Dr Jon Dickson

DFSRH, DRCOG, MRCGP, BSc (Hons), BMBCh, PhD

Population Health, School of Medicine and Population Health

Senior Clinical Lecturer

j.m.dickson@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 2081

Sam Fox House, Northern General Hospital

Full contact details

Dr Jon Dickson
Population Health, School of Medicine and Population Health
Sam Fox House
Northern General Hospital
Herries Road
Sheffield
S5 7AU

Research interests

Dr Dickson's research is into health-service quality improvement interventions. His expertise is in quantitative methods but he works in multi-disciplinary research teams to answer complex questions and to develop complex interventions using mixed methods.

He has a special interest in epilepsy and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. A major theme in his research is improving emergency care for people after a seizure.

Other important themes in his work are optimisation of care pathways for abnormal uterine bleeding and the use of free-association narrative interviews to give new insights into psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.

Publications

Journal articles

Lassa S, Burton C & Dickson JM (2024) GPs' experience of difficult decisions in patients with dementia and an acute illness.. BJGP open, BJGPO.2024.0074.
Cotterill CL, Booth A, Dickson JM & Hind D (2024) Patient's perspectives of epilepsy care by specialists and generalists: qualitative evidence synthesis.. BJGP Open.
Noble AJ, Dixon P, Mathieson A, Ridsdale L, Morgan M, McKinlay A, Dickson J, Goodacre S, Jackson M, Morris B , Hughes D et al (2024) Developing feasible person-centred care alternatives to emergency department responses for adults with epilepsy: a discrete choice analysis mixed-methods study. Health and social care delivery research, 12(24), 1-158.
Noble AJ, Morris B, Dixon P, Mathieson A, Ridsdale L, Morgan M, Dickson J, Goodacre S, Jackson M, Hughes D , Marson A et al (2024) Service users' preferences and feasibility – which alternative care pathway for adult ambulance users achieves the optimal balance? Workshops for the COLLABORATE project. Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, 118, 17-27. View this article in WRRO
Holmes E, Dixon P, Mathieson A, Ridsdale L, Morgan M, McKinlay A, Dickson J, Goodacre S, Jackson M, Foster D , Hardman K et al (2024) Developing an alternative care pathway for emergency ambulance responses for adults with epilepsy: A Discrete Choice Experiment to understand which configuration service users prefer. Part of the COLLABORATE project. Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, 118, 28-37. View this article in WRRO
Fox MN, Dickson JM, Burch P, Hind D & Hawksworth L (2024) Delivering relational continuity of care in UK general practice: a scoping review. BJGP Open. View this article in WRRO
Goodacre S, Sutton L, Ennis K, Thomas B, Hawksworth O, Iftikhar K, Croft SJ, Fuller G, Waterhouse S, Hind D , Stevenson M et al (2024) Prehospital early warning scores for adults with suspected sepsis: the PHEWS observational cohort and decision-analytic modelling study. Health Technology Assessment, 28(16), 1-93. View this article in WRRO
Noble AJ, Morris B, Bonnet LJ, Reuber M, Mason S, Wright J, Pilbery R, Bell F, Shillito T, Marson AG & Dickson JM (2024) ‘Knowledge exchange’ workshops to optimise development of a risk prediction tool to assist conveyance decisions for suspected seizures – Part of the Risk of ADverse Outcomes after a Suspected Seizure (RADOSS) project.. Epilepsy & Behavior, 151. View this article in WRRO
Peacock M, Bissell P, Ellis J, Dickson JM, Wardrope A, Grünewald R & Reuber M (2023) ‘I just need to know what they are and if you can help me’: medicalization and the search for legitimacy in people diagnosed with non-epileptic attack disorder. Epilepsy and Behavior, 148. View this article in WRRO
Goodacre S, Sutton L, Thomas B, Hawksworth O, Iftikhar K, Croft S, Fuller G, Waterhouse S, Hind D, Bradburn M , Smyth MA et al (2023) Prehospital early warning scores for adults with suspected sepsis: retrospective diagnostic cohort study. Emergency Medicine Journal, 40(11), 768-776. View this article in WRRO
Wardrope A, Bell S, Blackburn D, Dickson J, Reuber M & Walker T (2023) Understanding the autonomy of adults with impaired capacity through dialogue. Journal of Medical Ethics, 49(7), 493-494.
Dickson JM, Hilton A, Kelsall C & Cormack L (2023) Primary care: the sleeping giant of research delivery. British Journal of General Practice, 73(730), 198-199. View this article in WRRO
Wigglesworth S, Neligan A, Dickson JM, Pullen A, Yelland E, Anjuman T & Reuber M (2023) The incidence and prevalence of epilepsy in the United Kingdom 2013–2018: a retrospective cohort study of UK primary care data. Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy, 105, 37-42. View this article in WRRO
