Dr Madeleine Harrison

PhD, MPH, BSc (Hons)

School of Medicine and Population Health

Research Fellow

Madeleine Harrison
Profile picture of Madeleine Harrison
madeleine.harrison@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9696

Full contact details

Dr Madeleine Harrison
School of Medicine and Population Health
Office 223, Broomcross Building
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
Profile

Since joining the University of Sheffield in 2014, I have contributed to multidisciplinary research in stroke rehabilitation and palliative care, with a particular focus on communication difficulties. My work explores the experiences of patients, family members and healthcare professionals and uses these insights to inform improvements in care delivery and outcomes. I employ qualitative, mixed-methods, and co-production approaches, as well as process evaluation to advance the development, implementation, and impact of complex interventions.

I was awarded a Stroke Association Postgraduate Fellowship in 2014 and completed my PhD in 2019. My doctoral research evaluated the intervention fidelity of self-managed computerised speech and language therapy for people with post-stroke aphasia, contributing to the development and refinement of digital therapy approaches.

I re-joined the Division of Population Health as a Research Fellow in 2024 to contribute to the COM-STAR project, which designs and evaluates a communication training package for NHS stroke care staff. The project combines a national survey and qualitative interviews to understand current practice, co-design of training with stroke survivors and family members, and evaluation of implementation in real-world clinical settings to support sustainable improvements in stroke care communication.
 

Research interests

My research interests are focused on working with patients, carers and healthcare providers in order to understand their experiences of engaging with healthcare services and health technology with the ultimate goal of improving service delivery. Methodologically, my experience is in qualitative and mixed methods research.

Publications

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Journal articles

All publications

Journal articles

Conference proceedings

Research group

Rehabilitation and Aging

Grants
  • Collaborator: Aphasia Partnership Training (APT). 2025-2031 [NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Health Research £3,800,000] (CI Rebecca Palmer, University of Sheffield)
  • Stroke Association Postgraduate Fellowship: Evaluating the intervention fidelity of self-managed computer therapy for aphasia post-stroke. (2014-2019)
     
Teaching interests

I am interested in supervising PhD students in stroke rehabilitation, particularly those using qualitative, mixed-methods, or co-production approaches to research.

Projects

Current

  • A longitudinal qualitative study aiming to explore the experiences of patients with incurable head and neck cancer and using co-design methods to identify priorities and develop ways to improve care experiences (ii-HANC)

Previous

  • A mixed methods study exploring the role of Mesothelioma UK clinical nurse specialists in meeting the palliative care needs of patients and families
  • A process evaluation of intervention fidelity to self-managed computer aphasia therapy
  • A randomised controlled trial exploring whether self-managed computer therapy can help people with post-stroke aphasia find more words (Big CACTUS)
  • A qualitative study exploring patient, carer and health care professional’s experience of stroke care across South Yorkshire
  • A qualitative study exploring patient and public involvement in stroke research