Dr Susan Kerr has a background in public health nursing/health visiting. On completion of a Chief Scientist Office (CSO) Research Training Fellowship in the mid 1990s, she was employed at the University of Glasgow to develop/lead a programme of research on stress and coping in informal carers. Susan joined Glasgow Caledonian University as a Research Fellow in 2001, completing her PhD in 2004. Her doctoral research explored parental adaptation following the birth of a child with a congenital limb deficiency. Currently a Reader in the School of Health and Life Sciences/Institute for Applied Health Research, Susan is Deputy Research Group Lead for the Health Protection and Health Improvement Research Group. Drawing on her public health roots, Susan’s current research focuses on the development and evaluation of complex healthcare interventions designed to improve the health and wellbeing of people experiencing health inequalities. Particular areas of focus include smoking/smoking cessation, hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption, the health promoting role of health and social care professionals and parenting. Programmatic activity is in the following areas: smoking cessation interventions for people with severe and enduring mental health problems, smoking cessation in later life, the tobacco and alcohol-related health promotion needs of people with learning disabilities and secondary prevention of stroke. Susan is the current Chair of the Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance (STCA) Research Group, she is a member of the Research and Evaluation Sub-group of the Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control and she is a member of the Training and Development Advisory Group of Partnership Action on Tobacco and Health (PATH). She is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Nursing Council on Alcohol. Tel. +44 (0) 141 331 8374 E.mail s.m.kerr@gcu.ac.uk
Articles
A mixed-methods evaluation of the effectiveness of tailored smoking cessation training for healthcare practitioners who work with older people (with Rosemary Whyte, Hazel Watson, Debbie Tolson, and Angus K. McFadyen), Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing (2011)
Background: Older people who smoke derive significant health benefits from stopping smoking in later life....
Adding substance to strategy (with Laura Williamson), Public Service Reviews: UK Science & Technology (2011)
Glasgow Caledonian University's Dr Laura Williamson and Dr Susan Kerr consider the policy response required...
What is the evidence for using family based interventions to prevent stroke recurrence? (with Maggie Lawrence and Caroline McVey), Nursing Times (2010)
Stroke has a devastating impact on individuals and families. Risk factors for recurrence include lifestyle...
An exploration of lifestyle beliefs and lifestyle behaviour following stroke: findings from a focus group study of patients and family members (with Maggie Lawrence, Hazel E. Watson, Gillian Paton, and Graham Ellis), BMC Family Practice (2010)
Stroke is a major cause of disability and family disruption and carries a high risk...
A survey of stroke nurses’ knowledge of secondary prevention lifestyle issues (with Maggie Lawrence, Hazel Watson, Jennie Jackson, and Margaret Brownlee), British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (2009)
Nurses have an important role to play in providing information and advice on lifestyle risk...
Unpublished Papers
Protocol - The effectiveness of interventions/training programmes for the parents of adolescents: a systematic review of the literature (with Kerri McPherson, Lisa Kidd, and Elizabeth McGee) (2011)
Reports
Smoke-free mental health settings: exploring the knowledge, attitudes and experience of staff (with Beinn Wilson, Kamala Soundararajan, Denise Meldrum, and Stephen Lockie) (2011)
Background
Smoking is 2-3 times more common in people with mental health problems than in...
Tobacco and alcohol use in people who have a learning disability: giving voice to their health promotion needs (with Maggie Lawrence, Christopher Darbyshire, Alan Middleton, and Hazel Watson) (2009)
Aim The aim of the study was to explore the tobacco and alcohol-related health promotion...
The involvement of nurses and midwives in screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful use of psychoactive substances: a review of the literature (with Hazel Watson, Alison Munro, Marsha Wilson, and Jon Godwin) (2009)
This report provides details of a review of the literature on the involvement of nurses...
Smoking cessation in later life: an evaluation of the impact of smoking cessation training on the knowledge, attitudes and practice of members of the primary care team who work with older people (with Rosemary Whyte, Hazel Watson, Debbie Tolson, and Angus McFadyen K) (2007)
1. Introduction
Smokers aged 65 years and older are a vulnerable group who are likely...
Developing evidence-based smoking cessation training/education initiatives in partnership with older people and health professionals (with Hazel Watson, Debbie Tolson, Murray Lough, and Malcom Brown) (2004)
Background
Current estimates suggest that there are more than 158,000 smokers aged 65 and over...