
Liz is a Senior Research Fellow working within the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire & Humber Older People’s theme. She is managing work to identify the research priorities of older people living with frailty in their own homes or care homes, with the aim of developing an intervention to improve care, quality of life or service delivery which aligns with one or more of these priorities.
Liz also works on the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research’s care home portfolio. She was the Trial Manager for the PATCH Trial – a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility of delivering the Skilful Care Training Package (physiotherapy-based training for care staff) to care home staff. She is currently managing the HARP-B study (How to Assess Residents’ Posture in Bed), which aims to develop a new tool to assess the posture of care home residents who spend long periods of time in bed. Liz has recently completed a PhD exploring the feasibility of undertaking a complex intervention trial in English care homes. She has extensive experience of managing randomised controlled trials, in particular those evaluating complex interventions in mental health services and care home settings.
Recent Funding Awarded
Lead applicant for the following grant:
• 2023-2026: Development of methods to identify digitally excluded older people, and tailoring of interventions to meet their digital needs. Dunhill Medical Trust (SDAF2302-15)
Co-applicant for the following grants:
• 2021 – 2023: A feasibility study of hearing and vision support to improve quality of life in care home residents with dementia (SENSE-Cog Care). Health Research Board, Ireland (DIFA-2020-007).
• 2021 – 2022: Development, and assessment of acceptability and concurrent validity, of a tool to assess posture in bed of frail older adults (HARP-B). Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust (PRF/20/C07).
• 2019 – 2020: Evaluating the validity, reliability and acceptability of a Postural Assessment Tool for older people living with frailty in care homes (HARP). Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust (PRF/18/B10).
• 2016 – 2019: Skilful Care Training Package for residents in care homes: cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial (PATCH). Chartered Society of Physiotherapists Charitable Trust (OPA03).
• 2015 – 2018: Feasibility Study for a Trial on Improving Inter-generational Attachment for Children Undergoing Behaviour Problems (TIGA-CUB). NIHR RfPB (PB-PG-0614-34002).
• 2013 – 2017: Development and preliminary testing of strategies to enhance routine physical activity in care homes (REACH). NIHR PGfAR (RP-PG-1210-12017).
• 2012 – 2017: Evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of Dementia Care Mapping (DCMTM) to enable person-centred Care for people with dementia and their carers: A UK cluster randomised controlled trial in care homes (DCM EPIC) – NIHR HTA programme (11/15/13).
• 2012 – 2016: Managing with Learning Disabilities and Diabetes (OK-Diabetes). NIHR HTA programme (10/102/03).
• 2010 – 2013: Multicentre Intervention Designed for Self-Harm using Problem Solving – a feasibility study (MIDSHIPS). NIHR RfPB (PB-PG-0610-22267).
• 2010 – 2013: Testing the credibility, feasibility and acceptability of an optimised behavioural intervention for avoidant chronic low back pain patients (OBI). Arthritis Research-UK.
Publications
Patel I, Graham L, Forster A, Jacob I, Ellwood A. Researchers’ Experiences of the Challenges of Conducting Two Randomised Controlled Trials in Care Homes. Journal of Long-Term Care 2023; 67–72. https://doi.org/10.31389/jltc.187
Forster A, Godfrey M, Green J, McMaster N, Airlie J, Cundill B, Lawton R, Hawkins R, Hulme C, Birch K, Brown L, Cicero R, Crocker T, Dawkins B, Ellard D, Ellwood A, Firth J, Gallagher B, Graham L, Johnson L, Lusambili A, Marti J, McCrorie C, McLellen V, Patel I, Prashar A, Siddiqi N, Trépel D, Wheeler I, Wright A, Young J, Farrin A. Strategies to enhance routine physical activity in care home residents: the REACH research programme including a cluster feasibility RCT. Programme Grants Applied Research 2021;9(9). https://doi.org/10.3310/pgfar09090
Forster A, Airlie J, Ellwood A, Godfrey M, Green J, Cundill B, Dawkins B, McMaster N, Hulme C, Cicero R, McLellan V, Graham L, Gallagher B, Ellard DR, Firth J, Farrin A, the REACH Programme Team. An intervention to increase physical activity in care home residents: results of a cluster-randomised, controlled feasibility trial (the REACH trial), Age and Ageing 2021; afab130, https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab130
Kelly C, Hulme C, Graham L, Ellwood A, Patel I, Cundill B, Farrin A, Goodwin M, Hull K, Fisher J, Forster A. Inter-rater reliability of care home staff’s proxy judgements with residents’ assessments of their own health-related quality of life: an analysis of the PATCH trial EQ-5D data. Age Ageing, 2021; 50(4):1314–1320. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab053
Owens D, Wright-Hughes A, Graham L, Blenkiron P, Burton K, Collinson M, Farrin A, Hatcher S, Martin K, O’Dwyer J, Pembroke L, Protheroe D, Tubeuf S, House A. Problem-solving therapy rather than treatment as usual for adults after self-harm: a pragmatic, feasibility, randomised controlled trial (the MIDSHIPS trial). Pilot Feasibility Studies 2020;6:119. https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2Fs40814-020-00668-0
Surr CA , Holloway I, Walwyn RA, Alys W. Griffiths, Meads D, Martin A, Kelley R, Ballard C, Fossey F, Burnley N , Chenoweth L, Creese B, Downs M, Garrod L, Graham EH, Lilley-Kelly A, McDermid A, McLellan V, Millard H, Perfect D, Robinson L, Robinson O, Shoesmith E, Siddiqi N, Stokes G, Wallace D, Farrin AJ. Effectiveness of Dementia Care MappingTM to reduce agitation in care home residents with dementia: an open-cohort cluster randomised controlled trial. Aging & Mental Health 2020; 1-14. doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2020.1745144
Graham L, Ellwood A, Hull K, Fisher J, Cundill B, Holland M, Goodwin M, Clarke D, Hawkins R, Hulme C, Patel I, Kelly C, Williams R, Farrin A, Forster A. Posture and mobility training package for care home staff: results of a cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial (the PATCH trial). Age Ageing 2020;49(5)821–828. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa046
Ellwood A, Airlie J, Cicero R, Cundill B, Ellard DR, Farrin A, Godfrey M, Graham L, Green J, McLellan V, Siddiqi N, Forster A, on behalf of the REACH Programme Team. Recruiting Care Homes to a Randomised Controlled Trial. Trials 2018;19(1):535. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2915-x
Graham L, Cicero R, Clarke D, Cundill B, Ellwood A, Farrin A, Fisher J, Goodwin M, Hawkins R, Hull K, Hulme C, Trépel D, Williams R, Forster A. PATCH: posture and mobility training for care staff versus usual care in care homes: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2018;19(1):521. doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2863-5
House AO, Latchford GJ, Russell AM, Bryant LD, Wright J, Graham EH, Stansfield AJ, Ajjan RA, and On behalf of the OK Diabetes team. Development of a supported self-management intervention for adults with type 2 diabetes and a learning disability. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 2018;4:106. doi.org/10.1186/s40814-018-0291-7.
