Impact in Qualitative Research Blog

Dr Amna Zaqout, originally from Gaza, Palestine, is a former Associate Professor in Psychology and Mental Health with over 20 years of experience across several universities. Her work bridges qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand psychological experiences across different groups, including children and women, particularly in contexts of trauma and self-concept. Now based in London, she works as a trainer, including in healthy cooking, shares mental health and wellbeing insights through social media, and supports refugee communities through her work with the British Red Cross.

Dr Nada I. J. Abualfita is a medical graduate from Mansoura University, Egypt and successfully completed six months of clinical training in the Emergency Department at Mansoura University Hospitals. Dr Alhasan F. I. Ahmed graduated from Mansoura University in November 2023 and currently works as a medical trainee in the Emergency Department at Mansoura University Hospitals. In this blog, Nada I. J. Abualfita and Alhasan F. I. Ahmed reflect on how qualitative research deepens understanding of ethics and empathy in healthcare by foregrounding care experiences as meaningful evidence that informs ethical reflection and clinical practice.

Jo Law is a qualitative research assistant at the Qualitative Applied Health Research Centre at King’s College London, working on the qualitative component of the EDEN project, which examines the use of ketamine to treat depression among people with anorexia nervosa. Alongside this, she is pursuing a PhD to explore how intersecting discourses of motherhood, gender and class shape the identities and wellbeing of mothers living in precarious circumstances. In this blog, she reflects on her methodological journey, the ethical tensions of researching with vulnerable populations, and on the challenge of balancing academic expectations with her commitment to participants and social justice.

Dr Sohail Jannesari is a Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Freelance Research Consultant. Sohail teaches at the Introduction to Qualitative Research Summer School where Dr Tanya Krupiy and Orla Phipps were students this year. The Summer School is part of the Qualitative Applied Health Research Centre (QUAHRC). In this blog, Sohail Jannesari, Tanya Krupiy and Orla Phipps reflect on how participatory and creative methods, such as photovoice, can transform learning environments, drawing on a recent exhibition at the Summer School.

Dr Alex Mermikides is the D’Oyly Carte Senior Lecturer in Arts and Health in the School of Medical Education at King’s College London. Her expertise is in contemporary theatre and performance, and she is interested in how this artform can be employed as research methodology (as well as pedagogical approach) in the context of healthcare, illness and disability. In this blog post, Alex outlines a project she conducted before coming to King’s, which involved making a performance about nursing. Unexpectedly, the project was submitted as an Impact Case Study in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, achieving a 4* rating. Here she describes how this came about and shares some tips on maximising impact in the run up to REF 29.

Dr Sharli Paphitis is a Senior Research Fellow in Qualitative Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on epistemic justice, mental health, and community-based participatory methods. Dr Sohail Jannesari is a Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Senior Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London. His research focuses on migration and mental health, outcomes for survivors of human trafficking, creative, participatory and decolonial methods, equitable knowledge production, and research ethics. In this blog, they discuss the importance of prioritising the voices of human trafficking survivors to develop a holistic approach to recovery.

Dr Caroline Lawlor is a Senior Clinical Psychologist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and a Research Affiliate at King’s College London. In this blog she writes about the role of qualitative work in developing a new group therapy supporting to help people with psychosis manage their emotions.

Dr Lili Golmohammadi and Emelia Delaney are Research Associates at King’s College London, working on the King’s Health Partners Digital Health Hub and co-design for digital health innovation. Paul Lennon is a Lived Experience Contributor and Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Member, who has supported a number of projects at King’s College London, including the SURE Recovery App, which aids the process of recovery from addiction. In this blog they discuss the process of communicating stories of co-design in an engaging format for the development of an open-access Co-design for digital health course and methods library.

Dr Phoebe Martin is a Research Associate at King’s College London working on the project ‘Visual and Embodied Methodologies for Addressing Gender Based Violence’. Her research looks at the intersections of art and feminist activism. In this blog she discusses a series of Photovoice workshops exploring the idea of safety in relation to sexual harassment on campus.

Nat Gohlan is the Participatory Research Coordinator at King’s College London, working to embed a culture of co-produced and collaborative research with communities. In this blog, Nat shares insights and reflections from a recent training session – Power Dynamics in Co-Produced Research – which they ran with Voices That Shake!.