Dr Joanne Coster
BA, MSc
School of Medicine and Population Health
Research Fellow
Deputy Director of CURE
j.e.coster@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 0854
+44 114 222 0854
+44 114 222 0749
(Fax)
3013, Regent Court (ScHARR)
Full contact details
Dr Joanne Coster
School of Medicine and Population Health
3013
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
School of Medicine and Population Health
3013
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
- Profile
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I joined ScHARR in 2003, initially as a Research Associate in Public Health before moving to Health Services Research where I am now a Research Fellow. I am a mixed-method researcher, and my research interests relate to the evaluation of new and existing health policies and services, with a focus on quality of care, patient safety and emergency, urgent and prehospital care. Working with Professor Allen Hutchinson, I was part of the research team that developed the Structured Judgement Review (SJR) mortality review method, which is used by most English hospitals and also by community and ambulance trusts to review the quality of care of patients who died in the care of the trust. I also recently completed the national evaluation of Medical Examiners, to explore the role of the Medical Examiner, the Medical Examiner process and its interaction with existing mortality case record review methods. For my PhD I undertook a mixed methods study to explore the safety and appropriateness of telephone advice for people who call the ambulance service and receive telephone advice.
During my time at ScHARR, I have been involved in several large mixed-methods studies relating to ambulance service quality and performance, including the Prehospital Outcomes for Evidenced Based Evaluation (PhOEBE) study, the Variation in Ambulance Non-conveyance (VAN) study and the evaluation of NHS 111 Online. In 2020 I became the Deputy Director for the Centre for Urgent and Emergency Care Research (CURE).
- Qualifications
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BA (Hons); MSc
- Research interests
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My primary research interest are in methods of measuring quality of care, evaluation of new and existing health policies and services, with a focus on urgent, emergency and prehospital care settings.
I specialise in complex mixed-methods research, including interviews, routine data linkage and analysis, surveys, consensus methods and systematic reviews.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Variation in ambulance pre-alert process and practice: cross-sectional survey of ambulance clinicians. Emergency Medicine Journal. View this article in WRRO
- FAIRSTEPS study - Framework Addressing Inequities in pRimary care using STakEholder PerspectiveS: Integrative evidence review and Delphi consensus. Public Health, 237, 307-315. View this article in WRRO
- How could online NHS 111 reduce demand for the telephone NHS 111 service? Qualitative study of user and staff views. Emergency Medicine Journal, 41(1), 34-39. View this article in WRRO
- Determining the relative salience of recognised push variables on health professional decisions to leave the UK National Health Service (NHS) using the method of paired comparisons. BMJ Open, 13(8). View this article in WRRO
- ‘Clinically unnecessary’ use of emergency and urgent care: A realist review of patients' decision making. Health Expectations, 23(1), 19-40. View this article in WRRO
- Developing new ways of measuring the quality and impact of ambulance service care: the PhOEBE mixed-methods research programme. Programme Grants for Applied Research, 7(3). View this article in WRRO
- Outcomes for patients who contact the emergency ambulance service and are not transported to the Emergency Department: a data linkage study. Prehospital Emergency Care, 1-27. View this article in WRRO
- Prioritizing novel and existing ambulance performance measures through expert and lay consensus: A three‐stage multimethod consensus study. Health Expectations, 21(1), 249-260. View this article in WRRO
- Why Do People Choose Emergency and Urgent Care Services? A Rapid Review Utilizing a Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Synthesis. Academic Emergency Medicine, 24(9), 1137-1149. View this article in WRRO
- A coproduced patient and public event: An approach to developing and prioritizing ambulance performance measures. Health Expectations. View this article in WRRO
- A structured judgement method to enhance mortality case note review: development and evaluation.. BMJ Qual Saf, 22(12), 1032-1040. View this article in WRRO
All publications
Journal articles
- What factors predict ambulance prealerts to the emergency department? Retrospective observational study from three UK ambulance services. BMJ Open, 15(3), e097122-e097122.
