Dr Kerry Jones

Professional biography

 I am a Senior Lecturer in End of Life Care in WELS, HSC. From published research I have contributed evidence to All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care. Submitted evidence for ‘The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement Report’ published in March 2023. As a member of the International Stillbirth Alliance Advocacy Working Group I contribute to raising the profile of the need for bereavement support as supporting the agenda of the Every Newborn Action Plan endorsed by WHO and UNICEF to end global preventable stillbIrth rates by 2030. I also collaborate with academic researchers and organisations including hospices and bereavement support services to involve people in setting research agendas and priorities of care. I am also the Co- Lead of the OU Carer's Research Group developing research collaboration  and grant submissions associated with young carers who care for family members at the end of life. In collaboration with OU colleague I lead on the Open Societal Challenges Setting Research and Practice Priorities for Perinatally Bereaved Men  (SOPmenI). utilising Arts and Humanities based approaches in research with fathers to inform forum theatres with health and allied professionals to inform and transform perinatal bereavement care for fathers. 

Since being at the OU, I have contributed to Cruse Bereavement Care 'Grief in Focus,' professional development series and Open Talk Series 'Loss without Death' and, several Open Learn articles on loss:https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/mens-grief-and-belonging-through-football-following-perinatal-loss and was the Media Academic for the BBC2 production ‘ A Time to Live’ which was televised  http://www.open.edu/openlearn/tv-radio-events/tv/time-live. This documentary was nominated for the South Bank Awards in London and has generated much interest including an interview I conducted with BBC 3 Counties. 

Books:

Men's experience of loss: new understadings (Routledge 2024) (Editors Kerry Jones and Martin Robb)

Carer's, practitioners and research accounts of loss and grief (Taylor Francis 2024) (Editors Kerry Jones and Jo Horne).

Podcasts: 

Fathers’ experiences of the loss of a baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpSO_jNWcC0

Fathers’ accounts of setting up and being in a Sands Utd football team by and for bereaved Dad’s:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh3PHLWNAJA 

My research, rapid reviews and systematic reviews focus has been on the following:

• Bereaved men following perinatal lossSands Utd: Fathers experience of coping following perinatal loss.
• Young carers' experience of caring for family members at the end of life.
• Children and young people's death anxiety during the pandemic
• Care home staff experience of grief, loss and support suring Covid-19
• Acceptance and commitment therapy by spouses and partners of patients experiencing palliative care
• Frailty and grief in the older population
• The use of green spaces in recovery from trauma among the older population in the UK

I facilitated the OU online seminar series during the Covid pandemic 'Grief and bereavement in the workplace: supporting others during Covid-19' and 'Depression in the Workplace: supporting others to manage and thrive.'

I have obatined the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education as well as Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

External examining

I am an external exmainer for several HEI institutions for undergraduate and Masters programmes. In addition I am an internal and external examiner for PhD and Professional Doctorates.

On death, dying and bereavement

My interest in death and dying has been a long one.  I came to the OU having securing GW4 funds as a co-applicant with the universities of Bath, Bristol and Cardiff concerning dying with reduced agency for people who experience dementia/traumatic brain injury or frailty. The challenge of researching this topic and finding evidence of effective interventions of models of care at the end of life could be found in previous research I conducted on suicide in Accident and Emergency Departments and the challenge [stress, anxiety, attitudinal] of handling such cases.

Other research on end of life care was undertaken while as a NIHR Research Fellow and together with palliative care consultants secured funds to conduct research on the challenges they have faced in initiating a policy (end of life care) that has been much maligned by both the media and the public. I have been concerned by a lack of discussion, research and adequate policy around these issues as well as contentious others, particularly mental health which needs much attention.

Conducting other novel research has evolved through various projects in which I have been qualitative lead on mixed methods studies concerning dementia (funded by MIND) and later with five European partners (Norway, Ireland, Finland, Lithuania and UK) concerning dementia with EU funding.

I am trained therapist and hold a BACP approved Cert in Integrative Counselling and a Post Qualifying Cert in Counselling Children and Young People. I have worked with CRUSE bereavement Care, a Care organisation and counselling service in the South-west of England.

