Tricia joined the University of Bristol in February 2011.  She is an experienced qualitative researcher with substantial expertise in commissioning and managing programmes of research as well as in participative methodologies. She has worked on a range of studies and evaluations involving children, young people and families.

 Tricia was a Research Director (qualitative) in the Children and Young People Unit at NatCen before joining the School for Policy Studies. Whilst at NatCen, Tricia led on the qualitative aspects of a number of national evaluations. These include a process evaluation of the Public Law Outline in child protection cases, the Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare Pilot,  and Teens and Toddlers (a teenage pregnancy intervention).  Since joining UoB she has worked on the evaluation of 'Healthy Start' for the Department of Health, a study in the use of Appropriate Adullts with vulnerable adults in custody, and a 3-year evaluation (RCT) of a therapeutic intervention for children and young people affected by sexual abuse and an evaluatiion of this same intervention for children with learning disabilities. 

In 2018 Tricia moved to the Public Health Team in the Bristol Medical School, where she works on qualitative research in children and young peope's health. Projects include health promotion in Academy Schools, systems approaches to improving inequalities in child health, and mental health in schools.

 Research projects

Current

• Factors and interventions within educational settings that contribute to promoting positive mental health and preventing poor mental health – a systematic literature review.

• Development of a systems map  of the determinants of child health inequalities in England at the local level
• A Participatory Action Research approach to the changing school culture in secondary schools

Previous projects:

• 'Letting the Future In' - evaluation of a therapeutic intervention designed for children and young people aged between four- and 18-years-old who have been affected by sexual abuse.
• Older Men at the Margins
• Support for Older Carers