Dr Kerry Gaskin

Research Interests

Kerry has research interests focusing on women, children, young people and families and is currently working on research activities and outputs in the following areas:

• Leveraging technology for the assessment and monitoring of fragile infants with complex congenital heart disease in the community
• Dental preparation of children and young people with cardiac disease by children’s cardiac nurses in the UK
• Understanding parents’ experiences of being at home with their newborn baby during the COVID19 Pandemic
• Parent / legal guardian telephone calls to a Children’s Cardiac Unit
• Specialist cardiac surgical centre staff experiences of taking phone calls from parents of children with congenital heart disease

Kerry is a mixed methods researcher and currently chairs the Women, Children, Young People and Families special interest group, designed to promote and share ideas and development of individual’s knowledge and skills relating to research, knowledge exchange, educational and academic expertise and encourage networking between academic staff, clinicians and service users.

Kerry is Course Leader for the PhD Nursing and director of studies for two PhD students: emotional wellbeing of adolescents and the use of therapeutic conversation (Emma Rossiter); Bereaved parent’s decision making about their child’s place of death (Gilda Davis)

PhD Project Ideas

Kerry’s joint role with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, aims to encourage research and knowledge exchange for Nursing and Midwifery within the Trust with an initial scoping exercise of research culture, capacity and capability to identify appropriate interventions to raise research awareness, increase research engagement and encourage nursing and midwifery research leadership. 

Teaching Interests

Kerry has taught a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules and courses across nursing, paramedicine, advanced clinical practice and physician associate. She supervises master’s student dissertations across a variety of topics, but with a particular interest in cardiology, children, young people and families.

Kerry has been involved and led undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum development and design, incorporating innovative pedagogies into the curriculum such as interprofessional E-Learning and clinical simulation, online problem-based learning and evidence-based practice. Kerry is actively engaged with the Research Degrees programme, contributing to the workshops for MRes and MPhil/PhD students and is currently Course Leader for the PhD in Nursing /Midwifery.

Kerry is an active doctoral supervisor working with a range of student research projects including emotional wellbeing of adolescents and the use of therapeutic conversation and bereaved parent’s decision making about their child’s place of death.  If you are interested in studying for a PhD at the University of Worcester, please contact Kerry for further information about her topics of interest

