Dr. Veronika Williams
Veronika’s research predominately focuses on health service delivery and specifically on three main areas: a) how we can improve patient care by learning from and integrating the lived experiences of people with long-term conditions; b) how can we better support people living with a long-term condition with a focus on young and rare onset dementia and c) advancing the practice of evidence-based health care and qualitative methods.
Veronika has specific expertise in qualitative research methods, and has experience in conducting qualitative studies embedded within clinical trials (process evaluations); qualitative and mixed method evidence syntheses and systematic reviews; and mixed methods research. She has experience as a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several grants and is a faculty collaborator on Rare Dementia Support (RDS) Canada. She was previously the Director of the School of Nursing from 2020- 2022.
She has successfully supervised several MSc and PhD students and currently supervises PhD students and MSc/ MA students. She is accepting students for research supervision in her areas of interest (both methods and topic area).
Awards/Grants:
2023 - 2024 Building rare dementia support in Canada for sustainable delivery: A participatory evaluation of practice. Sullivan and Williams (Co-I) Ontario Brain Institute $59,600
2023 Young Onset Dementia – A Pilot Study Exploring Multi- and Intergenerational Support. Sullivan, Williams, Thornborrow, Gorden (Co-I) SSHRC-SIG (internal) $7000
2022 Living with Sickle Cell Disease across the life span– navigating everyday life and negotiating care in the context of living with a racialised condition. Williams (PI) and Anyinam SSHRC- SIG (internal) $7,000
2021 Digital Health Narratives OER. Williams and Anyinam (co-PI) eCampus Ontario $39,900
2021 Interdependence and Pathways to (Dis) Concordant Experiences of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Dementia Care. Sullivan, Williams and Victor (Co-I) RTOERO $24,950
2020 - Internal Research Grant; Nipissing University COVID 19 grant: COVID 19’s impact on final year nursing students’ clinical preparedness and educational experience. Williams, Peachey, McParland, Goldsworthy, Warbrick CAN$ 4170
2019 - Africa-Oxford Initiative, University of Oxford; Travel Award Oyetunde and Williams £4763
2018-2019 - University of Oxford Global Health Challenge Research Fund (Co-I): CRICK Study (Cardiovascular RIsk sCores in Kenya) - A qualitative study exploring the facilitators and barriers to the use of cardiovascular risk scores in Kenyan primary care settings; (DPhil fieldwork support for Tonny Muthee) £12,577
2018-2019 - NIHR SPCR (PI) Williams et al: Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an expanded NHS primary care workforce (Phase 1): stakeholder inquiry, conceptual framework development and design of a mixed methods evidence synthesis protocol and external funding application. £12,500
2017-2022 - NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research: (Co-I) Farmer et al: Supporting people with type 2 diabetes in effective use of their medicine through use of a system comprising mobile health technology integrated with clinical care. £ 2.5 million
2016-2017 - NSPCR: (Co-I) Nunan et al: The Evidence of Effects Page: Refinement of a tool for optimising evidence-based informed treatment decisions In Clinical practice (The EEPIC-1 study). £35,689
2016 - Baily Thomas Charitable Fund: (Joint PI) Victor and Williams et al: Ageing and later life for people with a learning disability: exploring current evidence and setting priorities for future research, a scoping review £4965.33
2015-2018 - NIHR HS&DR: (Co-I): Powell et al: Improving NHS Quality Using Internet Ratings and Experiences (INQUIRE) £ 605,860
2015-2020 - Wellcome Trust Senior Joint Investigator Award: (External Collaborator) Macnaughton, J (Durham) and Carel, H. (Bristol) ‘Life of Breath’ £1.5 million project website: http://www.lifeofbreath.org/
2009-2013 - The Dunhill Medical Trust, Project Grant: (Co-I) Victor, C.; Williams, V.; Martin, W., LeMay, A.; Richards, S. and Oliver D. Bridging the gap between policy and practice: dignity in care for older people. £121,254
Selected Recent Publications
Ban, J.W., Perera, R. & Williams, V*. Influence of research evidence on the use of cardiovascular clinical prediction rules in primary care: an exploratory qualitative interview study. BMC Prim. Care 24, 194 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02155-w
Butler, K.; Bartlett, Y.K.; Newhouse, N.; Farmer, F.: French, D.; Kenning, C.; Locock, L.; Rea, R; Williams, V. & McSharry, J. 2023. Implementing a text message-based intervention to support type 2 diabetes medication adherence in primary care: A qualitative study with general practice staff. BMC Health Services Research. BMC Health Serv Res 23, 614 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09571-9
Wade, T., Roberts, N., Ban, J.W., Waweru-Siika, W., Winston, H., Williams, V., Heneghan, C.J. and Onakpoya, I.J., 2023. Utility of healthcare-worker-targeted antimicrobial stewardship interventions in hospitals of low-and lower-middle-income countries: a scoping review of systematic reviews. Journal of Hospital Infection, 131, pp.43-53.
