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Hire Dr. Rosaleen O.

United Kingdom

USD 110 /hr

Freelance Research Consultant| Medical Sociologist| Health| Social Care| Qualitative | Evaluation| Complex Interventions

Profile Summary

I am a freelance health sociologist with 25 years’ experience of conducting research about health experiences and UK health and social care services. Methodologically, I have a strong reputation for conducting high quality and innovative qualitative research and analysis, particularly within complex evaluations and trials and on projects that explore emotionally demanding and sensitive topics. I specialise in providing a full range of qualitative research services (from design, data generation, coding, analysis and the writing of high quality outputs that offer a clear interpretation of key findings with a compelling and impactful narrative), process and realist evaluation and stakeholder engagement projects. I set up my own research consultancy in January 2021 following a career as an academic social and public health researcher. As an academic I led substantive programmes of qualitative work within trials and evaluations of complex interventions, from start to completion. As a freelancer, I have helped over thirty teams across academia, government, charities & non-profits, to gain insights into the ways services are working, or not, for different people, population groups and professionals, and how they might be improved. Most collaborative projects have focused on the experiences of marginalised groups and improving services for people with additional health and social care needs. Previous work has included evaluations of mental health services and interventions, cancer care, maternity care, primary care and drug and alcohol services and typically considers the wider social context in which care is being accessed and delivered and how inequalities might be reduced. Examples of evaluations include as follows: Process evaluation of the pilot implementation of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) national maternity safety improvement programme, funded by Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Department of Health & Social Care. Carried out in collaboration with RAND Europe. 2024-5 Living with and beyond cancer – SUrvivors’ Rehabilitation Evaluation after CANcer (SURECAN), funded by NIHR. Carried out in collaboration with the University of Westminster (Lead Professor Damien Ridge) & Queen Mary University London. 2024. What is the most sensitive way to ask for feedback from parents whose babies have died during pregnancy or childbirth? Funded by Care Quality Commission, conducted in collaboration with Picker Europe. 2024. In search of flourishing lives. Funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research, this study looked at how social care can better support people with learning disabilities, so they can do the things they value and lead fulfilling lives. Carried out in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University (Lead Professor Sara Ryan). 2023. Evaluation of Staying Close, funded by Department of Education, National Audit Office, carried out in collaboration with Foundations – What Works Centre for Children and Families. 2023 Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programme: an evaluation on the effects of interventions on parental relationships and children, funded by Department of Work and Pensions carried out in collaboration with Foundations – What Works Centre for Children and Families. 2023 Qualitative study exploring experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in men’s same-sex relationships, funded by NHS Lothian. Carried out in collaboration with University of Edinburgh and Glasgow Caledonian University (Lead Dr Steven Maxwell). 2022 Minimum Unit Pricing: Qualitative study of the experiences of homeless drinkers, street drinkers and providers, funded by the Chief Scientist Office. Carried out in collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University (leads Professors Carol Esmlie & Lawrie Elliot). 2021 What are LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of alcohol services in Scotland? A qualitative study of service users and providers, funded by Scottish Action on Alcohol Problems. Carried out in collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University (lead Professor Carol Esmlie). 2021 Experiences of nursing through the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 seed funding awarded by Robert Gordon University. Carried out in collaboration with Robert Gordon University (lead: Dr Aileen Grant). 2021 Governing parental opioid use: a relational ethnography funded by ESRC. The Relations Study aimed to explore the health and social care of parents who use drugs and their families from the perspective of both parents, families, professionals and services. Carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Stirling (Lead: Professor Anne Whittaker), Kings College London, York and Edinburgh. 2020 A realist process evaluation within the Randomised Controlled Trial of Healthy Relationship Initiatives for the Very Early years (THRIVE), funded by NIHR. The study evaluated whether antenatal and early postnatal interventions, Enhanced Triple B for Baby (ETPB) plus care as usual (CAU) or Mellow Bumps (MB) plus CAU (versus CAU alone): 1) improved the mental health and well-being of pregnant women with complex health and social care needs; 2) improved mother-infant bonding and interaction; 3) reduced child maltreatment; and 4) improved child language acquisition. Carried out in collaboration with an international research team, led by University of Glasgow (Professor Marion Henderson). June 2013- December 2019. The CARE Plus study – a whole-system intervention to improve quality of life of primary care patients with multimorbidity in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation. Exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial and cost-utility analysis. Funded by the Chief Scientist Office . Carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Glasgow (lead: Professor Stewart Mercer), Dundee, Cambridge, Stirling, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Scottish Government. June 2009 – May 2013 Follow-up care for men with prostate cancer and the role of primary care, funded by Cancer Research UK. Carried out in collaboration with Universities of Oxford (Co-lead: Dr Peter Rose), Oxford Brookes (Co-lead: Professor Eila Watson, Cardiff, Edinburgh. September 2007 – June 2009

