Professor Liz Lightbody
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Liz is a Professor of Stroke Care and Improvement. She is one of only two UK nursing professors of stroke care. Liz’s contribution to the field of stroke and health services research has been outstanding. She has a national, and international research profile in applied health research, service improvement and implementation. Her research focuses on psychological adjustment, acute stroke care, workforce and global health research in stroke.
Liz’s Professorial appointment in stroke care and improvement is a joint clinical academic appointment with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reflecting her passion for improving the quality of stroke care through education and research. Her professorial position has an emphasis on developing and evaluating technology enhanced solutions, to provide more efficient and cost-effective care.
She leads several programmes of work on awareness and management of psychological issues post-stroke, acute stroke care, end of life care and workforce development.
Liz has experience in managing, and leading, programmes of research. She has been a Chief Investigator (CI) on several studies. She is currently the CI on COnfirming the Mechanism of Motivational Interviewing Therapy after Stroke, which will recruit 1200 participants over 15 UK sites. and is co-CI on an NIHR programme development grant PREPARE: imPRoving End of life care Practice in stroke cARE.
Liz is also the UK’s Deputy Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group for Improving Stroke Care in India at UCLan, where she has a leading role in shaping the strategic development of the programme and shared responsibility for the management and delivery.
She leads on several workforce development projects aimed at improving the quality of stroke care through tailored education and training. Neurovascular Education and Training in Stroke Management and Reperfusion Therapies (NETSMART) for acute care aims to improve acute stroke treatment outcomes by increasing the number of advanced practice nurses (APN) working in expanded roles to support acute stroke services. She chairs the Stroke Workforce task and finish group on End of Life Care as part of NHS England’s Stroke Workforce Assurance Group. She also chairs the education sub-group which reports to Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Stroke Delivery Network and is past Chair of the National Stroke Nursing Forum.
She is involved in a range of other studies in stroke care including telemedicine, neurological monitoring, oral care and body image.
Liz has published in a range of journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, were she was a co-author on Cluster-Randomized, Crossover Trial of Head Positioning in Acute Stroke - HeadPost – the largest nursing RCT to-date, where she led the education and training.
- UK’s Deputy Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group for Improving Stroke Care in India
- PhD - University of Central Lancashire. Thesis title: Detecting Depression Following a Stroke
- MPhil - University of Liverpool. Thesis title: Preventing Functional Decline and Further Falls: The Role of Psychological Factors
- Bachelor Nursing (Hons) 2.1 - University of Liverpool
- Registered General Nurse, NMC
- PG Cert (Research Supervision)
- SD2 qualification
- ADOPTS shortlisted finalist for the North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards
- Psychological adjustment – identification and management
- Stroke assessment and management
- Swallowing
- End of life care
- Telemedicine
- Oral care
- Body Image
- Workstream lead End of Life Care – National Stroke Programme (2019 -date)
- Steering group member Stroke Priority Setting Partnership, Stroke Association (2019-date)
- Chair, National Stroke Nursing Forum (2016-2019)
- Scientific Committee UK Stroke Forum (2016-2019)
- Editorial/Advisory board, British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (2016-date)
- Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA) (2013-to date)
- National career framework for stroke nurses – project group (2019 -2020)
- Member, American Heart Association (2013-to date)
- Member, Society for Research in Rehabilitation (SRR) (1996-to date) -(past Member of Council)
- Member, OPSYRIS (Organisation for Psychological Research into Stroke) (2008-to date)
- Chair, Joint UK Stroke Nursing Staffing Guidelines (2015-2017)
- Member, Lancashire Neuroscience Forum
Confirming the Mechanism of Motivational Interviewing Therapy after Stroke (COMMITS) To evaluate effectiveness Motivational Interviewing Based Intervention (MIBI) compared with Attention Control (AC) and Usual Care (UC) for reducing depressive symptoms post-stroke. The study will recruit 1200 participants across 15 sites. Participants will be followed-up at 6 weeks and 3 months via postal questionnaires. The primary outcome is depressive symptoms at 3 months. PREPARE: imPRoving End of life care Practice in stroke cARE The NIHR programme development grant will help understanding of current issues in the delivery and experience of post-stroke end of life care. PROmoting Stroke Pathway development EnhanCed by Technology (PROSPECT) Aims to transform stroke services in Lancashire through identifying, developing and evaluating of technology enhanced solutions to provide more efficient and cost-effective care. This project will build on existing plans for stroke service improvements at LTHTR, closer links with UCLan for education and training, and the utilisation of technologies.
