working at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) makes me excited. I am lucky enough to be part of a team with a wealth of practitioner experience that I can identify with.
Research is conducted in a way that wholly aligns with my own values and principles of supporting some of the most marginalised individuals within our society. Colleagues in FMS helped me visualise how a career in academia could result in the development of interventions and research that was pragmatic in nature and could benefit the populations of most interest to me.
My work family have provided mentorship and presented me with opportunities to develop my expertise within research. This in turn, has led me to learn in a safe environment and to observe skills and techniques that I can take forward in my own work.
What does your research focus on?
My Advanced Fellowship aims to understand the experiences of those who have endured sexual assault in accessing health and social care services. The goal is to develop a trauma informed framework to guide health and social care professionals regarding their response to those who have experienced sexual assault.
My wider portfolio of work closely aligns with social care settings and seeks to benefit highly vulnerable populations such as families on the edge of care, children in care/care leavers, individuals experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse and substance misusing parents and their children. I am incredibly proud that my research is cited in the UK NICE guidelines 2021 that define best practice care for the 82,000 children in and out of home care in England.
An often unrecognised but very important element of research is the opportunity to involve members of the public. This is something I am passionate about and recent funding has enabled me to do this more with really life changing results. Involvement in research has equipped some of my public contributors with the skills to commence social worker training or undertake a PhD.
Research ambitions
My long-term career ambition is to become a leader in the public health and social care research field here in Newcastle. Through patient and public involvement and engagement, those with lived experience will shape my research and ultimately improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.