- Aphasia partnership training: what outcomes do people with aphasia, family members and speech and language therapists expect?. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 60(2). View this article in WRRO
- Understanding good communication in ambulance pre-alerts to the emergency department: findings from a qualitative study of UK emergency services. BMJ Open, 15(1), e094221-e094221.
- Variation in ambulance pre-alert process and practice: cross-sectional survey of ambulance clinicians. Emergency Medicine Journal. View this article in WRRO
- FAIRSTEPS study - Framework Addressing Inequities in pRimary care using STakEholder PerspectiveS: Integrative evidence review and Delphi consensus. Public Health, 237, 307-315. View this article in WRRO
- What influences ambulance clinician decisions to pre-alert emergency departments: a qualitative exploration of pre-alert practice in UK ambulance services and emergency departments. Emergency Medicine Journal. View this article in WRRO
- How consistent are pre-alert guidelines? A review of UK ambulance service guidelines. British Paramedic Journal, 8(4), 30-37.
- How could online NHS 111 reduce demand for the telephone NHS 111 service? Qualitative study of user and staff views. Emergency Medicine Journal, 41(1), 34-39. View this article in WRRO
- Determining the relative salience of recognised push variables on health professional decisions to leave the UK National Health Service (NHS) using the method of paired comparisons. BMJ Open, 13(8). View this article in WRRO
- Stakeholder perspectives of piloting pre-hospital COVID-19 lateral flow testing and direct admissions pathway: exploring why well-received ideas have low uptake. British Paramedic Journal, 7(3), 15-25. View this article in WRRO
- 02 Service provider views of the safety, appropriateness and perceived acceptability of telephone advice for calls to the ambulance service triaged as low urgency. Emergency Medicine Journal, 39(9), e5.12. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of NHS 111 online on the NHS 111 telephone service and urgent care system: a mixed-methods study. Health Services and Delivery Research, 9(21). View this article in WRRO
- Qualitative exploration of the Medical Examiner role in identifying problems with the quality of patient care. BMJ Open, 11(2).
- ‘Clinically unnecessary’ use of emergency and urgent care: A realist review of patients' decision making. Health Expectations, 23(1), 19-40. View this article in WRRO
- Using vignettes to assess the accuracy and rationale of paramedic decisions on conveyance to the emergency department. British Paramedic Journal, 4(1), 6-13. View this article in WRRO
- Developing new ways of measuring the quality and impact of ambulance service care: the PhOEBE mixed-methods research programme. Programme Grants for Applied Research, 7(3). View this article in WRRO
- Outcomes for patients who contact the emergency ambulance service and are not transported to the Emergency Department: a data linkage study. Prehospital Emergency Care, 1-27. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of the new medical examiner role on patient safety. BMJ, 363. View this article in WRRO
- Understanding variation in ambulance service non-conveyance rates: a mixed methods study. Health Services and Delivery Research, 6(19), 1-192. View this article in WRRO
- Prioritizing novel and existing ambulance performance measures through expert and lay consensus: A three‐stage multimethod consensus study. Health Expectations, 21(1), 249-260. View this article in WRRO
- Why Do People Choose Emergency and Urgent Care Services? A Rapid Review Utilizing a Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Synthesis. Academic Emergency Medicine, 24(9), 1137-1149. View this article in WRRO
- A coproduced patient and public event: An approach to developing and prioritizing ambulance performance measures. Health Expectations. View this article in WRRO
- What evidence is there on the effectiveness of different models of delivering urgent care? A rapid review. Health Services and Delivery Research, 3(43).
- A structured judgement method to enhance mortality case note review: development and evaluation.. BMJ Qual Saf, 22(12), 1032-1040. View this article in WRRO
- Implications of England's Four-Hour Target for Quality of Care and Resource Use in the Emergency Department. ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, 60(6), 699-706.
- The 4-Hour Rule: Preventing Crowding in the Emergency Department Reply. ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, 60(1), 133-134.
- The appropriateness of, and compliance with, telephone triage decisions: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(12), 2610-2621.
- Quality and safety of care provided by emergency care practitioners. EMERGENCY MEDICINE JOURNAL, 29(4), 327-332. View this article in WRRO
- Time patients spend in the emergency department: England's 4-hour rule - A case of hitting the target but missing the point?. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 59(5), 341-349.