Noble AJ, Mason SM, Bonnett LJ, Reuber M, Wright J, Pilbery R, Jacques RM, Simpson RM, Campbell R, Fuller A , Marson AG et al (2022) Supporting the ambulance service to safely convey fewer patients to hospital by developing a risk prediction tool: Risk of Adverse Outcomes after a Suspected Seizure (RADOSS)—protocol for the mixed-methods observational RADOSS project. BMJ Open, 12(11). View this article in WRRO
Peacock M, Dickson J, Bissell P, Grunewald R & Reuber M (2022) Beyond the medical encounter: can the free association narrative interview method extend psychosocial understandings of non-epileptic attack disorder?. Journal of Psychosocial Studies, 15(1), 36-51. View this article in WRRO
Clark J, Copsey B, Wright-Hughes A, McNaught E, Bijsterveld P, McCormack T, Foy R, Wilkes S, Dickson J, Meads D , Farrin A et al (2022) Cancer patients’ needs assessment in primary care : study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT), economic evaluation and normalisation process theory evaluation of the needs assessment tool cancer (CANAssess). BMJ Open, 12(5). View this article in WRRO
Burton C, Stone T, Oliver P, Dickson JM, Lewis J & Mason SM (2022) Frequent attendance at the emergency department shows typical features of complex systems: analysis of multicentre linked data. Emergency Medicine Journal, 39(1), 3-9.
Goodacre S, Thomas B, Smyth M & Dickson JM (2021) Should prehospital early warning scores be used to identify which patients need urgent treatment for sepsis?. BMJ, 2021(375). View this article in WRRO
Quah MCH, Marney BC, Cooper RJ & Dickson JM (2021) Chronic pain and opioid analgesic use : a case report. Clinical Case Reports, 9(7). View this article in WRRO
Andrews J, Weiner K, Will C, Henwood F & Dickson J (2020) Healthcare practitioner views and experiences of patients self-monitoring blood pressure: vignette study. British Journal of General Practice Open (BJGP Open), 4(5). View this article in WRRO
Hughes-Gooding T, Dickson J, O'Keeffe C & Mason S (2020) A data-linkage study of suspected seizures in the urgent and emergency care system in the UK. Emergency Medicine Journal, 37(10), 605-610. View this article in WRRO
Davies P, Reuber M, Grunewald R, Howell S, Dickson J, Dennis G, Shanmugarajah P, Tsironis T & Brockington A (2020) The impact and challenges of the 2018 MHRA statement on the use of sodium valproate in women of childbearing age during the first year of implementation, in a UK epilepsy centre. Seizure, 79, 8-13.
O'Cathain A, Simpson R, Phillips M & Dickson J (2020) Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care : a population vignette study. British Journal of General Practice Open (BJGP Open), 4(2). View this article in WRRO
Mathieson A, Marson AG, Jackson M, Ridsdale L, Goodacre S, Dickson JM & Noble AJ (2020) Clinically unnecessary and avoidable emergency health service use for epilepsy : a survey of what English services are doing to reduce it. Seizure, 76, 156-160. View this article in WRRO
O'Cathain A, Knowles E, Dickson J, Long J, Connell J, Bishop-Edwards L, Simpson R, Coster J, Abouzeid L, Bennett S , Croot E et al (2020) Drivers of 'clinically unnecessary' use of emergency and urgent care: the DEUCE mixed-methods study. Health Services and Delivery Research, 8(15).
Noble AJ, Mathieson A, Ridsdale L, Holmes EA, Morgan M, McKinlay A, Dickson JM, Jackson M, Hughes DA, Goodacre S & Marson AG (2019) Developing patient-centred, feasible alternative care for adult emergency department users with epilepsy : protocol for the mixed-methods observational ‘collaborate’ project. BMJ Open, 9(11). View this article in WRRO
Goldstein LH, Robinson EJ, Reuber M, Chalder T, Callaghan H, Eastwood C, Landau S, McCrone P, Medford N, Mellers JDC , Moore M et al (2019) Characteristics of 698 patients with dissociative seizures: A UK multicenter study. Epilepsia, 60(11), 2182-2193. View this article in WRRO
Dickson J & Hart A (2019) Expert medical generalism - ecological insights. British Journal of General Practice, 69(684), 174-175. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Jacques RM, Reuber M, Hick J, Campbell MJ, Morley R & Grunewald RA (2018) Emergency hospital care for adults with suspected seizures in the NHS in England 2007-2013: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 8(10). View this article in WRRO
