Dr Maureen Twiddy

Dr Maureen Twiddy

Senior Lecturer in Mixed Methods Research

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • Hull York Medical School

Qualifications

  • BSc (University of Leeds)
  • MSc (University of Leeds)
  • PhD / DPhil (University of Leeds)

Summary

I am a behavioural scientist with over 15 years post doctoral experience. I have a BSc in Psychology (2003) and MSc in Psychological Approaches to Health (2004) from the University of Leeds. I received my PhD in 2009 from the University of Leeds. Following my PhD I worked as a post doctoral research fellow at Leeds Institute of Health Sciences and joined the University of Hull in 2017.

I am a mixed methods researcher and lead the Institute of Clinical and Applied Health Research (ICAHR) Methods Hub. I work closely with the Hull Health Trials Unit and Leeds Clinical Trials Unit. I have expertise in a range of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (co-design, surveys, observational studies, clinical trials, process evaluations, interviews, and focus groups). Much of my current work involves undertaking process evaluations linked to clinical trials, and leading qualitative studies aimed at understanding the experience of patients and staff involved in trials.

I have chaired the Faculty of Health Sciences Ethics Committee since July 2022, and sit on the HYMS Academic Cases Committee (since 2020).

Dr Twiddy teaches on the MBBS, and MSc in Pharmacology and Drug Development.

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Journal Article

Evaluating the Role of Ultrasound in Prostate cancer (ERUP) trial – Phase 1 early experience of micro-ultrasound in the UK

Parker, P., Twiddy, M., Rigby, A., Whybrow, P., & Simms, M. (2024). Evaluating the Role of Ultrasound in Prostate cancer (ERUP) trial – Phase 1 early experience of micro-ultrasound in the UK. Ultrasound, https://doi.org/10.1177/1742271X231226302

High INtensity Interval Training In pATiEnts with intermittent claudication (INITIATE): a qualitative acceptability study

Pymer, S., Harwood, A., Ibeggazene, S., McGregor, G., Huang, C., Nicholls, A., …Twiddy, M. (2024). High INtensity Interval Training In pATiEnts with intermittent claudication (INITIATE): a qualitative acceptability study. Annals of vascular surgery, 102, Article 17-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avsg.2023.11.043

How can patients influence service improvement decision-making? A participatory research mixed methods study

Drinkwater, J., MacFarlane, A., Twiddy, M., Meads, D., Chadwick, R. H., Donnelly, A., …Foy, R. (in press). How can patients influence service improvement decision-making? A participatory research mixed methods study. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Article BJGP-2023-0263.R2. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0263

Associations between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and alcohol consumption among UK adults: Findings from the Health Behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic (HEBECO) study

Akwa, L. G., Smith, L., Twiddy, M., Abt, G., Garnett, C., Oldham, M., …Herbec, A. (2023). Associations between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and alcohol consumption among UK adults: Findings from the Health Behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic (HEBECO) study. PLoS ONE, 18(10 October), Article e0287199. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287199

High-intensity interval training in patients with intermittent claudication

Pymer, S., Harwood, A. E., Prosser, J., Waddell, A., Rhavindhran, B., McGregor, G., …Chetter, I. C. (2023). High-intensity interval training in patients with intermittent claudication. Journal of vascular surgery, 78(4), 1048-1056.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2023.05.045

Research interests

Dr Twiddy as a number of research interests

1. Living with chronic illness and the supportive care needs of patients and carers.

2. Improving recruitment and retention to clinical trials through the application of qualitative methods to understand patient and staff perspectives of trial design, new interventions/surgical approaches and how these are embedded into clinical practice.

3. The use of Mixed Methods approaches in health research.

Lead investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

NIFTy: Near Infrared Fluorescence imaging to prevent post-surgical hypoparathyroidism after thyriod surgery - a phase II/III pragmatic, multi-centre rct

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£37,755.00

Started

1 October 2019

Status

Ongoing

Project

LACES 2: A multicentre, randomised controlled trial of Laparoscopic versus Open Colorectal Surgery in the Acute Setting

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£136,908.00

Started

1 January 2020

Status

Ongoing

Project

EPaCCS: Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination Systems (EPaCCS) in end of life care: evaluating their implementation and optimising future service provision.

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£22,982.00

Started

1 September 2020

Status

Complete

Project

BRAVO: High grade bladder cancer: a randomised controlled trial of radical cystectomy against intra-vesical immunotherapy – a feasibility study

Funder

YCR Yorkshire Cancer Research

Grant

£3,407.00

Started

1 October 2017

Status

Complete

Project

LAVA: Thermal ablation versus surgery for patients with colorectal liver metastases

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£18,866.00

Started

1 October 2017

Status

Complete

Project

NIHR Pre-doctoral Fellowship - Laura Hermann

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£106,734.00

Started

1 September 2021

Status

Complete

Co-investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

Examining Impact of Local Area Coordination as a Preventative Intervention in Adult Social Care

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£258,676.00

Started

1 July 2021

Status

Ongoing

Project

Adapting a smartphone-based rehabilitation programme for older adults living with and beyond cancer: an intervention development study

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£135,659.00

Started

1 April 2022

Status

Ongoing

Project

A phase II, randomised feasibility trial of a tailored, home-based exercise programme on disease-free survival among early stage high-risk recurring cancers in Yorkshire