- Assessing quality of care from hospital case notes: comparison of reliability of two methods. QUAL SAF HEALTH CARE, 19(6).
- Comparison of case note review methods for evaluating quality and safety in health care. HEALTH TECHNOL ASSES, 14(10), 1-+. View this article in WRRO
- User satisfaction with commuter walk-in centres. BRIT J GEN PRACT, 59(569), 940-942.
- Do walk-in centres for commuters work? A mixed methods evaluation. BRIT J GEN PRACT, 59(569), 934-939.
- Do walk-in centres for commuters work? A mixed methods evaluation.. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 59(569).
- User satisfaction with commuter walk-in centres.. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 59(569).
- Modelling the expected net benefits of interventions to reduce the burden of medication errors. J HEALTH SERV RES PO, 13(2), 85-91. View this article in WRRO
- A prospective hazard and improvement analytic approach to predicting the effectiveness of medication error interventions. SAFETY SCI, 45(4), 523-539. View this article in WRRO
- Using a multi-method, user centred, prospective hazard analysis to assess care quality and patient safety in a care pathway. BMC HEALTH SERV RES, 7.
- Use of a safety climate questionnaire in UK health care: factor structure, reliability and usability. QUAL SAF HEALTH CARE, 15(5), 347-353. View this article in WRRO
- The critical care national cost block programme: Implementing a standard costing method on a national scale. Care of the Critically Ill, 18(3), 85-87.
- Time heals all wounds: A commentary on global quality measurement in paramedicine. Paramedicine.
- How do emergency departments respond to ambulance pre-alert calls? A qualitative exploration of the management of pre-alerts in UK emergency departments. Emergency Medicine Journal.
- Corrigendum: Impact of NHS 111 Online on the NHS 111 telephone service and urgent care system: a mixed-methods study. Health Services and Delivery Research, 9(21), 148-149.
Conference proceedings papers
- 2245 Mixed methods study exploring factors influencing ambulance clinician decisions to pre-alert emergency departments (EDs) of a patient’s arrival. RCEM Annual Scientific Conference Glasgow 2023 Meeting Abstracts
- EP11 What is a pre-alert? Exploring ambulance service perspectives of pre-alerts and the pre-alert process. 999 EMS Research Forum 2023 meeting abstracts
- PP35 What factors affect ambulance clinician prealert decision-making? A qualitative study. 999 EMS Research Forum 2023 meeting abstracts
- PP31 How do pre-alerts influence patient care in the emergency department? Findings from qualitative research within three UK ambulance services. 999 EMS Research Forum 2023 meeting abstracts
- PP34 Which patients should be prealerted? Review of UK ambulance service guidelines. 999 EMS Research Forum 2023 meeting abstracts
- PP28 Stakeholder perspectives of piloting pre-hospital COVID-19 lateral flow test and direct admissions pathway: exploring why well received ideas have low uptake. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 39(9) (pp e5.21-e5.21)
- PP27 NHS 111 staff and user views of online NHS 111: a useful adjunct to the NHS 111 telephone service. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 39(9) (pp e5.20-e5.20)
- PP26 Exploring the use of pre-hospital pre-alerts and their impact on patients, ambulance service and emergency department staff: protocol for a mixed methods study. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 39(9) (pp e5.19-e5.19)
- 62 Thinking on scene: using vignettes to assess the accuracy and rationale of paramedic decision making. BMJ Open, Vol. 2018(8) (pp A23-A24) View this article in WRRO
- 80 Development of risk adjusted indicators of ems performance and quality (phoebe programme). BMJ Open, Vol. 8(Suppl 1) (pp A30-A30), 16 April 2018 - 18 April 2018. View this article in WRRO
- 20 Preventable mortality in patients at low risk of death requiring prehospital ambulance care: retrospective case record review study. BMJ Open, Vol. 8(Suppl 1) (pp A7-A8), 16 April 2018 - 18 April 2018. View this article in WRRO
- OP06 Multi-method development of new ambulance service quality and performance measures. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 34(10) (pp e2.1-e2)
- PP16 Creating a linked dataset to explore patient outcomes after leaving ambulance care. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 34(10) (pp e6.1-e6)
- PP12 New indicators for measuring patient survival following ambulance service care. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 34(10) (pp e4.1-e4)
- PP25 Using a linked health dataset to identify what happens to patients following prehospital care. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 34(10) (pp e9.2-e9)
- PREHOSPITAL OUTCOMES FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE CARE: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol. 32(5) (pp e10.2-e10)
- OP70 Prioritising Outcome Measures for Ambulance Service Care: A Three Stage Consensus Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 67(Suppl 1) (pp A33.2-A34)
Reports
- Ambulance Response Programme Evaluation of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Final Report
Posters
- PP38 Impact of working through COVID-19 on ambulance staff resilience and intention to leave the NHS: a mixed methods study.