Narice BF, Delaney B & Dickson JM (2018) Endometrial sampling in low-risk patients with abnormal uterine bleeding: a systematic review and meta-synthesis. BMC Family Practice, 19. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM (2018) The importance of GPs for people with epilepsy. Epilepsy Professional, 49, 20-25. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Asghar ZB & Siriwardena AN (2018) Pre-hospital ambulance care of patients following a suspected seizure: A cross sectional study . Seizure , 57, 38-44. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Rawlings GH, Grünewald RA, Miles K, Mack C, Heywood T & Reuber M (2017) An alternative care pathway for suspected seizures in pre-hospital care: a service evaluation. British Paramedic Journal, 2(2), 22-28. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Mason SM & Bailey A (2017) Emergency Department Diagnostic Codes – Useful Data?. Emergency Medicine Journal, 34(9), 627-627. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Delaney B & Connor ME (2017) Primary care endometrial sampling for abnormal uterine bleeding: a pilot study.. J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care, 43(4), 296-301.
Dickson JM, Dudhill H, Shewan J, Mason S, Grϋnewald RA & Reuber M (2017) Cross-sectional study of the hospital management of adult patients with a suspected seizure (EPIC2). BMJ Open, 7(7). View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Peacock M, Grünewald RA, Howlett S, Bissell P & Reuber M (2017) Non-epileptic attack disorder: the importance of diagnosis and treatment.. BMJ Case Reports, 2017. View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Taylor LH, Shewan J, Baldwin T, Grünewald RA & Reuber M (2016) Cross-sectional study of the prehospital management of adult patients with a suspected seizure (EPIC1).. BMJ Open, 6(2). View this article in WRRO
Dickson JM, Scott PA & Reuber M (2015) Epilepsy service provision in the National Health Service in England in 2012. SEIZURE-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPILEPSY, 30, 26-31.
Bell S, Harkness K, Dickson JM & Blackburn D (2015) A diagnosis for £55: what is the cost of government initiatives in dementia case finding. Age and Ageing, 44(2), 344-345.
Osborne A, Taylor L, Reuber M, Grünewald RA, Parkinson M & Dickson JM (2015) Pre-hospital care after a seizure: Evidence base and United Kingdom management guidelines. Seizure, 24, 82-87.
Dickson JM, Naylor G, Colver G, Powers HJ & Masters P (2014) Multiple vitamin deficiencies in a patient with a history of chronic alcohol excess and self-neglect in the UK. BMJ Case Reports, 2014.
Smithson WH, Hukins D, Buelow JM, Allgar V & Dickson JM (2013) Adherence to medicines and self-management of epilepsy: A community-based study. Epilepsy and Behavior, 26, 109-113.
Dickson JM, Harrington R & Carter MJ (2011) Teaching clinical examination using peer-assisted learning amongst graduate-entry students.. Clin Teach, 8(1), 8-12.
Dickson JM, Warren DJ, Chapman ALN, Anoop U, Hayat H & Bhattacharya D (2010) Spontaneous abscess of the lumbar spine presenting as subacute back pain.. BMJ Case Rep, 2010.
Farrow TFD, Dickson JM & Grünewald RA (2006) A six-year follow-up MRI study of complicated early childhood convulsion.. Pediatr Neurol, 35(4), 257-260.
Dickson JM (2006) The Author's Reply - Letter to the Editor. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 27(4), 342-342.
Dickson JM, Wilkinson ID, Howell SJL, Griffiths PD & Grünewald RA (2006) Idiopathic generalised epilepsy: a pilot study of memory and neuronal dysfunction in the temporal lobes, assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 77(7), 834-840.
Reynders HJ, Broks P, Dickson JM, Lee CE & Turpin G (2005) Investigation of social and emotion information processing in temporal lobe epilepsy with ictal fear.. Epilepsy Behav, 7(3), 419-429.
Dickson JM, Weavers HM, Mitchell N, Winter EM, Wilkinson ID, Van Beek EJR, Wild JM & Griffiths PD (2005) The effects of dehydration on brain volume -- preliminary results.. Int J Sports Med, 26(6), 481-485.
Wilkinson ID, Hadjivassiliou M, Dickson JM, Wallis L, Grünewald RA, Coley SC, Widjaja E & Griffiths PD (2005) Cerebellar abnormalities on proton MR spectroscopy in gluten ataxia.. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 76(7), 1011-1013.
Dickson JM & Grunewald RA (2004) Somatic symptom progression in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. PARKINSONISM RELAT D, 10(8), 487-492.
Wignall EL, Dickson JM, Vaughan P, Farrow TFD, Wilkinson ID, Hunter MD & Woodruff PWR (2004) Smaller hippocampal volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder.. Biol Psychiatry, 56(11), 832-836.
Dickson JM (2004) Choice of cross size in stereology. Neuroradiology, 46(4), 333-333.
Reilly JF (2004) Choice of cross size in stereology. Neuroradiology, 46(4), 332-332.
Dickson JM, Weavers HM, Mitchell N, Winter EM, Wilkinson ID, VanBeek EJR & Griffiths PD (2003) Choice of cross size in stereology--a cautionary note.. Neuroradiology, 45(12), 896-899.