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Health Psychology
• ☆ Health Policy
• ☆ Medical Sociology
• ☆ Evaluation Methodology
• ☆ Primary Care/Family Medicine
• ☆ Public Health
• ☆ Community Health Services
• ☆ Cancer Research
• ☆ Research Methodology
• ☆ Survey Design & Methodology
• ☆ User Research
• ☆ Qualitative User Research

Services

• Writing

Writing Clinical Trial Documentation, Medical Writing, Non-Medical Regulatory Writing, Technical Writing, Business & Legal Writing, Copywriting, Creative Writing, Newswriting, Audio Transcription

Work Experience

Freelance Research Consultant (owner)

Rosaleen O'Brien Research

January 2021 - Present

Business owner

Rosaleen O'Brien Research

January 2021 - Present

Research Fellow

University of Stirling

January 2020 - January 2021

Associate Research Fellow

University of Stirling

January 2020 - January 2021

Associate Research Fellow

Glasgow Caledonian University

July 2013 - December 2019

Research Fellow

Glasgow Caledonian University

July 2013 - December 2019

Research Fellow

University of Glasgow

June 2013 - June 2013

Associate Research Fellow

University of Glasgow

June 2009 - June 2013

Qualitative Researcher

University of Oxford

September 2007 - June 2009

Qualitative Researcher

University of Oxford

September 2007 - May 2009

Education

PhD

University of Glasgow

January 2000 - July 2006

PhD (CSO MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit )

University of Glasgow

January 2000 - July 2006

MSc Social Research Methods and Social Policy (Methodology Institute )

London School of Economics and Political Science

September 1996 - September 1997

MSc

London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London - United Kingdom

September 1996 - September 1997

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Steven Maxwell, Rosaleen O’Brien, Rosie Stenhouse (2025). Disclosure Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay and Bisexual Men: A Narrative Inquiry . Journal of Homosexuality.

Aileen Grant, Rosaleen O'Brien, Flora Douglas, Catriona Kennedy, Debbie Baldie, Nicola Torrance (2025). No Backstage: The Relentless Emotional Management of Acute Nursing Through the COVID‐19 Pandemic . Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Marion Henderson, Anja Wittkowski, Katie Buston, Karen Crawford, Alice MacLachlan, Alex McConnachie, Emma McIntosh, Claudia-Martina Messow, Catherine Nixon, Rosaleen O’Brien, et al. (2025). Evaluation of parenting interventions for those with additional health and social care needs during pregnancy: THRIVE a multi-arm RCT with embedded economic and process components . Public Health Research.

Steven Maxwell, Kareena McAloney, Dimitra Strongylou, Rosaleen O’Brien, Rosie Stenhouse, Jamie Frankis (2025). Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men’s Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence in Four Celtic Nations: A Mixed-Method Study . Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Barbara Farquharson, Marie Johnston, Rosaleen O’Brien, Gareth Clegg (2025). “All sorts of colours of emotions”: Ambulance call-handlers’ perceptions of the barriers to CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest . Resuscitation Plus.

Sara Ryan, Rosaleen O'Brien (2024). Using a Capability Approach to Explore How People With Intellectual Disabilities Can Lead Flourishing Lives . Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

Carol Emslie, Elena Dimova, Rosaleen O'Brien, Martin Whiteford, Sarah Johnsen, Robert Rush, Iain D. Smith, Tim Stockwell, Anne Whittaker, Lawrie Elliott (2023). The impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on people with experience of homelessness: Qualitative study . International Journal of Drug Policy.

Elena D Dimova, Rosaleen O'Brien, Lawrie Elliott, Jamie Frankis, Carol Emslie (2022). Exploring the experiences of alcohol service use among LGBTQ+ people in Scotland: A qualitative study . International Journal of Drug Policy.

Katie Buston, Rosaleen O’Brien, Karen Maxwell (2022). The Case for Targeted Parenting Interventions with Reference to Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting: Qualitative Evidence from Three Studies of Marginalised Mothers’ and Fathers’ Participation in Parenting Programmes . Child Care in Practice.

Marianne McCallum, Cindy M Gray, Peter Hanlon, Rosaleen O’Brien, Stewart W Mercer (2021). Exploring the utility of self-determination theory in complex interventions in multimorbidity: A qualitative analysis of patient experiences of the CARE Plus intervention . Chronic Illness.

Rosaleen O’Brien, Katie Buston, Daniel Wight, Elizabeth McGee, Jane White, Marion Henderson (2019). A realist process evaluation of Enhanced Triple P for Baby and Mellow Bumps, within a Trial of Healthy Relationship Initiatives for the Very Early years (THRIVE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial . Trials.