Sullivan, MP; Williams, V; Grillo, A; McKee-Jackson, R; Camic, P; Windle, G; Stott, J; Brotherhood, E and Crutch S. 2022. Peer support for people living with rare and young onset dementia: An integrative review. Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012221126368
Eaton, G., Wong, G., Tierney, S., Roberts, N., Williams, V. and Mahtani, K.R., 2021. Understanding the role of the paramedic in primary care: a realist review. BMC medicine, 19(1), pp.1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02019-z
Williams, V.; Boylan, A.; Newhouse, N. and Nunan, D. Appraising qualitative health research - towards a differentiated approach. BMJ Evidence Based Medicine. Published Online First: 23 September 2021. doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2021-111772
Bartlett, YK; Kenning, C; Crosland, J; Newhouse, N; Miles, L.; Williams, V; McSharry, J; Locock, L; Farmer, A; French, D. 2021. Understanding acceptability in the context of text messages to encourage medication adherence in people with type 2 diabetes – a mixed methods study. BMC Health Services Research. 21, 608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06663-2
Peachey, L; McParland, T. and Goldsworthy, S. Williams, V*.; 2021. P Stands for Pivot: Pivoting Face-to-Face Practicum to Virtual Simulation during the Pandemic. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2021.04.021
Wade, T., Heneghan, C., Roberts, N., Curtis, D., Williams, V. and Onakpoya, I., 2021. Healthcare-associated infections and the prescribing of antibiotics in hospitalized patients of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) States: a mixed-methods systematic review. Journal of Hospital Infection. 110, pp. 122-132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.01.012
Muthee, T. B., Kimathi, D., Richards, G. C., Roberts, N., Williams, V., Nunan, D., & Heneghan, C. 2020. Factors influencing the implementation of cardiovascular risk scoring in primary care: a mixed-method systematic review. Implementation Sci 15, 57 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-020-01022-x
Muthee, T.B., Kimathi, D., Richards, G.C., Roberts, N., Williams, V., Nunan, D. and Heneghan, C., 2019. 6 Factors affecting the implementation of cardiovascular risk scoring in primary care; a mixed-method systematic review. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 24(Suppl 1), p.A45.
Eaton, G., Wong, G., Williams, V., Roberts, N. and Mahtani, K.R., 2020. Contribution of paramedics in primary and urgent care: a systematic review. British Journal of General Practice, 70(695), pp.e421-e426.
Tierney, S., Wong, G., Roberts, N., Boylan, A.M., Park, S., Abrams, R., Reeve, J., Williams, V. and Mahtani, K.R., 2020. Supporting social prescribing in primary care by linking people to local assets: a realist review. BMC medicine, 18(1), pp.1-15.
Boylan, A.M., Williams, V. and Powell, J., 2020. Online patient feedback: a scoping review and stakeholder consultation to guide health policy. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 25(2), pp.122-129.
Hirst, J.; Farmer, A. and Williams, V. 2019 How point-of-care HbA1c testing changes the behaviour of people with diabetes and clinicians – a qualitative study. Diabetic Medicine.
Powell J, Atherton H, Williams V, Mazanderani F, Dudhwala F, Woolgar S, et al. Using online patient feedback to improve NHS services: the INQUIRE multimethod study. Health Serv Deliv Res 2019;7(38)
Atherton, H.; Fleming,J.; Williams, V. and Powell, J. 2019 Online patient feedback: a cross sectional survey of the attitudes and experiences of UK healthcare professionals. Journal of Health Services Research and Policy https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819619844540
Williams, V.; Boylan, AM; Nunan, D. 2019. Critical appraisal of qualitative research - necessity, partialities and the issue of bias. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine
Williams, V.; Boylan, AM; Nunan, D. 2019 Qualitative research as evidence – expanding the paradigm for Evidence-Based Health Care. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2018-111131
Robinson, H.; Williams, V.; Curtis, F.; Bridle, C and Jones, AW.: 2018. Facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD: a systematic review of qualitative studies. Npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine. 28 (1), p.19 doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0085-7
Williams, V. and Ryan, S. 'I just know' exploring self-knowledge in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Palgrave communications. 3, Article number: 17089 (2017) doi:10.1057/palcomms.2017.89
Farmer, A., Williams. V; Velardo, C. et al 2017. Self-Management Support Using a Digital Health System Compared With Usual Care for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res 19 (5):e155 doi:10.2196/jmir.7116
Williams, V.; Kinnear, D. and Victor, C. 2016 “It’s the little things that count” health care professionals’ views on delivering dignified care: a qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 72 (4): 782-790. DOI: 10.1111/jan.12878
Kinnear, D. Victor, C. and Williams, V. What facilitates the delivery of dignified care to older people? A survey of health care professionals. BMC Research Notes. Dec 28;8(1):826. doi: 10.1186/s13104-015-1801-9
Hardinge, M.; Rutter, H.; Velardo, C.; Shah, S.; Williams, V.; Tarassenko, L. and Farmer, A. 2015. Using a mobile health application to support self- management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a six-month cohort study. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. 15:46. doi:10.1186/s12911-015-0171-5
Kinnear, D.; Williams, V. and Victor, C. 2014.The meaning of dignified care: an exploration of health and social care professionals' perspectives. BMC Research Notes. 7:854. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-7-854.
