Professor Tim Rapley

Tim is a Professor of Applied Health Care Research in the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. He is a medical sociologist with an interest in social studies of medical work, research and practice, as well as, more recently, social care.  He undertakes detailed empirical studies that seek to understand the everyday, taken-for-granted, aspects of health and social care work.  A focus on what people actually do, as opposed to only what they think they do, or they tell you they do, can offer unique, practical and tailored solutions

His work focuses on three substantive areas:

The implementation of care: His work on the implementation of care covers a range of phases, from initiation, scoping and development of novel ideas, to process evaluations of feasibility studies, pilot and full trials. It takes place in a range of settings, including community, primary, secondary and tertiary health care as well as dental and (local authority based) social care.  Theoretically, this work is often driven by his interest in Normalization Process Theory (NPT).  See http://www.normalizationprocess.org- for an introduction to Normalization Process Theory, that offers an interactive toolkit and structured instrument to help people think through implementation issues.

The organisation of care: His work on the organisation of care seeks to identify, describe and understand the experience of care in paediatric, adolescent and adult contexts.  This work engages with a broad range of stakeholders, from patients, servcie users, carers and the general public to the diverse group of health and social care professionals and managers. It seeks to use the findings of the studies to develop practical, tailored solutions to the problems that are identified as well as exploring how to embed organisational policy initiatives. See http://pmmonline.org- for an example of an output from this work.  This a site for all clinicians whom may encounter children with serious musculoskeletal problems. It aims to raise awareness, knowledge and skills to facilitate early diagnosis and referral to specialist care.

Social studies of qualitative research: When not conducting research on medical work, research and practice, he’s interested in thinking, talking, and teaching about the practical, taken-for-granted, ways that qualitative research gets done.  He’s written about the (extra)ordinary work we undertake in relation to qualitative interviews and analysis.  He has also written a book, Analysing Conversations, Discourse and Documents (Sage).     

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• A Smartphone App to Support Self-Management for People Living With Sjögren's Syndrome: Qualitative Co-Design Workshops, McCallum, C., Campbell, M., Vines, J., Rapley, T., Ellis, J., Deary, V., Hackett, K. 17 Apr 2024, In: JMIR Human Factors
• Bathing Adaptations in the Homes of Older Adults (BATH-OUT-2): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial, economic evaluation and process evaluation, Whitehead, P., Belshaw, S., Brady, S., Coleman, E., Dean, A., Doherty, L., Fairhurst, C., Francis-Farrell, S., Golding-Day, M., Gray, J., Martland, M., McAnuff, J., McCarthy, A., McMeekin, P., Mitchell, N., Narayanasamy, M., Newman, C., Parker, A., Rapley, T., Rodgers, S., Rooney, L., Russell, R., Sheard, L., Torgerson, D. 22 Jan 2024, In: Trials
• Chair-based yoga programme for older adults with multimorbidity: RCT with embedded economic and process evaluations, Tew, G., Wiley, L., Ward, L., Hugill-Jones, J., Maturana, C., Fairhurst, C., Bell, K., Bissell, L., Booth, A., Howsam, J., Mount, V., Rapley, T., Ronaldson, S., Rose, F., Torgerson, D., Yates, D., Hewitt, C. 1 Sep 2024, In: Health Technology Assessment
• Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of offering a chair-based yoga programme in addition to usual care in older adults with multiple long-term conditions: a pragmatic, parallel group, open label, randomised controlled trial, Tew, G., Wiley, L., Ward, L., Hugill-Jones, J., Maturana, C., Fairhurst, C., Bell, K., Bissell, L., Booth, A., Howsam, J., Mount, V., Rapley, T., Ronaldson, S., Rose, F., Torgerson, D., Yates, D., Hewitt, C. 12 Aug 2024, In: NIHR Open Research
• Exercise-based interventions targeting balance and falls in people with COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Loughran, K., Emerson, J., Avery, L., Suri, S., Flynn, D., Kaner, E., Rapley, T., Martin, D., McPhee, J., Fernandes-James, C., Harrison, S. 2024, In: European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society
• General practitioner workforce sustainability to maximise effective and equitable patient care: a realist review protocol, Park, S., Owen-Boukra, E., Burford, B., Cohen, T., Duddy, C., Dunn, H., Fadia, V., Goodman, C., Henry, C., Lamb, E., Ogden, M., Rapley, T., Rees, E., Vance, G., Wong, G. 21 May 2024, In: BMJ Open
• GP workforce sustainability to maximise effective and equitable patient care: a realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances?, Owen, E., Burford, B., Cohen, T., Duddy, C., Dunn, H., Fadia, V., Goodman, C., Henry, C., Lamb, E., Ogden, M., Rapley, T., Rees, E., Vance, G., Wong, G., Park, S. 20 Jun 2024, In: The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
• Health and lifestyle advice in community pharmacy for musculoskeletal conditions: a focused ethnography, Long, A., O'Brien, N., Rapley, T., Dziedzic, K. 29 Apr 2024, In: International Journal of Pharmacy Practice
• How is tailored implementation undertaken using a self-guided toolkit? Qualitative study of the ItFits-toolkit in the ImpleMentAll project, Finch, T., Potthoff, S., May, C., Girling, M., Perkins, N., Vis, C., Bührmann, L., Etzelmueller, A., van Genugten, C., Schuurmans, J., Piera-Jiménez, J., Rapley, T. 11 Jul 2024, In: Implementation Science
• Navigating uncharted territory with a borrowed map: lessons from setting up the BATH-OUT-2 randomised controlled trial in adult social care and housing services in English local authorities, McAnuff, J., Rapley, T., Rooney, L., Whitehead, P. 25 Mar 2024, In: Trials

