After qualifying as an applied movement scientist (BSc 2000 and MSc 2002, University of Waterloo, Canada) working in a neurorehabilitation context (PhD, 2010 University of Birmingham, UK) Kristen became increasingly committed to one goal: understanding how evidence can be implemented effectively to improve care provision and to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for people with disability.

She has been a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Salford since 2010, with 40 peer reviewed scientific journal publications, a field weighted citation index of 1.4 (SciVal, i.e. my publications are cited 40% more than the global average for publications within the field) and a cumulative funding track record of £1.15m as Principal Investigator.

For the last 4 years (with disruption to all my partnerships due to Covid) she has led large scale (i.e. across Manchester city and wider region, and all care settings) stakeholder-led projects that apply person-centred approaches to implementing evidence. This seeks to mobilise research evidence and utilise scientific methods and theories to address pressing practice challenges in real world care settings.

Presentation at The SoTV/EWMA 2024 Conference, London

How Greater Manchester made wound care a system wide priority in their 5 year plan

Objectives

After attending this session, persons will be able to:

• To understand implementation process models and theoretical frameworks
• To understand barriers and facilitators to implementing integrated leg ulcer pathways, vascular assessment training and vascular assessment quality improvement initiatives in Greater Manchester

Abstract

Greater Manchester ICB has made wound care part of its’ 5 year strategy. This was developed using data provided by The Manchester Amputation Reduction Strategy (MARS).

We delivered a 42% reduction in amputation number over a six year period in our pilot area of 220 000. We advanced a ‘whole systems’ approach routed in reducing inequality and allowing all lower limb wounds the same multi-disciplinary care enjoyed by diabetic foot ulcer patients.

We created capacity, within existing resource, through co-designing change and integrated working across podiatry, nursing teams and vascular teams facilitated by the harmonisation of pathways and culture.

We built lasting relationships across traditionally siloed teams and upskilled wider team members to order duplex, CT and MR scans.  We are now scaling up this work across the region.