Research interests

My main area of research concerns end of life care across the life course including stillbirth neonatal death, parental bereavement, paediatric palliative care, brain injury, dementia, suicide and end-of-life are. I am interested in narratives of loss and experiences of grief and bereavement, in particular the way in which a person's experience of grief and bereavement is mediated by the networks to which the bereaved relate and to the discourses of a culture.

More recently, research has involved ‘Men’s experience of perinatal death’ and ‘Nursing the Dying Body.’

Selected papers

Jones, K., & Hughes, B. (2022)  Children’s experiences of death anxiety and responses to the Covid-19. Illness, Crisis & Loss. https://doi.org/10.1177/10541373221100899

Hughes, B., & Jones. K. (2022)Young people’s experiences of death anxiety and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. OMEGA. Journal of Death and Dying. June. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0030222822110905​

 Kerry Jones, Joseph De Lappe, Jitka Vseteckova. What support is offered and given to bereaved adult carers aged 25-44 after the death of a family member that was cared for, and how does it match their needs? A systematic review. PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022314777 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022314777

Kerry Jones, Joseph De Lappe, Jitka Vseteckova. What support is offered and given to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) carers after the death of a family member that was cared for, and how does it match their needs? A systematic review. PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022314785 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022314785

 Kerry Jones, Jitka Vseteckova, Joseph De Lappe, Jo Horne, Louise Birkett-Swan, Nichola Kentzer, Agnes Leu, Rachael Kumar, Jane Proctor, Holly Hoskisson, Elena Guggiari. Young and young adult carers for family members with dementia in the UK: a systematic review matching their needs to support offered and given. PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021281346 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021281346

Jones, K., Mallon, S., & Schnitzler, K. (2021) A scoping review of the psychological and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people. Illness, Crisis & Loss. November doi:10.1177/10541373211047191

Jones, K., Methley, A., Garcia, B., Boyle, G., & Vsetekova, J. (2021) A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care. Illness, Crisis & Loss. DOI: 10.1177/10541373211000175/ ID: ILL-20-0049.R1

Rebecca Garcia, Aoife Mahon, Geraldine Boyle, Kerry Jones, Jitka Vseteckova   (Accepted) Frailty and spousal/partner bereavement in older people: a scoping review. Journal of   Health and Social Care Improvement, 4, 1, 14-23

 Kerry Jones & Samantha Murphy (2021) Researching perinatal death: managing the myriad of emotions in the field, International Journal of Social ResearchMethodology, 24:5, 603, 615, DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2020.1857973Jones,

Jones, K. (2021) Covid-19 and Front-Line Nursing and Health Care Workers. EC Nursing & Health Care. 3, 2: Feb.

Jones K & Methley A & Vseteckova J (2020) Protocol: A systematic review on use of green spaces in supporting recovery from trauma in older people living in community in the UK.CRD42020183058  https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020183058 

Jones K, Methley A, Boyle G, Garcia R, Vseteckova J (2020) A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) compared with other psychological therapies in managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care in the UK. CRD42020191393

Jones, K., & Draper, J. (2020) Nurses and student nurses experience of the imminently dying: An international scoping review. International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 6, 6. https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2020.26.6.310

Vseteckova J, Mahon A, Boyle G, Jones K, Garcia R (2020) Frailty and spousal/partner bereavement in older people: A systematic scoping review protocol. (2020) BJSTR-CAR- RW16620 https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.004075.php http://dx.doi.org/10.26717/BJSTR.2020.24.004075

Vseteckova J, Jones K, Methley A, Boyle G, Garcia R (2020) A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) compared with other psychological therapies in managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care worldwide. CRD42020191394]https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=191394

Vseteckova J, Mahon A, Boyle G, Jones K and Garcia R (2020) Frailty and Spousal/Partner Bereavement in Older People: A Systematic Scoping Review Protocol. Biomedical Journal of Scientific and Technical Research  DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2020.24.00407

Jones, Kerry; Robb, Martin; Murphy, Sam and Davies, Alison (2019). New understandings of fathers’ experiences of grief and loss following stillbirth and neonatal death: a scoping review. Midwifery (Early Access).

