Dr Avril Nicoll

Dr Avril Nicoll
PhD, MRes
Research Fellow
- About
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Health Services Research Unit
University of Aberdeen
2nd Floor, Health Sciences Building
Foresterhill
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZDBiography
I joined HSRU on 1st March 2020 as a Research Fellow on the VOICES study, which aims to improve healthcare for people with systemic vasculitis. We are using qualitative methods to understand how patient and staff experience of care varies. I am a qualitative social science researcher curious about how patients and staff together bring about practice change. This interest comes from my clinical background in speech and language therapy, 14 years as publisher and editor of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice magazine, and extensive experience as a user representative in maternity services. I also have a personal interest in care for people with rare autoimmune disease.
Qualifications
- PhD Practice change2017 - University of Stirlinghttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/27257
- MRes Health Research2012 - University of Stirling
- BSc (Hons) Speech Pathology & Therapeutics1988 - University of Glasgow
Prizes and Awards
Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (2011)
- Research
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Research Overview
Qualitative inquiry; the work involved in practice change / implementation; intervention description; patient and staff experience of care
Research Areas
Applied Health Sciences
Research Specialisms
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Healthcare Science
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
I am working with Professor Louise Locock and patient partners on the qualitative aspect of a Versus Arthritis study led by Dr Rosemary Hollick. My role in VOICES (Vasculitis Outcomes In relation to Care ExperienceS) includes carrying out interviews for Healthtalk.org with people who have systemic vasculitis, a group of rare autoimmune diseases. I am also contributing to organisational case studies, using qualitative methods to understand variation in care.
I completed my PhD on practice change in speech and language therapy in 2018. My previous research contracts have covered a variety of topics and methods. Most recently I was a researcher on the PD COMM trial of speech and language therapy interventions for people with Parkinson's, where my role included using case notes to describe the trial interventions.
Past Research
Researcher, PD COMM trial, Glasgow Caledonian University
Research Fellow, 'Frameworks to maximise effective intervention sustainability on the ward - a systematic review', University of Stirling
Research Assistant, 'Challenges and opportunities for career progression of staff employed by the University of Stirling undertaking part-time research doctorates', University of Stirling
Research Assistant, 'Improving quality of life and swallowing function in patients with head and neck cancer. Development and feasibility of a Swallowing Intervention Package (SiP)', University of Stirling
Research Assistant, IPEC (Improving Patient Experience of Care) study, University of Dundee
Research Assistant, Process Evaluation of Alcohol Brief Interventions in Wider Settings, University of Stirling
- Publications
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Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 10 of 12
Speech and language therapy interventions for speech problems in Parkinson's disease
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2022, no. 6, CD015009Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD015009
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Achieving ‘coherence’ in routine practice: a qualitative case-based study to describe speech and language therapy interventions with implementation in mind
Implementation Science Communications, vol. 2, 56Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRecruitment challenges in stroke rehabilitation randomized controlled trials: a qualitative exploration of trialists’ perspectives using Framework analysis
Clinical Rehabilitation, vol. 34, no. 8, pp. 1122-1133Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe barriers and facilitators influencing the sustainability of hospital-based interventions: a systematic review
BMC Health Services Research, vol. 20, pp. 588Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA multicentre, randomised controlled trial to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment versus standard NHS Speech and Language Therapy versus control in Parkinson’s disease: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Trials, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 436Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGetting TIDieR with SLT intervention description in the PD COMM randomised controlled trial process evaluation
RCSLT Conference 2019Contributions to Conferences: Posters- [ONLINE] http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/PDCOMM
Improving the sustainability of hospital-based interventions: a study protocol for a systematic review
BMJ Open, vol. 8, no. 9, e025069Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe PD COMM trial: a protocol for the process evaluation of a randomised trial assessing the effectiveness of two types of SLT for people with Parkinson's disease
Trials, vol. 18, 397 (2017)Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSpeech and language therapy in practice: A critical realist account of how and why speech and language therapists in community settings in Scotland have changed their intervention for children with speech sound disorders
University of Stirling. 374 pages.Other Contributions: Other Contributions- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27257
- [ONLINE] Link to Publication
- [ONLINE] https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/27257#.XmukV6j7SM8
Delivery of alcohol brief interventions in community-based youth work settings: exploring feasibility and acceptability in a qualitative study
BMC Public Health, vol. 17, 357Contributions to Journals: Articles