Dr Mark Pearson

Reader in Implementation Science

+44 (0)1482 463335 | Mark.Pearson@hull.ac.uk

Faculty and Department

Faculty of Health Sciences
Hull York Medical School

Biography Teaching Outputs Research/PhD

Qualifications

Summary

I worked clinically as an Adult Nurse in acute medicine, rehabilitation, and medical oncology, before moving to social science research via an interlude exploring livelihoods in Northern Nigeria. My jump from practice to research was motivated by a desire to understand, and change, the many things that stop knowledge being used to inform practice.

My ESRC-funded doctorate investigated how knowledge was identified and used in Public Health guideline development at the (as it then was) National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE), challenging the view that only certain, narrowly-defined forms of evidence inform guideline development. Subsequently, my research career at University of Exeter Medical School and NIHR CLAHRC for the southwest peninsula (PenCLAHRC) has been applied (conducting systematic reviews to inform Public Health guideline development), methodological (developing realist synthesis for explaining implementation challenges), and developmental (engaging stakeholders in thinking through implementation questions and how research can help).

Critically applying Implementation Science has meant crossing conventional sectoral boundaries, with my research including covering diverse areas such as offenders’ mental health, health promotion in schools, and intermediate care. Working in this way gives rise to challenges that are not unlike those that ethnographers encounter where they are simultaneously an ‘insider’ and an ‘outsider’. Embracing this insider/outsider tension enables me to bring a distinct perspective.

I joined the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre at Hull York Medical School in 2017 to develop the use of Implementation Science in Palliative and Chronic Care. I research and teach on how to get the best of what we know delivered in routine practice, with a focus on Palliative & Chronic Care and its intersections with the wider health and social care system. I have a particular interest in the application and methodological development of Realist research and other approaches that work with complexity. I also lead a postgraduate module (Implementation Science for Advanced & Chronic Care), supervise undergraduate and postgraduate (PhD) students, Chair PhD advisory panels, and lead workshops to develop researchers’ and clinicians’ skills in Implementation Science.

Undergraduate (MBBS):

Phase 1 Scholarship & Special Interest Programme - Using Implementation Science to lead evidence-based change in health services

Phase 2 Scholarship & Special Interest Programme

Postgraduate (Taught):

Implementation Science for Advanced & Chronic Care (Module Lead)

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Journal Article

Developing and testing the ExerciseGuide UK website for people with lung cancer: reflections on the added value of patient and public involvement within a doctoral degree

Curry, J., Roberts, H., Smith, A., Riley, D., Pearson, M., & Forbes, C. C. (2022). Developing and testing the ExerciseGuide UK website for people with lung cancer: reflections on the added value of patient and public involvement within a doctoral degree. Research Involvement and Engagement, 8(1), Article 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-022-00395-1

Helen Roberts Jordan Curry Cindy Forbes

Antenatal preventative pelvic floor muscle exercise intervention led by midwives to reduce postnatal urinary incontinence (APPEAL): protocol for a feasibility and pilot cluster randomised controlled trial

Bick, D., Bishop, J., Coleman, T., Dean, S., Edwards, E., Frawley, H., …MacArthur, C. (2022). Antenatal preventative pelvic floor muscle exercise intervention led by midwives to reduce postnatal urinary incontinence (APPEAL): protocol for a feasibility and pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 8(1), Article 231. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-022-01185-y

Development and evaluation of a collaborative care intervention for male prison leavers with mental health problems: the Engager research programme

Byng, R., Lennox, C., Kirkpatrick, T., Quinn, C., Anderson, R., Brand, S. L., …Shaw, J. (2022). Development and evaluation of a collaborative care intervention for male prison leavers with mental health problems: the Engager research programme. Programme Grants for Applied Research, 10(8), https://doi.org/10.3310/MMWC3761

Implementation lessons learnt when trialling palliative care interventions in the intensive care unit: relationships between determinants, implementation strategies, and models of delivery-a systematic review protocol

Meddick-Dyson, S. A., Boland, J. W., Pearson, M., Greenley, S., Gambe, R., Budding, J. R., & Murtagh, F. E. (2022). Implementation lessons learnt when trialling palliative care interventions in the intensive care unit: relationships between determinants, implementation strategies, and models of delivery-a systematic review protocol. Systematic reviews, 11(1), Article 186. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-02054-8

Sarah Greenley Fliss Murtagh Stephanie Meddick-Dyson

Evaluation of a complex intervention for prisoners with common mental health problems, near to and after release: The Engager randomised controlled trial

Byng, R., Kirkpatrick, T., Lennox, C., Warren, F., Anderson, R., Brand, S., …Shaw, J. (in press). Evaluation of a complex intervention for prisoners with common mental health problems, near to and after release: The Engager randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2022.93

Research interests

I am a social scientist using theory-driven methods (in particular, Realist approaches) to conduct collaborative implementation research for intervention design and evaluation across health and social care, in particular palliative care.

