Dr Lesley Ward is a Senior Research Assistant in the Department of Social Work, Education, and Community Wellbeing, involved in the process evaluation of the NIHR-funded Promoting Local Access to Children’s Early language and communication Support (PLACES) project. A mixed methods researcher, and one of 12 inaugural Leadership Programme Fellows with the Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, her PhD in Health Sciences investigated the role of yoga for musculoskeletal conditions. During her postdoctoral research at Oxford University, she completed training in randomised controlled trials and longitudinal qualitative research, then moved to ֲýƵ as a process evaluation researcher on the NIHR-funded Gentle Years Yoga trial. A keen methodologist, Dr Ward has been instrumental in developing guidelines for the conduct and reporting of yoga research, including the CLARIFY checklist. A personal research highlight was being awarded the Scientific Article Prize by the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research for her publication on a pilot randomised controlled trial of yoga for pain and sleep management in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.
Musculoskeletal conditions; chronic illness; complementary and integrative medicine; rehabilitation; self-management; older adults
- Perinatal weight management: a qualitative stakeholder investigation of healthcare professionals and service users, Ward, L., Shotton, L., Collins, T., Soltani, H., Sanders, T. 4 Jun 2026, In: Nursing Open
- Acceptability and feasibility of online delivery of chair-based yoga for older adults with multimorbidity – Lessons from a process evaluation of the Gentle Years Yoga trial, Ward, L., Bissell, L., Howsam, J., Tew, G., Wiley, L., Rose, F., Maturana Palacios, C., Rapley, T. 17 Mar 2025, In: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
- Perceptions and experiences of chair-based yoga by older adults with multimorbidity - a qualitative process evaluation of the Gentle Years Yoga randomised controlled trial, Ward, L., Tew, G., Wiley, L., Rose, F., Maturana Palacios, C., Bissell, L., Howsam, J., Rapley, T. 5 Mar 2025, In: BMC Geriatrics
- Yoga for older adults with multimorbidity: teaching insights for optimising participant safety and inclusion from the process evaluation of the Gentle Years Yoga trial, Ward, L., Wiley, L., Rose, F., Howsam, J., Bissell, L., Tew, G., Rapley, T. 27 Jun 2025, In: BMJ Open
- Chair-based yoga programme for older adults with multimorbidity: RCT with embedded economic and process evaluations, Tew, G., Wiley, L., Ward, L., Hugill-Jones, J., Maturana, C., Fairhurst, C., Bell, K., Bissell, L., Booth, A., Howsam, J., Mount, V., Rapley, T., Ronaldson, S., Rose, F., Torgerson, D., Yates, D., Hewitt, C. 1 Sep 2024, In: Health Technology Assessment
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of offering a chair-based yoga programme in addition to usual care in older adults with multiple long-term conditions: a pragmatic, parallel group, open label, randomised controlled trial, Tew, G., Wiley, L., Ward, L., Hugill-Jones, J., Maturana, C., Fairhurst, C., Bell, K., Bissell, L., Booth, A., Howsam, J., Mount, V., Rapley, T., Ronaldson, S., Rose, F., Torgerson, D., Yates, D., Hewitt, C. 12 Aug 2024, In: NIHR Open Research
- A 2x2 randomised factorial SWAT of the use of a pen and small, financial incentive to improve recruitment rates in a randomised controlled trial of yoga for older adults with multimorbidity, Fairhurst, C., Roche, J., Bissell, L., Hewitt, C., Hugill-Jones, J., Howsam, J., Maturana, C., Corbacho Martin, B., Paul, S., Rose, F., Torgerson, D., Ward, L., Wiley, L., Tew, G. 4 Mar 2022, In: F1000Research
- Development and validation of a prediction model for self-reported mobility decline in community-dwelling older adults, Sanchez-Santos, M., Williamson, E., Nicolson, P., Bruce, J., Collins, G., Mallen, C., Griffiths, F., Garret, A., Morris, A., Slark, M., Lamb, S., Ward, L. 1 Dec 2022, In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
- Development of the CLARIFY (CheckList stAndardising the Reporting of Interventions For Yoga) guidelines: a Delphi study, Ward, L., Nault, D., Cramer, H., Moonaz, S. 1 Jan 2022, In: BMJ Open
- Longitudinal qualitative study of living with neurogenic claudication, Griffiths, F., Srikesavan, C., Ward, L., Boniface, G., Williamson, E., Lamb, S. 14 Sep 2022, In: BMJ Open
- PhD August 16 2014
- Psychology PGDip May 08 2010
- Science and othersubjects BSc May 06 1989
Musculoskeletal conditions; chronic illness; complementary and integrative medicine; rehabilitation; self-management; older adults
Latest News and Features
AI in policing: safeguards can't keep up, new research warns
Artificial intelligence is being adopted across policing and the wider criminal justice system…
Northumbria in top 35 universities worldwide for sustainability
ֲýƵ is officially one of the best universities in the world for sustainability,…
.png?modified=20260624091022)
ֲýƵ launches The North Edit Magazine
ֲýƵ has published the first edition of The North Edit, a new high-quality…
Northumbria researchers provide economic evidence base for shift away from animal testing
New research commissioned by Lush shows the UK's non-animal methods sector grew to more than…
More power, less noise: what wind energy can learn from wildlife
A ֲýƵ researcher has secured a prestigious national grant to redesign wind…
More events
Upcoming events
-
REVEAL Architecture
Architecture Studios
-
REVEAL Interior Design
City Campus East 2
-
REVEAL Fashion Exhibition
City Campus East 2