Forster A, Airlie J, Birch K, Cicero R, Cundill B, Ellwood A, Godfrey M, Graham L, Green J, Hulme C, Lawton R, McLellan V, McMaster N, Farrin A, on behalf of the REACH Programme Team. Research Exploring Physical Activity in Care Homes (REACH): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2017, 18:182. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-1921-8
Wright-Hughes A, Graham E, Cottrell D, Farrin A. Routine hospital data–is it good enough for trials? An example using England’s Hospital Episode Statistics in the SHIFT trial of Family Therapy vs. Treatment as Usual in adolescents following self-harm. Clinical trials. 2018:1740774517751381.
Cottrell D, Wright-Hughes A, Collinson M, Boston P, Eisler I, Fortune S, et al. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of systemic family therapy compared with treatment as usual for young people after self-harm: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2018.
Liz Graham, Judy Wright, Rebecca Walwyn, Amy M Russell, Louise Bryant, Amanda Farrin, Allan House: Measurement of adherence in a randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention: supported self-management for adults with learning disability and type 2 diabetes. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2016;16:132
Siddiqi N, Cheater F, Collinson M, Farrin A, Forster A, George D, Godfrey M, Graham E, Harrison J, Heaven A, Heudtlass P, Hulme C, Meads D, North C, Sturrock A, Young J. The PiTSTOP study: a feasibility cluster randomized trial of delirium prevention in care homes for older people. Age Ageing 2016;45(5):652-661.
Claire A. Surr, Rebecca E. A. Walwyn, Amanda Lilley-Kelly, Robert Cicero, David Meads, Clive Ballard, Kayleigh Burton, Lynn Chenoweth, Anne Corbett, Byron Creese, Murna Downs, Amanda J. Farrin, Jane Fossey, Lucy Garrod, Elizabeth H. Graham, Alys Griffiths, Ivana Holloway, Sharon Jones, Baber Malik, Najma Siddiqi, Louise Robinson, Graham Stokes, Daphne Wallace: Evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Dementia Care Mapping™ to enable person-centred care for people with dementia and their carers (DCM-EPIC) in care homes: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2016,17:300
Najma Siddiqi, Fancine Cheater, Michelle Collinson, Amanda Farrin, Anne Forster, Deepa George, Mary Godfrey, Elizabeth Graham, Jennifer Harrison, Anne Heaven, Peter Heudtlass, Claire Hulme, David Meads, Chris North, Angus Sturrock, John Young: The PiTSTOP study: a feasibility cluster randomized trial of delirium prevention in care homes for older people. Age Ageing 2016;0:1-10
Wright-Hughes A, Graham EH, Farrin AJ, Collinson M, Boston P, Eisler I, et al. SHIFT. Self-Harm Intervention, Family Therapy: a randomised controlled trial of family therapy vs. treatment as usual for young people seen after second or subsequent episodes of self-harm: protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2015;16:501
Pincus T, Anwar S, McCracken LM, McGregor A, Graham L, Collinson M, et al. Delivering an Optimised Behavioural Intervention (OBI) to people with low back pain with high psychological risk; results and lessons learnt from a feasibility randomised controlled trial of Contextual Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT) vs. Physiotherapy. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2015;16(1):147
Collinson M, Owens DW, Blenkiron P, Burton KV, Graham L, Hatcher S, House AO, Martin K, Pembroke L, Protheroe D, Tubeuf S, Farrin AJ. MIDSHIPS: Multicentre Intervention Designed for Self-Harm using Interpersonal Problem Solving: protocol for a randomised feasibility study. Trials 2014;15(163):7:10.1186/1745-6215-15-163
Heaven A, Cheater F, Clegg A, Collinson M, Farrin A, Forster A, Godfrey M, Graham L, Grice A, Holt R, Hulme C, Lloyd E, Meads D, North C, Young J, Siddiqi N. Pilot trial of Stop Delirium! (PiTStop) – a complex intervention to prevent delirium in care homes for older people: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials 2014;15(1):1-10:10.1186/1745-6215-15-47
Pincus T, Anwar S, McCracken L, McGregor A,Graham L, Collinson M, Farrin AJ. Testing the credibility, feasibility and acceptability of an Optimised Behavioural Intervention (OBI) for avoidant chronic low back pain patients: protocol for a randomised feasibility study. Trials 2013;14:172.