- Miscellaneous Information
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Denis Richards is currently an MPhil/PhD research student at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent. His research interest focuses on co-production of health care services and interventions, a unique and powerful approach which allows service users, carers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders to work alongside each other to identify problems and develop implementable solutions that benefit everyone. For his current research project which is funded by an ARC-KSS scholarship, Denis is working specifically on developing an intervention for supporting family caregivers to enhance their ability to support the physical health care needs of relatives receiving treatment for their mental illness from community services.
Denis’s early interest in promoting the physical health of people with severe mental illness started while pursuing his undergraduate nursing degree. This was instigated, in part, by the existing health and healthcare inequalities experienced by this patient group. This interest culminated with a dissertation on understanding antipsychotic-induced weight-gain and other metabolic issues in the same population, which was subsequently published in the British Journal of Mental Health Nursing in 2015. Following graduation from Canterbury that year with a first-class honours degree in Mental Health Nursing, Denis has remained clinically active and currently works as a Mental Health Practitioner for South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Denis is married with four boys, enjoys an active family life and is an ardent supporter of Arsenal Football Club.