Dr Rebecca Chandler

Rebecca is a Senior Lecturer, teaching on research methodology, and health and wellbeing, specialising in ageing research.

[email protected]

Background

Rebecca joined ARU in 2017, as a Research Assistant, supporting health and ageing research activity within the Faculty of Health, Education, Social Care & Medicine. Within this role, Rebecca’ supported with the delivery of collaborative research projects with internal and external partners.

It was also within this role that Rebecca further developed her interest in wellbeing and the ageing population, taking a special interest in dementia. This continues to be a focus of Rebecca’s research, and the foundations of Rebecca’s PhD which focused on pain and dementia.

Rebecca moved into teaching within the School of Allied Health, supporting teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate courses on research methods and within her specialist interest area. Prior to her current post, Rebecca was Course Leader for the BSc in Public Health, teaching epidemiology and data analysis.

Rebecca is now a Senior Lecturer, supporting delivery of the Pre-registration MSc in Occupational Therapy and Pre-registration MSc in Physiotherapy.

Research interests

• Positive ageing
• Pain among the ageing population
• Dementia
• Health and wellbeing
• Community care provision
• Continuing professional development/upskilling in health and social care

With a background in psychology and specialist interest in ageing, Rebecca’s research has focused on supporting wellbeing in later life, care provision in the community context, dementia, and chronic pain among the older population.

Prior to her academic post, as a researcher, Rebecca worked on diverse research projects, across allied health research areas, developing a strong interest in collaborative and interdisciplinary research.

Rebecca currently supervises a diverse array of allied health postgraduate research projects and is module leader for Quality Improvement for the Pre-registration MSc in Occupational Therapy and Pre-registration MSc in Physiotherapy.

Teaching

Rebecca’s current teaching focuses primarily on clinical MSc courses in the School of Allied health, including the Pre-registration courses in Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.

Prior to this, Rebecca was a Course Leader and Lecturer in Public Health. Her teaching interests include research methods, ageing, and health and wellbeing.

Qualifications

• PhD, Health & Social Care, University of Greenwich
• PG Cert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Anglia Ruskin University
• MSc in Research Methods in Psychology, University of Greenwich
• BSc Hons in Psychology & Counselling, University of Greenwich

Selected recent publications

Lefebvre, T., Tack, L., Blieck, V., Cool, L., Pottel, H., Eygen, K. V., Derijcke, S., Vergauwe, P., Schofield, P., Chandler, R., Lane, P., Boterberg, T., Debruyne, P., 2021. Acupuncture as a complementary therapy for cancer care: acceptability and preferences of patients and informal caregivers. Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies, 14(2), pp. 67-74.

Schofield, P., Dunham, M., Martin, D., Bellamy, G., Francis, S.-A., Sookhoo, D., Bonacaro, A., Hamid, E., Chandler, R., Abdulla, A., Cumberbatch, M., Knaggs, R., 2020. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on the management of pain in older people – a summary report. British Journal of Pain, 16(1), pp. 6-13. doi: 10.1177%2F2049463720976155

Lefebvre, T., Tack, L., Meersman, M., Vanneste, H., Cool, L., Van Eygen, K., Stellamans, K., Derijcke, S., Vergauwe, P., De Backer,, J., Chandler, R., Lane, P., Boterberg, T., Debruyne,, P., 2020. Developing and evaluating a participatory arts programme for cancer patients and their caregivers. Acta Clinica Belgica: International Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine. doi: 10.1080/17843286.2020.1773653

Cameron P., Chandler, R. Schofield, P., 2018. Attitudes and Barriers to Pain Management in the Ageing Population. In: Pickering, G., Zwakhalen, S. & Kaasalainen, S. (Eds.) 2018. Pain Management in Older Adults: A Nursing Perspective (Cham: Springer), pp. 109-119.

Chandler, R. C., Zwakhalen, S., Docking, R., Bruneau, B., Schofield, P. 2016. Attitudinal & Knowledge Barriers towards Effective Pain Assessment & Management in Dementia: A Narrative Synthesis. Current Alzheimer Research, 14, pp. 1-15.

Recent presentations and conferences

Chandler, R., & Gillin, N. (2020). Dementia in Care Homes: Using an Intergenerational Programme to Support Engagement, Community Inclusion & Positive Care Environments. AAIC 2020, Amsterdam, 26th-30th July 2020. (Online)

Bellamy G, Francis SA, Abdulla A, Bonacaro A, Chandler R, Cumberbatch M, Dunham M, Hamid E, Knaggs R, Schofield P, Sookhoo D. (2019) Ageing and society: what does the research literature articulate about informal carers’ experiences who provide support for older family members living with chronic pain? Pain in Europe XI: the 11th Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC. Valencia, Spain: 4-7 September 2019.

Chandler, R., & Bellamy. G. (2022). Conducting research in UK care homes: An experimental account of the barriers and facilitators. FHEMS 8th Annual Research Conference. Essex, 8th May 2022. (Online)