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- Stroke Research Team
- LIFE
- Confirming the Mechanism of Motivational Interviewing Therapy after Stroke (COMMITS)
- PREPARE: imPRoving End of life care Practice in stroke cARE
- PROmoting Stroke Pathway development EnhanCed by Technology (PROSPECT)
- IMPROVIng Stroke care in India - Advancing The Instruct Operations and Network (IMPROVIS-ATION) (extension of IMPROVISE) Improving Stroke Care in India (IMPROVISE). NIHR Global Health Research Group on Improving Stroke Care at University of Central Lancashire Standardised Neurological OBservation Schedule for Stroke (SNOBSS) CHlorhexidine Or toothpaSte, manual or powered brushing to prEvent pNeumonia complicating stroke (CHOSEN) Community Holistic Interventions for Multimorbidity in older people: Evaluation of the evidence (CHIME) ASTUTE: Acute Stroke Telemedicine: Utility, Training and Evaluation TeRaFS: Technology in Radiotherapy
- PREPARE: improving End of life care Practice in stroke care. NIHR Programme Development Grant (PDG). Awarded: £149,980. 2020.
- Improving Stroke care in India - Advancing The Instruct Operations and Network (IMPROVIS-ATION). NIHR Global Health Research Group on Improving Stroke Care at University of Central Lancashire. NIHR Global Health Research £493,257, 2020
- Chlorhexidine Or toothpaste, manual or powered brushing to prevent pneumonia complicating stroke (CHOSEN): a 2x2 factorial randomised controlled feasibility trial. NIHR RfPB £245,000, 2019
- Stroke Workforce Development Project: Improving quality in stroke and TIA care through advanced nursing practice. NHS England North West. Awarded £62,050 2019
- Confirming the Mechanism of Motivational Interviewing Therapy after Stroke (COMMITS). NIHR CLAHRC North West Coast. Improving Mental Health Theme £259,811, 2018
- Standardised Neurological Observation Schedule for Stroke (SNOBSS). NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (DRF) £284,329, 2018
- Community Holistic Interventions for Multimorbidity in older people: Evaluation of the evidence (CHIME). Liverpool CCG Research Capability Funding £32,873, 2018
- Investigating the Detection of CRYPTogenic stroke (ID-CRYPT). Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Research Capability Funding (RCF) £24,948, 2018
- Psychological consequences of stroke: a cohort study exploring anxiety disorders Lancashire Research Institute for global health and wellbeing (LIFE), UCLan. Awarded £14,881.02 2018
- Cochrane Programme Grant for Systematic Reviews on the Diagnosis and Interventions to Manage Stroke (IDEAS Study) Lancashire Research Institute for global health and wellbeing (LIFE), UCLan. Awarded £24,914 2018
- Improving Stroke Care in India (IMPROVISE). NIHR Global Health Research Group on Improving Stroke Care at University of Central Lancashire. NIHR Global Health Research £1,918,796, 2017
- UK Stroke Forum Conference, Annual
- European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC), Annual
- British Geriatrics Society 2021
- International Stroke Conference (ISC)
- International Health and Wellbeing Research with Real Impact Conference, Annual
- REF 2020 Workshop, 2020
- Council of Deans (COD) Research Strategy Conference, 2020
- Northern Ireland Stroke Forum
- Welsh Stroke Conference
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 893648
Email: Email:Professor Liz Lightbody
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