Williams, V.; Hardinge, M.; Ryan, S. and Farmer, A. 2014. Patients’ experience of identifying and managing exacerbations in COPD: a qualitative study. npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine. 24:14062; doi:10.1038/npjpcrm.2014.62
Williams, V; Price, J; Hardinge, M, Tarassenko, L and Farmer A. 2014. Using a mobile health application to support self-management in COPD - a qualitative study. British Journal of General Practice. July 2014 64:e392-e400; doi:10.3399/bjgp14X680473
Williams, V., Victor, C. and McCrindle, R. 2013. ‘It’s always on your mind: Experiences and perceptions of falling of older people and their carers, and the potential of a mobile falls detection device.’ Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research. vol. 2013, Article ID 295073, 7 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/295073
Cairns, D., Williams, V., Victor, C., Richards, S., Le May, A., Martin, W. & Oliver, D. 2013. ‘The meaning and importance of dignified care: findings from a survey of health and social care professionals’. BMC Geriatrics. 13 (28)
Blogs:
Expanding the NHS community workforce: what will this mean for the future of district nursing? https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/09/29/expanding-the-nhs-community-workforce-what-might-this-mean-for-the-future-of-district-nursing/
Numbers don’t count - methods do https://www.cebm.net/2019/03/numbers-dont-count-methods-do/
Advanced qualitative research methods in Evidence Based Healthcare https://www.cebm.net/2018/07/msc-in-ebhc-new-module/
Facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD https://www.cebm.net/2018/07/physical-activity-in-copd/
Selected Conference Presentations
British Society of Gerontology Annual Conference, 5th -7th July 2023, University of East Anglia, UK; Williams, Sullivan and Victor: ‘Social Connections and Transitions to Long Term Care for People Living with Dementia’ (poster presentation)
CASN Nursing Education Conference 29th-30th May 2023, St John’s, Newfoundland. Williams, Sullivan et al. ‘Challenging dementia discrimination: research informed teaching on people living with a rare or young onset dementia’ (oral presentation)
Canadian Association on Gerontology, 20-22nd October 2022, Regina, Saskatchewan. Sullivan et al: Rare Dementia Support: Mobilizing knowledge from the multi-centre Rare Dementia Support Impact Study. (oral presentation)
Evidence Live, 18th-20th July 2022, University of Oxford, UK. Williams, V.; Boylan, A-M; Newhouse, N. and Nunan, D. Critical appraisal tools for qualitative research – towards “fit for purpose”. Workshop symposium.
NOSMU Northern Health Conference, 24th June 2022, NOSMU, Sudbury, ON. Sullivan, MP; Williams, V; Gordon J.; et al ‘Rare and Young Onset Dementia: Translating learning from the multicentre Rare Dementia Impact Study to Rare Dementia Support Canada’ (oral presentation)
CASN Virtual Nursing Education Conference, 3-5 May 2021. Williams, V.; Peachey, L.; McParland, T.; Goldsworthy, S.; Warbrick, M. ‘The impact of COVID-19 on final year nursing students’ clinical preparedness and educational experience: the preParE study’
ISA World Congress of Sociology, July 15-21, 2018, Toronto, Canada: Victor, C, Williams, V and Kinnear, D. ‘Ageing with a Learning Disability: A Critical Literature Review’ (oral presentation)
The International Primary Care Respiratory Group IPCRG, annual world conference, 25th- 28th May 2016, Amsterdam, NL. Williams et al ‘Patient experiences of using a digital health intervention in COPD (EDGE) as part of everyday life: a qualitative study. (oral presentation)
Society of Academic Primary Care, annual conference, 8th-10th July 2015, Oxford, UK. Williams, V. et al ‘Patient experience of using a digital health application for self-management support in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. (oral presentation)
Society for Social Medicine, annual meeting 10th-12th September 2014; Oxford, UK. Williams, V. et al ‘Patients’ experience of identifying and managing exacerbations in COPD – a qualitative study’ (oral presentation)
American Thoracic Society, annual conference May 2014; San Diego, US. Hardinge, M; Rutter, H; Williams, V et al ‘Using A Mobile Health Application to Support Self- Management In COPD - A Cohort Feasibility Study’ (oral presentation)
British Society of Gerontology, Annual Conference 11th-13th September 2013; Oxford, UK: Williams, V. et al: ‘Managing chronic illness using tele-health: ‘“Too old to bother”?’ (oral presentation)
Gerontological Society of America, Annual Conference, 20th-24th November 2013; New Orleans, USA: Victor, C, Williams V, Cairns D et al ‘Dignity in Care for Older People: Protecting the Vulnerable or Promoting Autonomy – the professionals’ perspectives’. Meeting abstract published in: Gerontologist, Vol 53 pg. 556-557, Supplement: 1, Nov 2013
The King’s Fund, Third Annual Congress on Telehealth and Telecare, 1st-3rd July 2013, London, UK: Williams, V. et al ‘Exploring patients’ perspectives of an mHealth application: a qualitative study as part of EDGE COPD’. (oral presentation) Abstract published in: Journal of Integrated Care, 2013; T&T Conf Suppl; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-115700