THRIVE Trial Research Team, Marion Henderson, Anja Wittkowski, Emma McIntosh, Alex McConnachie, Katie Buston, Philip Wilson, Rachel Calam, Helen Minnis, Lucy Thompson, et al. (2019). Trial of healthy relationship initiatives for the very early years (THRIVE), evaluating Enhanced Triple P for Baby and Mellow Bumps for those with additional social and care needs during pregnancy and their infants who are at higher risk of maltreatment: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial . Trials.

Katie Buston, Rosaleen O’Brien, Daniel Wight, Marion Henderson (2019). The reflective component of the Mellow Bumps parenting intervention: Implementation, engagement and mechanisms of change . PLOS ONE.

Stewart W. Mercer, Bridie Fitzpatrick, Bruce Guthrie, Elisabeth Fenwick, Eleanor Grieve, Kenny Lawson, Nicki Boyer, Alex McConnachie, Suzanne M. Lloyd, Rosaleen O’Brien, et al. (2016). The CARE Plus study – a whole-system intervention to improve quality of life of primary care patients with multimorbidity in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation: exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial and cost-utility analysis . BMC Medicine.

Stewart William Mercer, Rosaleen O'Brien, Bridie Fitzpatrick, Maria Higgins, Bruce Guthrie, Graham Watt, Sally Wyke (2016). The development and optimisation of a primary care-based whole system complex intervention (CARE Plus) for patients with multimorbidity living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation . Chronic Illness.

E. K Watson, R. O'Brien, C. Campbell, D. Weller, R. D Neal, C. Wilkinson, P. W Rose, on behalf of the Prostate Cancer Follow-Up Study Group (2011). Views of health professionals on the role of primary care in the follow-up of men with prostate cancer . Family Practice.

Rosaleen O’Brien, Peter Rose, Christine Campbell, David Weller, Richard D. Neal, Clare Wilkinson, Heather Mcintosh, Eila Watson (2011). “I wish I’d told them”: A qualitative study examining the unmet psychosexual needs of prostate cancer patients during follow-up after treatment . Patient Education and Counseling.

Rosaleen O'Brien, Sally Wyke, Bruce Guthrie, Graham Watt, Stewart Mercer (2011). An ‘endless struggle’: a qualitative study of general practitioners’ and practice nurses’ experiences of managing multimorbidity in socio-economically deprived areas of Scotland . Chronic Illness.

Rosaleen O’Brien, Peter W. Rose, Christine Campbell, David Weller, Richard D. Neal, Clare Wilkinson, Eila K. Watson, Prostate Cancer Follow‐up Group (2010). Experiences of follow‐up after treatment in patients with prostate cancer: a qualitative study . BJU International.

R. O’Brien, K. Hunt, G. Hart (2009). ‘The average Scottish man has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, lying there with a portion of chips’: prospects for change in Scottish men's constructions of masculinity and their health-related beliefs and behaviours . Critical Public Health.

Rosaleen O'Brien, Graham Hart, Kate Hunt (2007). "Standing Out from the Herd": Men Renegotiating Masculinity in Relation to Their Experience of Illness . International Journal of Men's Health.

Rosaleen O’Brien, Kate Hunt, Graham Hart (2005). ‘It's caveman stuff, but that is to a certain extent how guys still operate’: men's accounts of masculinity and help seeking . Social Science & Medicine.

Carol Emslie, Kate Hunt, Rosaleen O'Brien (2004). Masculinities in Older Men: A Qualitative Study in the West of Scotland . The Journal of Men’s Studies.

REPORT

Henderson, M., Wittkowski, A., Buston, K., Crawford, K., MacLachlan., McConnachie, A., McIntosh, E., Messow, CM., Nixon, C., O’Brien, R., Shinwell, S., Wight, D., Xin, Y., Calam, R., Dundas, R., Law, J., Thompson, L., Wilson, P (2013) Trial of Healthy Relationships Initiatives for the Very Early-years (THRIVE): A three-arm randomised controlled trial for mothers identified as vulnerable in pregnancy and their babies who are at risk of high maltreatment. NIHR. Technical Report.

Elliot, L, Emslie, C, Dimova, E, Whiteford, M, O’Brien, R, Strachan, H, Johnsen, S, Rush, R, Iain Smith, Stockwell, T, Whittaker, A. Minimum Unit Pricing: Qualitative study of the experiences of homeless drinkers, street drinkers and service providers. Chief Scientist Office, Edinburgh.

WORKING PAPER

Maxwell, S., O’Brien, R., and Stenhouse, R. October 2022. Experiences of men who have been subject to intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships. Research Report. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.

Dimova, E, O’Brien, R, Elliott, L, Frankis, J and Emslie, C. Exploring the experiences of alcohol service use among LGBTQ+ people in Scotland: A qualitative study of services users and service providers. Scottish Health Action for Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).

DISSERTATION THESIS

Rosaleen O'Brien (2006). Men’s health and illness: the relationship between masculinities and health .