Dr Sarah Brown
Research Associate

Profile

Biography

Sarah has a long-standing interest in supporting and enabling people living with long term conditions. In addition to research into care and the lived experiences of older people, she has been involved with therapies to promote independent living for older people with dementia. Sarah joined the School for Business and Society in 2025 as a Research Associate exploring the different ways local authorities and voluntary organisations tailor and deliver interventions based on Care Confidence (an online tool) in different settings. Previously she worked on a national randomised controlled trial led by the University of East Anglia, evaluating a complex intervention designed to prevent postpartum smoking relapse. Additionally, Sarah worked on a realist economic evaluation at Northumbria University, exploring the scope and value of the Parkinson’s nurse. In 2019, Sarah completed her PhD, a realist evaluation of care and support planning for people with long term conditions. 

Education

Postgraduate:

PhD Public Health and Wellbeing, Northumbria University

2014-2019

MSc Social Research Methods, Teesside University

2011-2012

Undergraduate:

BSc (Hons) Psychology, Teesside University

2008-2011

Research

Overview

• Social care for older people
• Self-funding social care
• Realist methodology
• Experiences of living with long term conditions

Publications

Full publications list

Journal Articles

Brown, S., Dalkin, S.M., Bate, A., et al. (2020). Exploring and understanding the scope and value of the Parkinson’s nurse in the UK (The USP Project): a realist economic evaluation protocol. BMJ Open.

Brown, S., Lhussier, M., Dalkin, S. M., & Eaton, S. (2018). Care Planning: What Works, for Whom, and in What Circumstances? A Rapid Realist Review. Qualitative Health Research, 28(14), 2250–2266.

PhD Thesis

Brown, S. et al. (2019) Care and support planning for people with long term conditions: a realist evaluation. Great Britain: Northumbria University.