Funder

YCR Yorkshire Cancer Research

Grant

£932,740.00

Started

1 September 2022

Status

Ongoing

Project

North Yorkshire Health Determinants Research Collaboration

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£989,764.00

Started

1 January 2024

Status

Ongoing

Project

PPI for PBP research - Exploring the role, responsibilities and impact of pharmacists working in primary care (GP surgeries)

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£470.00

Started

1 April 2019

Status

Complete

Project

Endoscopic vein harvesting - Research Support Funding

Funder

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Grant

£9,431.00

Started

1 August 2022

Status

Complete

Project

An educational resource about palliative care needs of men with prostate cancer: supporting the patient living with prostate cancer

Funder

Prostate Cancer UK

Grant

£29,622.00

Started

1 December 2017

Status

Complete

Project

Alcohol Dependence Care Pathways

Funder

NIHR National Institute for Health Research

Grant

£45,152.00

Started

1 September 2020

Status

Complete

Project

HEIF: QR Policy Development Fund project

Funder

00 University of Hull

Grant

£9,262.00

Started

1 June 2023

Status

Complete

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Twiddy welcomes PhD/MSc applications in the areas of:

Clinical trial design

Chronic illness management

Care pathways

Patient and Public Involvement

Current PhD students

Pam Parker -A proof of concept study evaluating the role of emerging ultrasound technologies in the assessment and monitoring of localised prostate cancer in men on an active surveillance programme. (Primary supervisor)

Lady Akwa - Development of a lifestyle physical activity intervention for women who misuse alcohol (co-supervisor)

Nurun Tania - Understanding the factors that influence engagement with specialist alcohol use disorder services for patients with alcohol related liver disease. (co-supervisor)

Louise Hitchman - Evaluating Shockwave therapy Of Lower Extremity diabetic Foot ULcers (SOLEFUL) (co-supervisor)

Sarah Hodge - Embedding exercise into the cancer pathway (lead supervisor)

Francesca Leone (MD)

Jake Penkethman - Understanding the association between deprivation and diabetic related amputation (lead supervisor)

Completed Students

Dr Santanu Acharya (MSc. 2011)

Dr Claire Mitchell (D.Clin, Psychol, 2013)

Dr Nichola Aspinall (MSc. 2013)

Dr Cheryl Craigs (PhD, 2015)

Dr Saja Al Reyes (PhD, 2015)

Dr Louise Johnson (D. Clin, Psychol., 2015)

Dr Nery Forester (MSc., 2016)

Dr Jessica Drinkwater - Participatory research to strengthen the role of patient and public involvement in general practice service improvement (PhD, 2021)

Dr Wendy Burton - The development and evaluation of an optimisation strategy to support children’s centres to implement a public health programme (PhD, 2021 )

Dr Evangelos Ntanopoulos - Emerging environmental contaminants and health inequalities. (Primary supervisor) (PhD, 2022)

Dr Joanne Palmer - Inpatient Exercise for Critical Limb Ischaemia Patients Pre and Post Major Surgery: A Proof of Concept Study (EXERCISE) (co-supervisor) (PhD, 2022)

Hayley Crane - A mixed methods study of outcomes, experiences, and perceptions of through-knee and above-knee amputation (PhD, 2023)

Adil Hazara - Systematic review and mixed-methods feasibility study of a novel transitional regime of incremental haemodialysis (PhD

Awards and prizes

Raithby Fellowship

2012 - 2013

Committee/Steering group role

ATLANTIS - investigating amitriptyline as second-line treatment for IBS Steering committee member

2020 - 2022

FReSH START - A Randomised Controlled Trial of an intervention to improve quality of life and other outcomes in people who repeatedly self-harm. Steering Committee Member

2020

EMERALD - Improving diabetes outcomes for people with severe mental illness: a longitudinal observational and qualitative study of patients in England - Steering Committee member

2017 - 2020

The 2 Week Wait (2WW) Study steering committee member

2017 - 2019

Conference presentation

Using FAST to identify alcohol dependence (AD) in Emergency Departments (ED): Findings from the FASTer study

2022 - 2022

Society for the Study of Addictions, Bristol 3-4 November 2022

Implementing alcohol screening tools in the emergency department – benefits and challenges.

2022 - 2022

Society for the Study of Addictions Conference, 3-4 November 2022

Applying case study methodology to develop a surgical intervention protocol aimed to reduce hypoparathyroidism after thyroid surgery

2022 - 2022

British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons Scientific Meeting, 6-7 October 2022

Applying case study methodology in the operating theatre to develop a surgical intervention protocol

2022

International Clinical Trials Methods Conference, Harrogate, 3-6 October 2022

Prostate Cancer – unmet supportive care needs of patients and Carers - Prostate Cancer UK

2019 - 2019

IV Therapy Conference, London. HC- UK Conference 2018

2018 - 2018

Ethics role

Faculty of Health Sciences Ethics Chair

2022

External examiner role

External Examiner for University of Huddersfield (MSc dissertation)

2019

Funder panel member

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Advisory Panel

2019 - 2022

Honorary position

Senior Lecturer, University of Leeds

2017

Journal editorial role

British Journal of Health Psychology Editorial Board Mentor

2022

Associate Editor, BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care

2018 - 2022

Journal peer reviewer

Supportive Care in Cancer

2017

European Urology

2017

British Psychological Society Panel of Scholars

2012

British Journal of Health Psychology

2010

Health Expectations

2010

Psychology and Health

2008

Membership/Fellowship of professional body

Mixed Methods International Research Association

2021

British Psychological Society

2004

Other

External reviewer for AHRC

2021

External Reviewer for the National Institute of Health Research

2012

Scholarship role

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

2019

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