Research Design Service South East

Staff Profile

Staff Profile

Dr Ferhana Hashem (Lead at Kent, Reader in Health Services Research and Research Adviser)

Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent
01227 824887

Ferhana took over as Kent Academic Site Lead for the NIHR Research Design Service South East in September 2019. She is also a Research Adviser, providing advice and practical support to people developing funding applications to the NIHR funding programmes. She is a Research Fellow at the University of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS). Ferhana has trained in sociological research methods and specialises in qualitative and mixed methods approaches. She has experience in health promotion research focusing upon vulnerable people (older people); social marketing in health promotion, physical activity in young girls and teenage pregnancy in looked after young people. Ferhana takes an active interest in increasing user-involvement in research and part of her role in the RDS SE is managing the Patient and Public Involvement grant award scheme.

She is currently working on an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project with Professor Michael Calnan (PI) looking at the issue of uncertainty in NICE (National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence) single technological appraisals. This involves working closely with the NICE technological appraisals teams and appraisal committees to investigate how decisions are made in funding new drug therapies.

Ferhana’s own research focuses upon the language and translation support needs of minority ethnic groups in Britain – in particular, in relation to accessing services including healthcare in the NHS, overcoming barriers to treatment and improving language services to minority ethnic patients. She also has a broader interest in research on the identity issues of minority ethnic groups/mixed race people in Britain. She has published on the health and language needs of minority ethnic groups, and more generally, wider sociological issues on racial and ethnic identity.

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