Overview

Jennie Hayes is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC) (http://arcswp.nihr.ac.uk). Jennie's current post is part of a study led by Dr Sarah Brand aiming to understand what works about a child protection pathway re-design in partnership with practitioners in children's social care.

Jennie is a qualitative social psychologist with a background in group interaction, creative facilitation, diagnosis, health and wellbeing. Jennie’s PhD, part of the Wellcome Trust funded project ‘Exploring Diagnosis’, examined how clinicians make decisions about the diagnosis of autism spectrum conditions. By observing multi-disciplinary team working, Jennie was able to explore in detail how diagnostic decisions are made and impacted by social and interactional factors.

Prior to her current post she was ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Relational Health Team and a Research Associate at the University of Bristol researching how clinicians manage antibiotic prescribing in out-of-hours practice (the OPEN project).

Qualifications

• PhD Medical Studies (University of Exeter)
• MSc Social and Organisational Psychology (University of Exeter)
• MA Interdisciplinary Women’s Studies (University of Warwick)
• BSc (Hons) Psychology (Open University)
• Diploma in Photography (Medway College of Design)

Career

Jennie has a background in the arts, specialising in community and education based participatory arts practices. This involved working as a creative producer, fundraiser, evaluator, arts centre director and group facilitator within charitable arts organisations and as a freelance consultant. She has trained as a shared reading facilitator, in art therapy techniques and has developed projects in partnership with people with dementia and their carers, with mental health service users and with young people with challenging backgrounds. She has worked as a mental health support worker and voluntary bereavement counsellor. Jennie undertook her BSc Pscychology as a mature student and is enjoying the challenge of bringing her two worlds together. 

Research group links

• Health services research

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Research

Research interests

Jennie has an interdisciplinary approach to research with a background in both humanities and social sciences. She is a member of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC) (http://arcswp.nihr.ac.uk). Jennie's current post is part of a study led by Dr Sarah Brand aiming to understand what works about a child protection pathway re-design in partnership with practitioners in children's social care.

Her PhD project was rooted in medical sociology with an emphasis on the sociology of diagnosis. She has a particular expertise in social psychology with an interest in group processes, social interaction and communication, collaboration and engagement, decision-making, stigma and mental health. Other research interests include feminist arts practices and community based cultural practices.

Links

• Examining Diagnosis: a brief report for health professionals
• Not a precise art: uncertainty and autism diagnosis Animation

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