Farre, Albert

Albert joined the University of Dundee (School of Health Sciences) in 2019, following 6 years at the University of Birmingham (Institute of Child Health and Institute of Applied Health Research) working across the University of Birmingham and the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Albert is a social psychologist with a background in applied health research, interested in adolescent health, implementation science and complex interventions. His work relates to the psychosocial aspects of health/illness and healthcare behaviours, focusing on the experiences of patients and health professionals to inform the delivery of health services and public health programmes.

Albert’s current research interests are informed by two broad interrelated concerns: (1) How change, innovations and complex interventions are implemented and routinely embedded in health professionals’ everyday work practices; and (2) The role of psychosocial approaches and holistic care practices in medical/clinical work and healthcare provision/delivery.

Child and adolescent health; developmentally appropriate healthcare (including transitional care); patient experience; chronic illness/long term conditions; quality improvement; implementation science and development/evaluation of complex interventions; qualitative and mixed methods; multidisciplinary team/work dynamics; healthcare information systems/technologies; parenting experiences; health promotion and communication; contextual and material aspects (spaces and places) of health/illness/care behaviours; ethnographic research in healthcare settings; patient and public involvement and engagement in research and care.

Albert has recently led and completed a study exploring the implementation of electronic prescribing in paediatric hospital settings, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) in the West Midlands, under its Maternity and Child Health theme.

He is also a co-investigator on the following studies:

• What role can hospitals play in protecting children and young people from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke? Developing a novel intervention to support families to change their smoking behaviours. Study funded by the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Research Foundation and led by Dr Laura Jones, University of Birmingham.

• Magnolia House: New building, new service? Evaluating the early implementation and impact of Magnolia House on sharing life-altering information and bereavement care within a paediatric acute hospital. Study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) in the West Midlands (Maternity and Child Health theme) and led by Dr Karen Shaw, University of Birmingham.

Albert teaches on qualitative research methods and health/illness/care behaviour at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and supervises Masters and PhD students.