Chapters

Dickson J, Wilmer I, James C, Grunewald R, Siriwardena N, Reuber M, Wiles J & England E (2019) Convulsions in Adults In Brown SN, Kumar D, James C & Mark J (Ed.), United Kingdom Ambulance Services Clinical Practice Guidelines Bridgwater: Class Professional Publishing.

Conference proceedings papers

Dickson J, Grunewald R, Reuber M, Gray C, Peacock M, Bissell P, Carusi A & Bracken P (2020) Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder: Metaphysics, Epistemology and Ontology. Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder: Metaphysics, Epistemology and Ontology, 18 October 2019.
Grunewald RA, Dickson JM, Hick J, Jacques R, Campbell M, Morely R & Reuber M (2018) UK Unscheduled Admissions for Adults with Suspected Seizures. JNNP(Suppl 1) (pp A8-A8), 3 May 2017.
Dickson JM, Howell SJ, Griffiths P, Wilkinson I & Grunewald RA (2003) Memory performance and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the temporal lobes in idiopathic generalised epilepsy. JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 74(10) (pp 1449-1450)

Reports

Dickson J (2023) A new tool for inclusive participation in primary care research
Campbell F, Sworn K, Booth A, Reuber M, Grunewald R, Mack C & Dickson J (2019) Epilepsy Specialist Nurses The Evidence (ESPENTE): a Systematic Mapping Review View this article in WRRO

Posters

McNaught E & Dickson J (2022) Comparing two different models of Research Nurse deployment to a multi-centre clinical trial in primary care: experiences from the CANAssess 2 Trial. 6th International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference.
Hughes-Gooding TA, Mason S, Dickson JM & Stone T (2017) Modelling the Flow of Seizure Patients in the Urgent and Emergency Care System. ILAE British Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting.
Dickson JM (2017) Can free association narrative interviews help to extend understandings of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. 3rd International Conference on Functional (Psychogenic) Neurological Disorders, 6-8 September 2017,.

