Dr Judith Redfern

Biography

Judith started her research career in 1993 as a student working at the Home Office on the British Crime Survey. After graduating in Mathematics and Psychology, she moved into health services research. Her first research post was at University College London working with Ann Bowling on a study into the appropriateness of outpatient care in the North Thames region. In 1997 Judith moved to the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine to work with Shah Ebrahim on a national survey of stroke services funded by The Stroke Association and at the same time started a part-time master’s degree in Health Psychology.

In1999 Judith moved to King’s College London to join the South London Stroke Register (SLSR) team contributing to a programme of research into stroke prevention and secondary prevention. Working with Chris McKevitt and Charles Wolfe, she was involved in the development and evaluation of a patient and general practitioner intervention to improve risk factor management after stroke. In 2002, Judith was awarded an MRC Special Training Fellowship in Health Services Research to investigate methods for developing and evaluating complex interventions. She conducted an ethnographic study into the development and evaluation of the Stop Stroke secondary prevention intervention. The Fellowship included an overseas placement in New Zealand working with Craig Anderson on the Auckland Register of Strokes (ARCOS). She also undertook master’s course training in epidemiology and health promotion at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in social anthropology at Goldsmith’s College London and in Pacific health at University of Auckland. After submitting her PhD in 2006, she became a lecturer in health services research, continuing her work in stroke research as part of the SLSR team. She was the chief investigator on a Stroke Association funded national study into the longer term needs of stroke survivors. She also taught epidemiology on the undergraduate medical course and selected sessions from the medical sociology module of the master’s course in public health.

In 2010 after two periods of maternity leave and a move to Hampshire Judith took a career break to look after her young children. She was given an honorary lecturer post with the stroke team at King’s College London.

Judith returned to work in February 2013 to take up a part-time lectureship in Health Services Research at Surrey where she aims to develop her research interests in complex interventions and health care management for stroke survivors. She will also be involved in teaching research methods on the postgraduate courses.

Research Interests

My research interests include:
• interventions for stroke secondary prevention;
• complex interventions in stroke management;
• methods for developing and evaluating complex health care interventions;
• mixed methods research designs,
• the use of ethnography in process evaluation;  
• stroke survivor needs
• ethnicity and stoke

Funded projects:
Stroke Survivor Needs Survey. The Stroke Association 2009 (£159,596)

Stop Stroke: The south London secondary prevention programme. The Stroke Association programme grant 2004-2008 (5 year programme grant extension) £250,000.

Development and application of methods for evaluating innovative strategies for secondary prevention after stroke in an inner city multi-ethnic population. Medical Research Council Special Training Fellowship in Health of the Public Research 2002-2006 (£163,000).

Publications

McKevitt C; Fudge N; Redfern J; Sheldenkar A; Crichton S; Rudd AR; Forster A; Young J; Nazareth I; Silver LE; Rothwell PM; Wolfe CD. Self-reported long-term needs after stroke.  Stroke 2011; 42 1398-403.

Wolfe CD; Redfern J; Rudd AG; Grieve AP; Heuschmann PU; McKevitt C. Cluster randomized controlled trial of a patient and general practitioner intervention to improve the management of multiple risk factors after stroke: stop stroke. Stroke 2010; 41: 2470-6.

Fudge N; Redfern J; Wolfe C; McKevitt C. Streamlined research governance: are we there yet? BMJ Vol. 341 c4625

Redfern J, Rudd AD Wolfe CDA. McKevitt C. Development of an innovative intervention to improve risk factor management after stroke. Patient Education and Counseling 2008; 72:201-9.

Ives SP, Heuschmann PU, Wolfe CDA, Redfern J. Patterns of smoking cessation in the first 3 years after stroke: the South London Stroke Register. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 2008; 15: 329-335  

Redfern J, McKevitt C, Wolfe C. Complex interventions in stroke care: a systematic review Stroke 2006; 37: 2410-9.

Redfern J, McKevitt C, Wolfe C. Risk Management After Stroke: The limits of a patient centred approach. Health, Risk and Society 2006; 8: 123-41

McKevitt C, Redfern J, Mold F, Wolfe C. Qualitative Studies of Stroke: A Systematic Review. Stroke 2004; 35: 1499-505.

McKevitt C, Redfern J, La-Placa V, Wolfe C. Defining and using quality of life: a survey of health care professionals Clinical Rehabilitation 2003; 17: 865-70.

Redfern J, McKevitt C, Rudd A, Wolfe C. Health care after stroke: opportunities for secondary prevention. Family Practice 2002;19: 378-82.

Dundas R, Morgan M, Redfern J, Lemic-Stojcevic N, Wolfe C. 2001. Ethnic Differences in Behavioural Risk Factors for Stroke: Implications for Health Promotion. Ethnicity and Health; 2001; 6(2):95-103.

Redfern J, McKevitt C, Dundas R, Rudd A, Wolfe C. Behavioural risk factors and lifestyle change following stroke: a prospective study.  Stroke, 2000; 31:1877-81.

Redfern J and Bowling A. Efficiency of care at the primary-secondary interface: variations with fund-holding status. Health and Place, 2000;  6: 15-23.

Bowling A and Redfern J.. The process of outpatient referral and care: the experience and views of patients, their general practitioners, and specialists. British Journal of General Practice, 2000; 50,116-20.

Books, Book chapters and other published reports

Redfern, J, McKevitt, C, Rudd, A, Wolfe, CDA. Review of interventions to change patient and professional behaviors in stroke management and prevention. In Best Practices in the Behavioral Management of Chronic Disease (Volume I, Chapter 3), J Trafton and WP Gordon (Eds). California: Institute for Brain Potential; updated 2006

McKevitt C, Redfern J, Wolfe C. Stroke in African Caribbeans. London: The Stroke Association; 2002.

Ebrahim S and Redfern J. Stroke Care – A Matter of Chance. A National Survey of stroke services. In W. Holland (Ed), Stroke: The past present and future, pp103-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1999.

Ebrahim S and Redfern J. Stroke Care – A Matter of Chance. A National Survey of stroke services. London: The Stroke Association; 1999.

Dowds L and Redfern J, Drug Education amongst Teenagers: a 1992 British Crime Survey Analysis. Research & Planning Unit Paper 86. London: Home Office (HMSO); 1994.