Membership of Professional Bodies

Congenital Cardiac Nurses Association UK - Chairperson

British Congenital Cardiac Association - Member

Society of Paediatric Cardiovascular Nurses USA - Member

Royal College of Nursing - Member

Nursing Midwifery Council - Member

Higher Education Academy - Fellow

Publications from the last 5 years

• Smith, L., Wray, J., & Gaskin, K. (2022). Evaluating the congenital heart assessment tool: A quality improvement project.Cardiology in the Young, 1-8. doi:10.1017/S1047951122001792 available Open Access https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951122001792[IF 1.093]
• Gaskin K, Smith L, Wray J (2022) An improved congenital heart assessment tool: A quality improvement outcome., Cardiology in the Young, Cardiology in the Young,1-6. doi:10.1017/S1047951122001275, available Open Access https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S1047951122001275 [IF 1.093]
• Gaskin K (2021) ‘Congenital heart disease, lockdown and me: Global perspectives of living through a pandemic’, Evidence Based Nursing, available online
• Bailey L, Gaskin K (2021) Spotlight on maternal mental health: a pre-pandemic and post-pandemic priority, Evidence Based Nursing, 10.1136/ebnurs-2021-103378
• Gaskin, Kerry and Daniels, Amanda (2021) Caring for Children and Young People with Cardiovascular Problems. In: Glasper A, Richardson J, Randall D. A Textbook of Children's and Young People's Nursing (3rd Edition). Elsevier. ISBN 9780702062322 (paperback), 9780702065392 (eISSN) https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/9825
• Gaskin, Kerry , Daniels, Amanda, Hill, R., Robertshaw, D., Somer, J., Reynolds, L., Virgo, E., Shaughnessy, L., Vernon, S. and Quirk, J. (2021) Children and Young People’s Cardiac Nursing: RCN Guidance on Roles, Career Pathways and Competence Development (3rd Edition).Royal College of Nursing, London.
• Gaskin, Kerry , Barron, D. and Wray, J. (2021) Parents’ experiences of transition from hospital to home after their infant’s first stage cardiac surgery: psychological, physical, physiological and financial survival. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 283–292 ISSN 0889-4655 https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/9504 doi: 10.1097/JCN.0000000000000727. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32842034. [IF 1.533]
• Gaskin K & Kennedy F (2019) Key issues in the care of children, young people and adults with Congenital Heart Disease, Nursing Standard, Published Online. ISSN 0029-6570 34, 8, 37-42 https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/8004/ [IS 0.71]
• Gaskin K., Daniels A., Reynolds V., Pearson S., Beatty G. (2019) Preparing parents for discharge from hospital with their infant after complex cardiac surgery using the Congenital Heart Assessment Tool. An online learning resource for health care professionals, Cardiology in the Young, Supplement, 29 (1): S192 doi:10.1017/S1047951119000489, https://www.aepc2019.org/cty/
• Reid A & Gaskin K (2018) Parents’ experiences of receiving an antenatal versus post-natal diagnosis of complex congenital heart disease, Nursing Children and Young People, 30 (6), 19-25 ISSN 2046-2336. Published 8^th November 2018, http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/7285/ [IS 0.26]
• Gaskin KL, Wray J, Barron DJ (2018) Acceptability of a parental early warning tool for parents of infants with complex congenital heart disease: a qualitative feasibility study Archives of Disease in Childhood, 103 (9):880-886 ISSN 0003-9888 Online: 1468-2044 Published online 22^nd March 2018 http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/6526/ [IF 3.258]
• Gaskin KL. (2018) Patterns of Transition Experience for Parents Going Home from Hospital with their Infant after First Stage Surgery for Complex Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr Nurs. 2018 Jul-Aug;41:e23-e32. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2017.11.013. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PMID: 29217153., http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/6227/ [IF 1.495]
• Gaskin KL, Barron DJ, Daniels A (2016) Parents’ preparedness for their infant’s discharge following first-stage cardiac surgery: development of a parental early warning tool, Cardiology in the Young, online first June 2016 doi: 10.1017/S1047951116001062, published online first 19/7/16, https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4725 [IF 1.00/IS 0.89]

External Roles

Associate Editor Evidence Based Nursing (since 2020)

Editorial Board Journal of Paramedic Practice (From 2009-present)

Journal Reviewer for: Journal of Child Health Care, Acta Paediatrica, British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, British Journal of Healthcare Management, Congenital Heart Disease, Cardiology in the Young, Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Nursing in Critical Care, Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing, Journal of Child Health Care, Journal of Pediatric Health Care, Journal of Paramedic Practice

Representing Congenital Cardiac Nurses Association at the Children and Young People Model Review Oversight Board - Stakeholder Sub-Group, Advanced Clinical Practice (since Dec 2019)

RCN Children & Young People Nurse Leaders’ Summit, representing the CCNA (December 2019)

Reviewer/Editor of RCN competency document 3^rd Edition for Children’s Cardiac Nurses (2018-2020)

Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Research Development Working Group, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust (2015-present)

External Examiner for Liverpool John Moores University (2018-present)

West Midlands Regional HEI Advanced Clinical Practice Group (2016- present)

Specialist Advisor, Care Quality Commission (From 2014-2018)

Urgent, Acute and Emergency Care CEPIP for NHSE/HEE (2017)

Community Education Provider Network (CEPN) Herefordshire (2017)

Stakeholder, Congenital Cardiac Services Clinical Reference Group, NHS England (2014)

RCN Research in Child Health Group (From 2013)

Nurse representative for RCN, Congenital Cardiac Services Health Impact Assessment Steering Group, National Specialist Commissioning Group (2011)

Co-opted Council Member, Nurse Representative, British Congenital Cardiac Association (2008-2010)