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Does CHildren’s Early Self-care Support (CHESS) improve self-care in young children with neurodisability and is it cost-effective compared to usual care?, Rapley, T. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/02/24 - 31/01/28, £335,175.00
• Promoting Local Access to Children's Early language and communication Support, Rapley, T. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/01/24 - 31/12/26, £234,454.00
• Sustained drug-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis: immunological and patient perspectives, Rapley, T. (Principal Investigator), Foundation for Research in Rheumatology, 01/01/23 - 31/12/25, £53,369.00
• Exploring discharge risk management and positive risk-taking in intermediate care services in the context of COVID-19, Newman, C. (Principal Investigator), Rapley, T. (Co Investigator), 01/09/22 - 31/08/24

• Craig Newman Positive risk-taking in intermediate care: a study of risk-related decision making in occupational therapy Start Date: 01/07/2021 End Date: 23/12/2022
• Mitchell Hogg ‘I never realised that I don’t breathe correctly’: Understanding Experiences of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome and the Challenges of Altered Breathing for Intervention Development Start Date: 01/10/2018 End Date: 27/01/2023

Tim is an experienced supervisor of PhD and MD students and postdoctoral fellows. He has supervised fourteen PhD/MD students to a timely successful completion in a broad range of topics in applied health research.

Current postgraduate supervision:

Adam Webb - Developing the role of non-representational theory in evaluations in North East and North Cumbria.  NENC ARC

Amy Allen - What is the impact of the Academic Health Sciences Network North East and North Cumbria in the North of England. AHSN

Angela Long - The role of commuinty pharmacy in the management of age-related musculoskeletal conditions. ESRC 0.5 + 3 Postgraduate Studentship

Sam Armitage - Enabling self-care in children with developmental disabilities

Leah Burhmann - Implenmentation Science 

Mitchell Hogg - Developing a Specialised Breathing Intervention for Treating Autonomic Dysfunction in POTS Northumbria RDF Studentship

Jess Baggaley - Development and validation of a parent-completed screening checklist for early movement abnormalities indicating a high risk of development of cerebral palsy.  ESRC 1+3 Postgraduate Studentship

Helen Cartner - Altered Eating and Primary Sjögren's Syndrome. Northumbria RDF Studentship

Nataly Birbeck     - Self Harmony: Advocating for Positive Mental Health through the Use of Technology.  EPSRC DTC Digital Civics

• BA (Hons)
• MA (Hons)
• PhD