Theses / Dissertations

Dickson J (2000) The neuropathology of Parkinson's disease : cognitive and motor consequences..

Presentations

Dickson J Primary/secondary care interface and care pathways in neurology, Neurology Service Managers network meeting.. Manchester.
Dickson JM, Simpson R, Jacques R, Ahmed N, Grunewald R, Reuber M & Mason S Exploring Discordance Between Epilepsy Prevalence and Age-Specific Admission Rates for Seizures. Sheffield.
Hughes-Gooding TH, Mason S, Dickson JM & Stone T Stone Modelling the Flow of Seizure Patients in the Urgent and Emergency Care System. Sheffield.
Dickson JM Emergency Health Services for Epilepsy, Plenary Presentation, ILAE British Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting. Leeds.
Grunewald R, Dickson J, Hick J, Jacques R, Campbell M, Morley R, Reuber M, Dickson JM, Hick J, Jacques R , Grünewald RA et al 1800 Uk unscheduled admissions for adults with suspected seizures.

Other

Dickson J, Grunewald R, Reuber M, Gray C, Bracken P, Peacock M, Bissell P & Carusi A () Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder: Metaphysics, Epistemology and Ontology.

Preprints

Burton C, Stone T, Oliver P, Dickson J, Lewis J & Mason S (2020) High use of the emergency department shows typical features of complex systems: analysis of multicentre linked data, medRxiv.

Teaching activities

Dr Dickson's departmental work in AUPMC includes (or has included) organising the BMedSci (intercalated medical degree) programme, organising the seminar programme, interviewing Academic Training Fellows and acting as internal examiner for BMedSci degrees.

He is a University PATS tutor (Personal Academic Tutoring Scheme) and is a member of the Post-Graduate Research Committee in the Faculty of Medicine. He teaches neuroanatomy to medical under-graduates having previously run the neuroanatomy dissection and teaching for BSc students.

Professional activities and memberships

Dr Dickson is a member of the Primary Care Steering Group for Division 5 of the NIHR Clinical Research Network in Yorkshire and Humber. He is also the lead GP for the Sheffield Primary Care Research (SPCR), a cluster of ten practices within the NIHR Clinical Research Network, who deliver NIHR portfolio studies. He has advisory roles for the RCGP (Clinical Adviser) and Epilepsy Action (Medical Advisory Board).

He is the chair of the guideline development group for the seizures chapter of the paramedics clinical practice guidelines (‘JRCALC’). Dr Dickson is the clinical lead for the primary care endometrial sampling service at NHS Sheffield and he works for the NHS Sheffield (clinical commissioning group) on on other projects such as CASES.

In the University of Sheffield he sits on the SEG in AUPMC and the Post-Graduate Research Committee in the Faculty of Medicine.

He has advised and/or peer-reviewed for the following journals, publications and organisations:

The King’s Fund
Seizure
British Journal of General Practice
HS&DR (Health Services and Delivery Research programme) of the NIHR, HTA (Health Technology Assessment programme) of the NIHR, the Palliative and Supportive Care journal
The Map of Medicine
RCGP e-learning package for motor neurone disease (in association with the MND association).

His reviewing activity can be seen on Publons.

Dr Dickson is a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC), Epilepsy Action, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) (the main group and the Primary Care Society), the NIHR CLAHRC South Yorkshire Avoiding Attendance and Admissions theme and the Medical Humanities Society of the University of Sheffield.

Clinical skills and special interests

The focus of Dr Dickson's clinical work is being a GP. He provides evidence-based holistic care with a special emphasis on patient-centred care and the position of the patient within their family and their community.

Managing the diversity and complexity inherent in this work is Dr Dickson's main focus but he has also developed a range of special interests and additional skills in neurology, gynaecology, musculoskeletal medicine and respiratory medicine.

Dr Dickson works in the epilepsy clinic in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. He holds the DRCOG (Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) and the DFSRH (Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care).

He has certified competences in coil fitting, Nexplanon fitting, endometrial sampling and joint injections.

School of Medicine and Population Health