Dr Benjamin Ajibade

Assistant Professor

School: Healthcare and Nursing Sciences

Dr Benjamin Olusola Ajibade is a Registered Nurse, NMC Registered Teacher, and Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing at Northumbria University. He is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and has extensive experience in mental health and nurse education across national and international contexts.

His academic work focuses on advancing inclusive and culturally responsive mental health and social care, with particular emphasis on addressing health inequalities experienced by racially minoritised communities. His research explores access to care, decision-making, workforce experiences, and the development of inclusive care approaches within health and social care systems.

Benjamin’s work has contributed to national discussions on nursing practice and inclusive care, including research cited by the Royal College of Nursing. He is currently developing a programme of research centred on the co-production and evaluation of an Inclusive Care Framework for racially minoritised populations, supported by involvement in NIHR-related research and wider collaborative projects.

Alongside his research, he has a strong track record in educational leadership and innovation. His work in inclusive and decolonised curricula, assessment, and feedback practices has been adopted across institutions and has contributed to enhancing student experience and success, particularly for international and underrepresented students. He has also developed innovative qualitative research approaches, including the use of LEGO® Serious Play® as a data collection method. His work advances the situational application of LEGO® Serious Play®, particularly in exploring the experiences of transitioning students, providing a novel and contextually grounded approach to understanding lived experience within education and healthcare research.

He contributes to the wider academic and professional community through external examining, keynote presentations, and roles such as QAA Reviewer/NMC Visitor. He is actively engaged in collaborative work with NHS and community partners to ensure his research informs practice and policy.

Email Benjamin

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My primary area of research interests are

Inclusive mental health and social care
Health inequalities and culturally responsive care
Racial equity and workforce experiences in healthcare
Co-production and evaluation of inclusive care frameworks
Innovative qualitative research methods (including LEGO® Serious Play®)
Inclusive education, assessment, and feedback practices

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Decolonising the Sciences: Enhancing the Experience of Staff and Students from Racially Minoritised Ethnic Groups Using LEGO® Serious Play®, Ajibade, B., Hayman, R., Burns, C., Navarro-Reguero, C., Milian, J. 26 Feb 2026, In: Equity in Education & Society
Power, institutional protectionism and the disinclination of minoritised employees to raise complaints in UK universities, Garvey, A., Kabuye, H., Ajibade, B. 9 Feb 2026, In: Culture and Organization
Beyond the textbook: ensuring culturally responsive education in mental health nursing, Ramluggun, P., Ajibade, B., Masuku, S., Joseph, S. 4 Sep 2025, In: Mental Health Practice
Coping techniques and strategies for pursuing anti-racism within academe: A Collective autoethnographic account from minoritised academics in the UK, Garvey, A., Talhouk, R., Ajibade, B. 27 Jan 2025, In: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal
Exploring access to postgraduate research: Perceptions and experiences of ethnic minority students at a Post-92 United Kingdom university, Ajibade, B., Hayman, R., Ackah, M., Oguna, C. 14 Mar 2025, In: Equity in Education & Society
Falls Risk Assessment and Prevention in Older People in Healthcare Facilities, Ajibade, B. 3 Apr 2025
The Effects of Music Interventions on Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Older Adults with Dementia: Systematic Review, Akinboye, M., Ajibade, B. 21 Dec 2025, In: Advances in Mental Health
The Integration and Impact of International General Nurses in Community Mental Health Teams: A Thematic Analysis, Ajibade, B., Murray, P., Humble, A., Clibbens, N. 5 Nov 2025, In: British Journal of Mental Health Nursing
An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Nursing Student Perceptions of Summative Assessment Feedback Using LEGO® Serious Play®, Ajibade, B., Hayes, C. 2 Apr 2024, In: Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning
Enhancing health care for ethnic minority communities: a path to equitable care, Ajibade, B. 10 Oct 2024, In: British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Editorial work: Journal of Further and Higher Education (Journal) 2025
Examination: Exploring Health Staff Perspective of Health and Well-being Resource Accessibility During Covid-19 Pandemic at Northumbria Healthcare National Health Service Foundation, United Kingdom, 2024
Visiting an external academic institution: Teesside University 2023
Consultancy: Joint Approval Event for BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) and BSc (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health) 2021
Consultancy: External Advisor: Pre-Registration Nursing approval event 2020
Consultancy: Validation of the Nursing degree apprenticeship: FdA Health and Wellbeing (Nursing Associate) [higher apprenticeship] 2019
Visiting an external academic institution: University of Staffordshire 2019
Visiting an external academic institution: University of Wolverhampton 2019
Consultancy: Validation of the Postgraduate Certificate in Low Intensity Supervision Training (LIST) and the Graduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) 2019
Publication Peer-review: SAGE Open Nursing (Journal) 2018