Jitka Vseteckova, Aoife Mahon, Geraldine Boyle, Aravinda Guntupalli, Kerry Jones, Rebecca Garcia. Frailty and spousal/partner bereavement in older people: a systematic review. PROSPERO 2019 CRD42019149453 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42019149453

Jones, K. (2017) Renegotiating father’s identity following stillbirth: what and who am I? BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2017 (Suppl 1):p5 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1457-7

Jones, K., Birchley, G., Huxtable, R., Clare, L., Walter, J. and Dixon, J., 2016. End of life care: A scoping review of experiences of Advance Care Planning for people with dementia. Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301216676121

Jones, K., Birchley, G., Huxtable, R., Clare, R., Walter, T., & Dixon, J. (2017) Dementia and Advance Care Planning: Whose Decision? European Journal of Palliative Care 1090.http://www.eapc-2017.org/files/EAPC17/dl/EJPC-Abstract-Book-2017.pdf

Birchley, G., Jones, K., Huxtable, R., Dixon, J., Kitzinger, J. and Clare, L., 2016. Dying Well with Reduced Agency: A Scoping Review and Thematic Synthesis of the decision-making process in dementia, traumatic brain injury and frailty. BMC Medical Ethics, 17, 46: 1-15.

Funding ​and submitted bids  

2020 - 22 Covid related research (as PI) £ 55,000. The Open Univeristy Covid research funds.   

2018-2020 Systematic, scoping and rapid reviews (as PI) £ 11,000 The Open University Research Development

2021 Knowledge Exchange Transfer Children and Young People at risk, project 9  sustainable model with the music industry. £ 26,140. As Principal Investigator Catherine Pestano

2021 Economic and social Research Council Future Leaders Fellowship £1,285,405.43 ‘Pushing boundaries in civil leadership on racial equity: getting the leadership of hard to reach BAME communities (in, Dublin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, New York and San Francisco. As CI with OU colleagues Fidele Mutwarasibo (PI), and Dr Mustafa Ali, Prof Umut Ere, Prof Siv Vangen, Dr Owain Smolovic-Jones, Dr Alessandro Sancino and Dr Carol Jackline (Unsuccessful but with favourable reviews)2020  ESRC £66,002.51. ‘How can social support be provided to promote the mental wellbeing of adults bereaved during covid-19? A rapid review of qualitative evidence’. As CI with Jo Jordan; Rebecca Garcia and Erica Borgstrom– Unsuccessful with favourable reviews. 

2020   Dunhill PhD studentship. £200,000 (with matched funding from WELS) four inter-related WELS studentships regarding innovating and improving  health and social of frail adults. Funding application as co-investigator with Verina Waights (PI), and CI’s Manik Deepak-Gopinath, Jitka Vseteckova, Geraldine Boyle and Erica Borgstrom – unsuccessful but with favourable    reviews

2019 The Alzheimer’s Society Project Grant £238,890. ‘How care homes deliver choice in end-of-life decision-making for people with dementia in care homes’, Project Grant, £238,890. Funding application as co-investigator with Dr Jeremy Dixon (PI), Dr Christine Valentine (CI) University of Bath,Professor Richard Huxtable (PI), Dr Giles Birchley (CI) – unsuccessful but with favourable reviews.

2016 Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award, £1000,000. ‘Decisions about End of Life for Older People in Care Homes: People, Practices, Policies and Principles (DEvELOP).’ Funding application as co-investigator with Professor Richard Huxtable (PI), Dr Giles Birchley (CI), University of Bristol and Dr Jeremy Dixon (CI), and Dr Christine Valentine (CI) University of Bath - unsuccessful funding application with reviewer’s comments noted for a revised funding application to the Alzheimer’s Society   

Teaching interests

As a module team chair and qualifications lead, I am keen to support the student learning experience and to drive forward ways to engage students. The student buddy project is currently an initiative being driven forward K212  as a mentoring scheme .

As well as Module Team Chair, I am also the Area Lead for the Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care (Care and Advocacy), third party monitor and internal examiner for the Health and Health Sciences programme.

I am also Assessment Lead.

