Dr Julie Watson (PhD, MRes, MSc, BSc (Hons), RGN)
Lecturer Nursing Studies

Contact details
- Tel: +44 (0) 131 650 3042
- Email: julie.watson@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
School of Health in Social Science
Room 2M7 Doorway 6 Teviot - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH3 9BP
Availability
I work one day a week at the University of Edinburgh, usually a Wednesday
Background
I have a multidisciplinary background having worked as a staff nurse at St Columba’s Hospice in Edinburgh for 11 years before moving into research.
I am motivated by the need to dispel the fear prevalent in our society of ageing, dementia and care homes and to give value to the place of care in all of our lives as integral to being human and living in a supportive community. I have worked for several years on various projects developing palliative and end of life care in care homes. My PhD, funded by an ESRC Studentship, examined relationship-centred care between care home staff and people with advanced dementia living in care homes and the possibilities of holding each other in relationship. I am keen to engage the next generation of student nurses in thinking about older people, dementia care and care home nursing and have worked on developing the Nursing Studies curriculum in relation to care home nursing. I recently completed research developing and testing an online programme to support people to live well after a diagnosis of dementia (funded by the Alzheimer's Society) and also evaluating the feasibility of rolling out online supportive conversations and reflection about death and dying with care home staff across Lothian (Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation).
I am interested in the role of faith communities in supporting wholistic healthcare, particularly given the pressures in the NHS and other statutory services post-pandemic. Out-with the university I have funding to scope the feasibility of establishing Parish Nursing with churches in Edinburgh serving those experiencing multiple deprivation and homelessness (April 2022- November 2022).
Qualifications
PhD, MRes (Sociology), MSc (Health Promotion), BSc(Hons)(Physiology), RGN, FHEA
Undergraduate teaching
Teaching BN Nursing Studies 'What is Nursing'
Theses supervision
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Areas of interest for supervision
Areas of interest for supervision:
- Care homes, advanced dementia, palliative care
Currently full
Research summary
I am interested in research with older people and with people living and working in care homes, particularly on how best to support people with dementia to live and die well in care homes, how to support holistic relationship-centred care with people with advanced dementia, and how to support the care home workforce, particularly around palliative and end of life care. I am also interested in researching the experience of living with dementia from the perspective of people with dementia. I am motivated by the need to dispel the fear prevalent in our society of ageing, dementia and care homes and to give value to the place of care in all of our lives as integral to being human and living in a supportive community.
Current research interests
Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation (Feb 2021- Jan 2022) Roll out of Online Supportive Conversations and Reflections on death and dying in care homes in Lothian. Alzheimer's Society - Beyond the Margins: Developing an Online Personal Development Programme with, by and for people living with dementia who are not accessing existing services and support Feb 2019-Jan 2022Past research interests
CSO COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund - Evaluating Online Supportive Conversations and Reflections (OSCaRs) with care home staff (partnership with Edinburgh Napier University) - June 2020-November 2020 ESRC Impact Accelerator Grant - As above match funded - June 2020-November 2020 ARUK ePSOM – What outcomes matter to people with memory problems in developing new treatments - September 2017-March 2018 ESRC Impact Accelerator - Role of the Arts in Research on Dementia (February 2017-September 2017) Inciting Dialogue and Disruption in Dementia Project - Funded by ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative (March 2015 to July 2017) Bridges Initiative and Midlothian Gold Standards Framework Project - Developing palliative care in care homesKnowledge exchange
https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Beyond+Words/1_3xuqvt2z
Film Beyond Words
Film - The Good News Behind the Bad headlines
https://www.ed.ac.uk/health/subject-areas/nursing-studies/news-events/care-home-nursing-film
Affiliated research centres
-
Online Supportive Conversations and Reflection Sessions (OSCaRS): A feasibility study with care home staff during the pandemic
(48 pages)
In:
International Journal of Practice-based Learning in Health and Social Care, vol. 10, pp. 11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18552/ijpblhsc.v10i1.743
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Practicalities of promoting practice-based learning in end of life care for care home staff: lessons from ‘online’ group supportive reflection sessions
In:
International Journal of Older People Nursing
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Submitted) -
Relational care and co-operative endeavour: Reshaping dementia care through participatory secondary data analysis
(22 pages)
In:
Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, vol. 19, pp. 1151-1172
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301218795353
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Care home nursing: Co-creating curricular content with student nurses
(6 pages)
In:
Nurse Education Today, vol. 84
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.104233
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
What matters to people with memory problems, healthy volunteers and health and social care professionals in the context of developing treatment to prevent Alzheimer’s dementia?: A qualitative study
In:
Health Expectations, vol. 22, pp. 504-517
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12876
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Developing the Senses Framework to support relationship-centred care for people with advanced dementia until the end of life in care homes
In:
Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, vol. 18, pp. 545-566
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301216682880
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Participant outcomes and preferences in Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials: The electronic Person Specific Outcome Measure (ePSOM) development programme
In:
Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions, vol. 4, pp. 694-702
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TRCI.2018.10.013
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
A seat around the table: Participatory data analysis with people living with dementia
In:
Qualitative Health Research, vol. 28, pp. 1421-1433
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732318774768
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Nursing home residents prefer fewer interventions and the nursing home, instead of hospital, for place of death
In:
Evidence Based Nursing
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2016-102522
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (E-pub ahead of print) -
From the care home to the corridors of power
blog › Other contribution (Published) -
Living in the shadows of dementia care
Blog › Other contribution (Published) -
Face to Face: Relating to people with dementia until the end of life in care homes
(4 pages)
Briefing Paper › Other contribution (Published)