- PP36 Using linked health data to explore compliance with and appropriateness of ambulance telephone advice.
Preprints
- Understanding good communication in ambulance pre-alerts to Emergency Department. Findings from a qualitative study of UK emergency services, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- What factors predict ambulance pre-alerts to the emergency department? Analysis of routine data from three UK ambulance services., Research Square Platform LLC.
- How do Emergency Departments respond to ambulance pre-alert calls? A qualitative exploration of the management of pre-alert in six UK Emergency Departments, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- What influences ambulance clinician decisions to pre-alert Emergency Departments: a qualitative exploration of decision-making in three UK Ambulance Services, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Variation in ambulance pre-alert process and practice: Cross-sectional survey of ambulance clinicians, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- What factors predict ambulance pre-alerts to the emergency department? Analysis of routine data from 3 UK ambulance services, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Will online NHS 111 reduce demand for the telephone NHS 111 service? Mixed methods study of user and staff views, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Variation in ambulance pre-alert process and practice: cross-sectional survey of ambulance clinicians. Emergency Medicine Journal. View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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CURE
- Grants
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- Pre-alerts – a mixed-methods study to explore how out of hospital pre-alert decisions are made and communicated and the impact of pre-alerts on receiving emergency departments and patients. Funded by NIHR HS&DR £555,740.24 and led by Dr Fiona Sampson (Role: Co-investigator; Project Manager; PPI lead; Researcher and analyst)
- Should I stay or should I go? NHS staff retention in a post COVID 19 world, challenges and prospects. This mixed methods study (surveys and interviews) aims to assess the impact of Covid on NHS staff staffing and resources in the short and longer term and to explore NHS staff views on remaining in the NHS. Funded by ESRC and led by Andy Weyman (University of Bath) 30/11/20- 1/03/22
- Framework development for action on health inequities in primary care. This study uses a systematic review and consensus study to explore current evidence and undertake stakeholder engagement to develop a principles-focused assessment tool and guidance for general practice teams, and/or primary care networks, on the action that can be taken to address health inequities, including education, training and workforce development. Funded by Health Education England (June 2021-23) and led By Dr Ben Jackson. (Consultancy)
- Communication Partner Training for people with aphasia and their family members: identification of intervention components, expected outcomes and associated outcome measures. Funded by NIHR Programme Development Grants, £149,994, 01/04/2021 – 31/03/2023. Led by Dr Rebecca Palmer. (Role: Specialist methods advisor, consensus methods)
- Lateral Flow Testing and direct admissions pathway – A service evaluation with Yorkshire Ambulance Service to assess the feasibility of using pre-hospital LFTs to bypass the Emergency Department. (Consultancy)
- Escalation methods review – a systematic review of escalation policies in emergency care.
- PHEWS: Pre-Hospital Early Warning scores for Sepsis study – funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme and led by Professor Steve Goodacre (Specialist advisor: data linkage methods)
- Teaching interests
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I was previously the Deputy Director of the MClin Res and led the dissertation module. My teaching interests lie primarily in the supervision of MSc dissertation projects, particularly for students wishing to undertake a primary research-based dissertation.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Former chair of the Society of Social Medicine’s Early Career Researchers’ sub-committee (2013)