OU Academic Validation Partnership for Univeristy Centre Peterborough, University Centre Somerset. 

External Examiner. Newman University; University of Plymouth, Univeristy South Wales, Leeds Trinity University.

External examiner: Professional Doctorate for Counselling Psychology, University of the West of England. Candidate acheived doctorate; Canterbury Christchurch University, Candidate acheived doctorate.

Internal Examiner: PhD and HWS WELS OU

PhD supervision: I currently supervise an AHRC studenship on Empowered Carers with Age UK, Salford and an Open University WELS funded tudenship on fathers experience of perinatal loss. I currently supervise PhD and Professional Doctorate HSC students.(perinatal loss, fathers and loss, death dying, and bereavement, dementia, supervision and counselling, arts and humanities methodological and co-production approaches)

As a Senior Lecturer on End of Life Care, I am the Module Chair for K220 Death and Dying and was the lead for the Grief and Bereavement writing and production for the new K220. I am on the team for writing and production for the Masters in Nursing , K102 Health and Social Care and K210 Nursing, and involved in the presentation of K235 Dementia Care.

Previously, I taught on the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS) and Medical Sciences programme (i.e. through specialist workshops, Problem Based Learning, Special Skills Study Units, lectures, examination and assessment development, and academic reviews) at the University of Exeter Medical School. It is here where students have been encouraged to consider experiences of health and illness beyond the biomedical lens to a focus on the social and cultural determinants of health and illness over the life course.

Prior to this I was a Lecturer in Ageing at the University of the West of England and was a visiting Lecturer at the University of Bristol on the Social Work programme.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy  and a member of the International Stillbirth Action Working Group.

Impact and engagement

ESRC Peer review College

ESRC UKRI Dementia Plus Grant Panel Member

Invited lectures

Jones, K. & Draper, J. (2021) 7^th International Conference on Nursing Education and Practice (virtual) Nursing the imminently dying: the need for education and mentoring. March 22.

Jones, K., Birchely, G., Huxtable, R., Calre, L., Walter, T., & Dixon, J. (2020) Dementia and advance care planning at the end of life. ARC webinar. December 3.

Jones, K. (2021) Ageing Well Public Talk Series ‘Bereaved Carers. The Open University. Invited Speaker.

Jones, K, Birchley, G., Huxtable, R., Clare, L., Walter, T., & Dixon, J. (2020) ‘End of Life Care and Advance Care Planning for people with dementia: challenges and opportunities.’ International Webinar on Aging and Rejuvenation (ARC), USA. December 3-4. Invited Speaker

Jones, K. (2020) ‘Nurses experience of working with the dying and education in end of life care’ Nursing Education and Nursing and Health Care Conference. October 6-7. Houston, Texas. (postponed from March, 2020 to October 2021). Invited Speaker

Jones, K. (2019) ‘Bereavement care: Parents and professionals’ International Association of Nurses in Palliative Care 9th National Conference Effective Palliative Care: Meeting Diverse Needs. June 7. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Invited speaker

Jones, K & Mallon, S. (2018) Workshop presentation. ‘Handling Suicide and self-harm as the front-line health professional. UNISON, The Open University, Belfast. Invited speaker

Jones, K. (2018) ‘Decision making and end of life care for people with dementia.’ Centre for Death and Society (CDAS), University of Bath, 5 May. Invited speaker.

Jones, K. (2017) ‘New advances in end of life care planning for people with dementia.’ Alzheimer’s Scotland, and The Open University, Dementia and Advance Care Planning Conference. Invited speaker.

Jones, K. (2019) Bereavement care: Parents and professionals. International Association of Nurses in Palliative Care 9th National Conference Effective Palliative Care: Meeting Diverse Needs. June 7. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Inivited speaker

OU DDG Conference. 2018 The seminar series culminated in facilitating a conference in which national and international speakers addressed issues on the Intelligence End of Life Care data; end of life care and homelessness; and compassionate communities. This has led t a joint collaboration with the University of Bath to host a conference on the ‘Experience of Grief and Bereavement among Refugees’, Pall Mall, London, March 2019.

