Eileen Harkess-Murphy

My background is in psychology and research and I am interested in understanding and improving health and wellbeing across the lifespan.  I am part of a multi-disciplinary academic team within the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice (ASCPP) at UWS working collaboratively with academics and external stakeholders delivering education within this field.  I am particularly interested in growing knowledge around trauma-informed approaches in dementia and have been successful in securing externally funded research to advance understanding of mechanisms to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers.

My passion for the field of trauma-informed approaches has developed over the years from my experience within a range of settings working with vulnerable children and families coordinating multi-disciplinary support and interventions.  Working with individuals impacted by trauma inspired my doctoral research that explored self-harm and suicide behaviours.  This was a large-scale mixed methods study of children and adolescents across 6 local-authority regions within West Central Scotland investigating suicide behaviours, self-harm rates and psychosocial risk characteristics. 

My previous work experience includes research posts working for a private psychologist involving the use of contemporary literature in the preparation of expert witness reports. Post-doctoral research expertise was also within the field of health where I worked on several large-scale European projects collaborating with various academic institutions and stakeholders.  I have expertise in medical statistics and data analysis and worked for Healthcare Improvement Scotland in the Scottish Medicines Consortium as part of a clinical assessment team, undertaking the evaluation and critical appraisal of new medicines for NHS Scotland.

I am currently working on developing international health related research activities for the School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery - establishing parternships and exploring opportunities for collaborations that will widen the international opportunities for the staff and students.  I am very interested in health outcomes, the patient voice and psychological mechanisms and outcomes that are associated with this.

• Trauma-Informed Approaches
• Alzheimers Research
• Mental and Wellbeing
• Patient experience and the psychological mechanisms 
• Understanding and improving outcomes for vulnerable groups
• Lifespan Health and Well-being

Mixed methodological approaches

Quantitative statistical techniques e.g. logistic regression

Clinical statistics and emerging statistical techniques e.g. network meta-analyses, indirect comparisons

International private/public healthcare companies for potential partnership/collaboration for training

NHS

European/International Higher Education Institutions