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Staff Profile

Dr Jayne Jeffries

Research Associate

  • Address: Population Health Sciences Institute
    Room 5.21 | 5thFloor | Ridley 1 | Newcastle University | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | NE1 4LP.
Background

Introduction

I am a feminist geographer in the Population Health Sciences Institute (PHSI) in the Faculty of Medical Science. 

I work at the intersections of disability, health and illness and use qualitative and participatory methods to explore the role of social science in people's daily lives, including past histories, present experiences and future trajectories. 

I have collaborated with voluntary and third sector organisations to address sight loss, accessibility and the urban realm with colleagues in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. 

I have worked with a range of individuals, using Participatory Action Research (P.A.R) and photo voice, diary writing, life maps, to understand how congenital and acquired health conditions (spondylitis, spinal cord injury, chronic pain) unfold in people's lives and across their lifetimes. 

Qualifications

2013 PhD Human Geography, Durham University. Thesis Title: Becoming Disabled.

2008 MA (Merit) Human Geography, Manchester University.

2007 BA (Hons) 1st Class. Geography, University of Northumbria.

Research

My research lies at the intersection of disability, health, feminism and participatory approaches. 

Health and work

  • Evaluating mental health in Deep End GP Practices and exploring the role of mental health and well being practitioners from the perspective of patients and professionals (MINDED).
  • The challenges of mass recruitment: examining entry-level NHS jobs during the COVID 19 pandemic (1000 Workers).
  • The introduction of social prescribing into GP services and the role of link workers in managing people's health and wellbeing in their day-to-day lives (SPRING_NE).

Disability and time

  • Time, from the mundane, banal practices that make up daily routines to the histories that continue to shape uncertain medical, social and financial situations for disabilities, health conditions and illnesses.
  • Theorising 'becoming' and disability as an unfolding process of continuous change.
  • The past, the present and the future in disabled people's lives including the way that 'lived' temporalities can disrupt chronological (clock)time. 
  • Memories of institutionalisation, daily rhythms and routines, technologies and physical, sensory and/or neurological bodily changes.

Grounded and Feminist Methodologies

  • My methodologies are informed by grounded theory, so that research findings emerge from, and are led by data collection, including 'drawing', 'writing' , 'talking' and 'taking' (photovoice).
  • I am an advocate of Participatory Action Research (P.A.R) and explore the inherent temporalities associated with participatory work - listening to, working with, pausing, reflecting, waiting, slowing down...
  • Gentle approaches to research, the smaller scale ‘action’ that shapes (disabled) people’s day-to-day lives and  In my work I have tailored individual and small group methods to explore the role of change over time through. 
  • I'm a member of the RGS-IBG Participatory Geographies Research Group (PyGyRG), attending events and contributing to discussions based on participatory work, ethics, teaching and practice.

Research History

2022 - 23 The MINDED: Mental Health IN the Deep EnD pilot evaluation: embedding a clinical psychologist in primary care to improve mental health care for patients living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged communities within the North East and North Cumbria. NIHR Three Schools Mental Health Practice Evaluation Scheme. 

2021 -22 The Thousand Workers Study: The social and economic value of the NHS: A mixed methods evaluation of health, well-being and economic impacts of the Integrated COVID Hub North East (ICHNE) Employment Outreach Programme.  

2018 - 21 The impact of social prescribing on wellbeing, health, healthcare utilisation and costs for people with type 2 diabetes: multimethod SPRING_NE study. NIHR funded.

2018 - 19 Negotiating everyday spaces of inaccessibility: Collective action with disabled people to make changes happen. ESRC Impact Accelerator Account Follow on Funds. 

2018 Recipe for Success. ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, Co-production Fund, Newcastle University. 

2017 - 18 Reinvigorating the policy and practice arena by facilitating workshops between disabled users with mobility needs and city place makers. ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, Co-production Fund, Newcastle University. 

2017 Hidden Histories: Disabled children's hospital lives in north east England 1920s - 1970s. HASS Faculty Research Fund (FRF), Newcastle University. A pilot project exploring archival material relating to the WJ Sanderson Home for Crippled Children, Gosforth (1888 - 1974) at the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museum Service (TWAM).

2014 - 17 MyPlace: Mobility and Place for the Age Friendly City Environment. EPSRC-funded, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University. 

2014 Inter-agency Approaches to Health and Social Care. ERC-funded, Geography at University of Exeter in Cornwall. 

2009 - 13 Becoming Disabled. ESRC-funded PhD research, Department of Geography, Durham University.  

 

Teaching




Publications