OU DDG Seminar series. Since 2017 the Death and Dying Group seminar series was held at the Open University. Both national and international speakers addressed issues associated with death and dying and which comprised, perinatal death; assisted suicide; learning disabilities.

BBC 2 A Time to Live. May 2017. Documentary which was nominated for an award at the South Bank in London. Generated over 2 million views and visits to Open Learn where the documentary is available.

BBC 3 Counties Radio interview question and answer about A Time to Live.

OU SCOTLAND June 2017. Dementia and Advance Care Planning Conference. With the University of Glasgow, the Alzheimer’s Society and the OU in Dumfries, facilitated a one day conference for over 100 delegates from the public, private and voluntary sector to address new models of advance care planning for people with dementia in Scotland.

University of Bath June 2016. Surviving your data workshop. This was held for Phd candidates who were conducting fieldwork with vulnerable individuals about sensitive subjects.

GW4 Dying with Reduced Agency. 2015 – 2016. A strong community of twenty academics has evolved around a common concern with dying with reduced agency. Together through day long network meetings, website, blogs and tweets (1000 unique visitors) we have worked collaboratively on publications, grant proposals and co-produced a conference and public engagement event.

Public and policy engagement. We set up a highly successful public engagement (visual artists, digital storytelling) and held a one day conference which attracted 110 participants. Approximately, 200 people from organisations were involved in engagement, consultation and sharing consultations and who were from organisations concerned with support for people with reduced agency.

Outcomes and developments. Through GW4 we have developed a strong community and created intensive dialogue about our work. We have submitted bids [Wellcome Trust, and Leverhulme). Two papers have been published following these activities and a further DeVELOP ‘Decision making and dementia at the end of life in care homes’ bid is due to be submitted to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Selected conferences 

1. Jones, K., Robb, M., & Murphy, S. (2022) Football, men and reproductive loss. 12^th Annual Conference, Centre for Death and Society, Institutions and Death. 9-10^th June.

1. Jones, K., Schnitzler, K., & Borgstrom, E. (2021) Long Term Care Staff Experience of Death Anxiety During Viral Outbreaks. 15^th International Conference on Death, Dying & Disposal. 1-4^th September.

1. Jones, K., Robb, M., & Murphy, S. (2021) From mourning and isolation: Men finding meaning following perinatal death. The 11^th Annual Conference, Centre for Death and Society. Death, Dying, Technology and Human Mortality. June 7-15^th.

1. Jones, K. & Draper, J. (2021) 7^th International Conference on Nursing Education and Practice (virtual) Nursing the imminently dying: the need for education and mentoring. March 22.

1. Jones, K. (2018) Men and Loss. Father’s feel too. International Stillbirth Alliance. Cork, Ireland. 24 – 26 September.

1. Jones, K. (2018) Compassionate Clinical Practice: Supporting Men Following Perinatal Death International Children’s Palliative Care Network. Durban, South Africa. May 30 – June 2. Conference proceedings.

1. Jones, Kerry; Birchley, Giles; Huxtable, Richard; Clare, Linda; Walter, Tony and Dixon, Jeremy (2017). Dementia and Advance Care Planning: Whose Decision? In: EAPC 2017: 15th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care, 17-20 May 2017, Madrid, Spain.

1. Jones, K. (2017) Making the unspeakable visual: Memorialising the child that few  Biennial Meeting, 18 - 21 March 2017, New Orleans, Louisianna. Conference proceedings.

External collaborations

SOPB men (I) international network and research group: Men's experience of perinatal loss (Adelaide and Melbourne University)

International Stillborth Alliance Working Group

Pregnancy Loss International Death Alliance

International Online Death and Dying Network (The OU, UK, and Sweden)

American Sociological Association

DeVELOP. Decision making in end-of-life care for people with dementia in nursing care facilities. The Open University, the University of Bath, the University of Bristol. Project team:

OU and SANDS. Parental Bereavement Following Perinatal Death. Models of Support and Care

International links

2019 -            Member of the International stillbirth Alliance Working Group on Bereavement

                      Care and Maternal, Newborn & Child Mental Health

2017 - 18       Member of the European Association of Palliative Care

2007 - 09      Member of the American Sociological Associattion