Staff Profile
Alexandra Wray
Health Services Research Fellow
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I graduated from the University of Hull in 2007 with a BSc in adult nursing. Afterwards, I worked in various settings within the NHS, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), palliative care and oncology, transfusion and as a specialist nurse in organ donation. I completed my MSc in Health Education and Leadership at the University of Hull in 2019. During the pandemic, I returned to ICU and developed and managed a family support service. I manage the hospital bereavement support team and chair the Hull Child Bereavement Advisory Group. I have recently submitted my PhD at Hull York Medical School, which Yorkshire Cancer Research funded. My PhD uses constructivist grounded theory to explore support experiences for children and surviving parents following parental death.
I am a matron at Hull University Hospitals NHS Trust, focusing on education and staff development, and I manage the hospital bereavement support team. I manage a participatory action research project with a charity named PAUL for brain recovery to improve the mental wellbeing of families living with acquired brain injury. In addition, I work two days a week as a Health Services Research Fellow at York St John University. I aim to support and promote research activity and to collaborate with colleagues within the university, health services and the wider community. I am especially interested in using creative methods and participatory research to co-produce research that will improve patients' and their family's health and wellbeing.
- School – School of Science, Technology and Health
- Email – a.wray2@yorksj.ac.uk
- Research - View my work in RaY
Teaching
In 2019, I achieved a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
I teach and supervise postgraduate students undertaking an enhancing therapeutic communication module and provide communication training within the NHS.
I am a freelance facilitator for Child Bereavement UK and deliver their training on child bereavement.
Research
My research explores bereavement support experiences for children and surviving parents following parental death. I developed a patient and public involvement (PPI) group that has been involved at all stages of my research.
I am currently working on projects using participatory research. One project is working with families living with acquired brain injury and the other is working with bereaved children who are being supported in a forest setting.
I have presented work at national and international conferences and published in health-related journals.
My research interests include:
- Bereavement
- Supporting families and carers
- End-of-life care
- Research with children
- Research using creative and participatory methods
Publications and Conferences
Publications
Wray, A., Pickwell-Smith, B., Greenley, S., Pask, S., Bamidele, O., Wright, B., Murtagh, F. & Boland J, W. Parental death: a systematic review of support experiences and needs of children and parent survivors. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Published Online First: 16 November 2022. doi: 10.1136/spcare-2022-003793
Wray, A., Seymour, J., Greenley, S. & Boland, J, W. Parental terminal cancer and dependent children: a systematic review. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Published Online First: 28 January 2022. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003094
Wray, A. (2021) Alex's blog: a nurse's honest experience of navigating a PhD. British Journal of Child Health.
Conferences
Presented conferences:
Wray A, Whitfield C, Murtagh F & Boland JW. “How can children and families best support each other following the death of a parent and how can those within their existing networks provide a supportive response? A study protocol”. Poster presentation on 24th November 2022 at NHS Education for Scotland, Bereavement Education Annual Conference 2022 - Exploring Bereavement from a New Perspective [Online].
Wray A, Bamidele O, Pask S, Pickwell-Smith B, Greenley S, Murtagh FEM, Wright B, and Boland JW, “Parental death, support experiences and needs for children and surviving parents: a systematic review”. Poster presentation on 14th July 2022 at Hull York Medical School Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Hull.
Wray A, Wright B, Murtagh, FEM, Boland JW. “Supporting children and their surviving parent following the death of a parent. A study protocol”. Poster presentation on 28th June 2022 at Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre & University of Technology Sydney's Creating Connections Palliative Care Conference, Changing Policy and Practice, University of Hull.
Wray A, Bamidele O, Pask S, Pickwell-Smith B, Greenley S, Murtagh FEM, Wright B, and Boland JW. “How are children and their surviving parents supported following the death of a parent? A systematic review”. Presented on 8th July 2021 at the University of Hull, Hull York Medical School, Postgraduate Research Conference. [Online]
Accepted presentations yet to be presented:
Wray A, Whitfield C, Murtagh FEM & Boland JW. "Interviews with Children - The Seldom Heard Voices of Parentally Bereaved Children". Poster presentation planned for 15th to 17th June 2023 at the 18th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Wray A, Whitfield C, Murtagh FEM & Boland JW. "Care of Families through Loss: A Grounded Theory Interview Study of Parents' Experiences Supporting their Children Following Parental Death". Poster presentation planned for 15th to 17th June 2023 at the 18th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Wray A, Whitfield C, Murtagh FEM & Boland JW. ‘I didn't realise what our community meant until I needed to pull on it’ - bereaved families support experiences following the death of a parent. Oral presentation planned for 10th and 11th July 2023 at the Compassionate Communities UK conference; Compassionate Cities: Igniting Community, in Birmingham, UK.
Professional Activities
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