Funded research projects:

2021-2022 Pearson, M., Johnson, M., Boland, J., Allgar, V., Siddiqi, N. ‘Improving the detection, assessment, management, and prevention of delirium in Specialist Palliative Care Units’ Yorkshire Cancer Research TRANSFORM endowment fund £98,649 (Co-Chief investigator)

2021-2022 Maben, J., Mannion, R., Jones, A., Westbrook, J., Pearson, M., Wright, J. & Abrams, R. ‘Identifying interventions to reduce healthcare staff unprofessional behaviours: a realist synthesis’ NIHR Health Services & Delivery Research (HSDR)13/16/06 £274,801 (Co-investigator)

2021 Johnson, M., Daniel, S., Salins,N., Clark, J., Pearson, M., Currow, D. ‘Improving Appropriate Access and Availability of Opioids for Cancer-related Pain Control in India : bridging the gap between policy and practice’ Research England Global Challenges Research Fund 2021 £25,370 (Co-investigator)

2020-2021 Crooks, M., Pearson, M., Cohen, J. ‘The Sentinel Project: Collaborating to improve asthma care’ AstraZeneca £55,147 (Co-investigator)

2019-2024 Johnson, M., Murtagh, F., Currow, D., Pearson, M. & Walker, E. ‘Building critical mass for palliative care research through collaborative support, exchange and challenge’ Research England International Investment Initiative (I3) £403,510 (Co-investigator)

2018-2022 Johnson, M., Fallon, M., Currow, D., Norrie, J., Hall, P., Seymour, J., Chaudhuri, N., Bajwah, S., Keen, J., Higginson, I., Buchanan, D., Hart, S., & Pearson, M. (2018) ‘A parallel-group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and cost-consequence and cost-effectiveness of low dose oral modified release morphine (MRM) versus placebo on the intensity of worst breathlessness in people with chronic breathlessness’ - NIHR Health Technology Appraisal (HTA) Award 17/34/01 (£1,380,693) (Co-investigator)

2017-2019 Mattick, K., Pearson, M., Wong, G., Carrieri, D., Papoutsi, C., Briscoe, S. & Jackson, M. (2017) ‘Care under pressure: a realist review of interventions to tackle doctors’ mental ill-health and its impacts on the clinical workforce and patient care’ - NIHR Health Services & Delivery Research (HSDR) Award 16/53/12 (£201,827) (Co-Chief Investigator)

2017-2018 Turner, A., Pearson, M., Baxter, S., Bunn, F., Hanratty, B., Sheaff, R. & Wilson, P. (2017) ‘New Models of Care - Enhanced dissemination of findings from five NIHR HSDR-funded reviews’ - NIHR Health Services & Delivery Research (HSDR) (£27,224) (Co-investigator)

2016-2017 Sheaff, R., Pearson, M., Lloyd, H., & Byng, R. (2016) ‘From programme theory to logic models for Multi-specialty Community Providers: A realist evidence synthesis’ - NIHR Health Services & Delivery Research (HSDR) Award 15/77/34 (£168,170) (Co-Chief Investigator)

2016-2021 Ismail, K., MacArthur, C., Bick, D. Johnston, T., Roberts, T., Oborn, E., Pearson, M., Tincello, D., Davenport, C., Daniels, J., Dean, S., Hay-Smith, J., Hemming, K., Kidd-Chadwick, J., Bridges, N., & Coleman, T. (2015) ‘Antenatal Prophylactic Pelvic Floor Exercises and Localisation (APPEAL) Programme’ - NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research (£1,893,723 - Exeter components £305,487) (Co-investigator)

2015-2017 Boyd, K., Rappert, B., Farrimond, H., Pearson, M., Lang, I., Ralph, N., Poole, A. & Mellodew, K. (2015) ‘The Exeter Policing, Evidence and Research Translation (ExPERT) Project’ -College of Policing/ Higher Education Funding Council for England (£249,976) (Co-investigator)

2014-2016 Wong, G., Pearson, M., Mattick, K. & Brennan, N. (2014) ‘Interventions to improve antimicrobial prescribing in doctors in training: a realist review’ - NIHR Health Services & Delivery Research (HSDR) Award 13/97/24 (£187,540) (Co-investigator)

Funder

00 University of Hull

Grant

£22,419.00

Started

1 September 2022

Funder

MRC Medical Research Council

Grant

£110,912.00

Started

1 October 2022

Status

Ongoing

Postgraduate supervision

I welcome enquiries about Master’s or Doctoral research degrees in the following areas:

• Developing and evaluating palliative & chronic care interventions and implementation strategies, particularly in relation to symptom management, outcome measures and models of care

• Methodological development of theory-driven methods (in particular, realist research) for the evaluation of palliative & chronic care interventions

• The use of social science concepts (such as boundary objects) to inform implementation research and practice

Awarded postgraduate research students:

PhD (Exeter) Rebecca Hardwick: Third sector healthcare organisations and knowledge mobilisation: what works for whom in what circumstances and why? (2018)

PhD (Exeter) Thandiwe Hara-Msulira: Sustaining implementation: Understanding the sustainability of community-based public health programmes (2018)

PhD (Exeter) Harriet Hunt: Optimising cognitive assessment in primary care to support a more effective route to dementia diagnosis (2018)

Current postgraduate research students:

PhD, Jordan Curry: Acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of online supportive care interventions for lung cancer survivors (Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research TRANSFORM programme (2018-2022))

PhD, Kate Binnie: Body-Mind approaches for living better with chronic breathlessness. (Funded by Research England International Investment Initiative (I3)) (2021-2024)

Master’s by Thesis, Alessandro Recchioni: How can digitisation improve the efficiency of palliative healthcare delivery and the quality of patient experience? (2021-2022)

Undergraduate research students (Academy of Medical Sciences’ INSPIRE programme):

Abid Khan: Implementation and acceptability of handheld/personal mobile technology to support palliative care: a systematic scoping review

Giovanna Licastro: What enables and constrains shared decision-making about opiates for people living with breathlessness?: A systematic narrative review and framework analysis of published data using a programme theory of shared decision-making

Lara Othman: The impact and acceptability of wearable sensors for symptom monitoring and management in palliative care: a structured literature review

Aliya Prihartadi: Non-medical devices for the self-management of chronic breathlessness: A scoping review of device use, barriers and facilitators for patients, carers and clinicians.