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Dr Matthew Allsop

Dr Matthew Allsop

  • Position: Associate Professor of Palliative Care
  • Areas of expertise: palliative care; cancer; digital technology; health research; user involvement; international health; refugee and migrant health
  • Email: M.J.Allsop@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 4185
  • Location: Level 10 Worsley Building
  • Website: Twitter | Researchgate

Profile

I am an Associate Professor of Palliative Care funded by a Yorkshire Cancer Research University Academic Fellowship.

My research focuses on palliative care. Palliative care is specialised medical care for people living with a serious illness. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family. My research is conducted globally across settings with varying levels of palliative care development and resources.

Current responsibilities include:

  • Co-Lead of St Gemma’s Academic Unit of Palliative Care
  • Associate Lead for Impact, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
  • Member of the University of Leeds Africa Strategy Group
  • Programme Evaluation Group Co-Lead for PallCHASE (Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies)

Research interests

My research uses a range of research methods to understand and develop palliative care. Examples of the types of research I conduct include:

  • Exploring the experiences, needs and preferences of people living with a serious illness, alongside their families and those who are providing their care.
  • Analysing routine data to understand how services are being delivered (e.g. identifying inequalities in who is accessing palliative care and when people are receiving it)
  • Developing and evaluating different uses of technology to support access, coordination, and improvements in the delivery of palliative care.

My research as a primary investigator includes the following projects:

Projects funded as a co-investigator:

  • Royal Society Te Apārangi 2024: “Perspectives on Telehealth for Palliative Care for Underserved Populations”
  • Marie Curie 2024: “Equitable Care for All Ethnicities (ECAE): Improving data collection on ethnicity and religion within palliative care settings”
  • Horizon Europe 2024: “Artificial Intelligence-based Health, Optimism, Purpose, and Endurance in Palliative Care for Dementia (AI4HOPE)”
  • Royal Marsden Charity and Royal Marsden/ICR Biomedical Research Centre 2023: “Evaluation of Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems to support advance care planning for people living with life-limiting conditions”
  • Pfizer Global Bridges Oncology 2023: “Standardizing the Reporting of acute side effects and management through a Practice Improvement Project (STAR-PIPE)”
  • Worldwide University Network 2022: “Supporting nurses’ palliative care education needs”
  • Research England Policy Support Fund 2021: “Embedding the patient voice into palliative and end of life care policy in England”
  • Research England QR GCRF 2020: “Developing national physical activity promotion policies in hospice care”
  • White Rose Collaboration Fund 2020: “Measuring, evaluating and improving the quality of care for dying people and their families”
  • Research England QR GCRF 2019: “Telerehabilitation to improve the quality of life of individuals with long term disabilities in Nepal” (click for a video providing an overview of the project)
  • University of Leeds Pump-priming for Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives 2019: “A user-centred approach to develop a new garment orthosis for improving movement in children with cerebral palsy”
  • Global Crucible 2019: “Developing a low-cost digital platform to improve Continuing Professional Development in rehabilitation for healthcare professionals in Madagascar”
  • IASP Developing Countries Project: Initiative for Improving Pain Education 2019: “Project OPUS – Online pain education for Nigerian medical undergraduate students"

Previous public engagement activity as a contributor includes:

Visiting scholars:

  • Dr Sarute Chawvavanich, through the Prince Mahidol Award Youth (PMAY) Program scholarship

Current postgraduate students:

  • Emmanuel Leshak (with Bassey Ebenso and Joseph Hicks). Research title: Psychosocial impact of community-based management of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in Nigeria.
  • Eme Asuquo (with Kate Absolom and Bassey Ebenso). Research title: The provision of breast cancer survivorship care in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Jakki Birtwistle (with Amy Russell and Sam Relton). Research title: Technology-mediated approaches to advance care planning.
  • Noura Rizk (with Gemma Clarke, Bryony Hudson and Nuriye Kupeli): Exploring the influence of ethnic background, culture and faith on perceptions towards advance care planning conversations with British Muslim communities.
  • Elizabeth Fair (with Alinka Greasley and Emily Payne): Personal music use in post-bereavement emotional regulation.
  • Asmaa El Najar (with Bryony Dawkins): The use of economic evaluation to inform the management of non-communicable diseases in the context of humanitarian aid situations and emergencies.

Completed doctoral students:

  • Asma Abahussin (PhD, 2021) (with Lucy Ziegler, Robert West, and David Wong). Research title: A health informatics approach for recording pain and supporting effective pain management in cancer patients.
  • Hayley Scanlon (DClinPsy, 2021) (with Gary Latchford). Research title: Understanding hospice social workers’ experiences of their work with adults in the U.K. An interpretive phenomenological analysis.
  • Rebecca Day (DClinPsy, 2023) (with Florien Boele and Charlotte Baker). Research title: Exploration of a stroke population's experiences of a digital cognitive assessment: a think-aloud and interview study
  • Will Goodman (PhD, 2024) (with Rebecca Beeken and Amy Downing). Research title: Using advanced quantitative methods to explore physical activity and quality of life in patients with a stoma.

Qualifications

  • BSc Psychology
  • PhD Mechanical Design Engineering

Professional memberships

  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
  • Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)

Student education

My current teaching roles include:

Research groups and institutes

  • Division of Primary Care, Palliative Care and Public Health
  • St Gemma's Academic Unit of Palliative Care
  • International health research
  • Palliative care
  • Research at the Nuffield Centre of International Health and Development
  • Cancer
  • Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>