Tracy Collins
Biographic Data
| ID | 3643673 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tracy Collins |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tracy |
| FAMILY NAME | Collins |
| SIGNATURE | COLLINS T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Northumbria University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9512-6241 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 19 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 14 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
You kind of want the world to stop, and it did”: Shared experiences of widowhood during and following Covid-19
Widowhood can have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. Social support, extending activities, and group memberships help facilitate adjustment. However, the incidence and negative consequences of widowhood may have been compounded during Covid-19, as the social distancing measures imposed resulted in reduced access to social support and services. This study aimed to explore widowhood experiences during and following the pandemic. The study …
Access to Social Farms for People With Dementia Living at Home in England: A Mixed‐Methods Analysis Using Levesque’s Conceptual Framework
While much of the care literature has focused on the benefits of social farms for people living with dementia, less research has examined the accessibility of this form of support. Conducted in England between 2023 and 2024, this study examined access to social farms by people living with dementia using Levesque’s conceptual framework of access as a navigational guide. We surveyed 32 social farm managers, held four online focus groups—two with ca…
Improving Access to Online Community Services for People With Disabilities Following the Covid‐19 Pandemic Through Co‐Creation Workshops
Community organizations supporting people with disabilities (PWD) initiated or increased their online services to maintain their support during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to report on the collaborative development of solutions to improve access to online community services for PWD. This study followed a multiple‐case design to report on the co‐creation process engaged by four community organizations. A four‐step methodo…
Under-Served in Qualitative Health Research: Overcoming Challenges to Recruiting People Who Frequently Use Urgent and Emergency Care Services
There is little understanding of challenges encountered when recruiting people who frequently use urgent and emergency care (UEC) services to qualitative research. This is despite considerable evidence that people who frequently use healthcare services are a heterogenous group, who are under-served in qualitative research with voices that are seldom heard. This is particularly problematic when their use of healthcare services is often associated …
‘If It Was Easy Somebody Would Have Fixed It’: An Exploration of Loneliness and Social Isolation Amongst People Who Frequently Call Ambulance Services
INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to explore social isolation and loneliness in those who frequently contacted the ambulance service, what factors contributed to this and how unmet needs could be addressed. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with staff from the ambulance service and service users who were identified as frequently contacting the ambulance service. Service users also completed the UCLA loneliness scale and personal community …
A mixed methods evaluation of the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS
Breastfeeding rates remain persistently low in the United Kingdom (UK) despite wide-scale rollout of UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative training and accreditation. More must be done to ensure breastfeeding practitioners can provide effective support. The memory aide CHINS (Close, Head free, In-line, Nose to Nipple and Sustainable) could help practitioners remember, recall, and apply breastfeeding theory in practice and this paper presents a UK evalu…
Older Adults’ Experiences of Using Strategies to Maintain and Foster Social Participation: A Systematic Review with Metasynthesis of Qualitative Studies
Social participation is positively associated with older adults’ health. Health‐care services, therefore, need to empower older adults to adapt to the social changes that accompany aging. This systematic review, with a metasynthesis of qualitative studies, aimed to describe and develop an understanding of home‐dwelling older adults’ (65 yrs+) experiences of using strategies to maintain and foster their social participation. The main search was pe…
Supporting Older Men’s Social Participation: A Framework for Engagement
Community social participation activities are considered effective in reducing social isolation and loneliness (SIL) amongst older people. However, most community social group participants are women with a paucity of research exploring older men’s perspectives and preferences. This study explored the challenges and facilitators to older men’s social participation utilizing a multi-method qualitative design including interviews ( n = 18) and a col…
The Place of Intuition in the Clinical Reasoning of Occupational Therapists: A Multiple‐Case Study
Background . Clinical reasoning is a crucial process for healthcare professionals, involving both intuitive and analytical components. Intuition, which can be defined as immediate and context‐sensitive thoughts, would play an important role in the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists (OTs). However, understanding of how OTs use their intuition remains limited. Thus, this study aimed to better understand the place of intuition in the clin…
Unveiling Social Belonging: Exploring the Narratives of Immigrant Muslim Older Women
Background and Objectives . Older adults who lack a secure sense of social belonging may report loneliness, isolation, and ostracization in their communities. Little attention has been paid to the perceptions of social belonging among immigrant Muslim older (IMO) women. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring IMO women’s experiences of social belonging. Research Design and Methods . This qualitative descriptive study used photo elicitat…
Managing the Last Move: Older People’s Practical, Relational, and Emotional Work throughout the Transition from Home to a Nursing Home
Moving into a nursing home is a significant transition for older people which can be emotional and stressful. The literature on the decision to move and subsequent residential stress focuses on the time after admission; however, there is less understanding of older people’s management of the process. To fully understand and possibly reduce negative consequences and health‐related risks, the aim of this article is to explore how older people manag…
The Role of Third Place concerning Loneliness in the Context of Ageing in Place: Three Neighbourhoods in Stockholm
There is an increasing recognition of the impact of built environment in the neighbourhood on healthy ageing, especially in the context of ageing in place. This study examines perceptions of third place and its potential value for mitigating loneliness in older adults. Thirty participants aged 65–89, living in ordinary housing across three neighbourhoods in the city of Stockholm, Sweden, conducted the interview‐based sorting procedures, namely, M…
Unveiling Digital Pathways to Active Aging: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Older Adults’ Experiences and the Impact of Person‐Level Factors on mHealth Intervention Engagement
Background . Mobile health (mHealth) interventions hold promise in assisting older adults to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. Yet, little is known about how older adults perceive using smartphones to enhance their PA. This study explored older adults’ experiences with the “My Health Plan” mHealth intervention and examined which person‐level factors were associated with adherence. Methods . Forty older adults (52.5% female, mean age: 72.6 y…
Enlightening Stakeholders on the Covid‐19 Pandemic Impacts and Preparation for Minimizing Future Pandemics’ Negative Effects on Occupational Therapists
The COVID‐19 pandemic has affected all aspects of professional disciplines including occupational therapy; however, little is known about how much of an impact the COVID‐19 pandemic affected occupational therapy practice in Ghana. This study examined the impacts, coping strategies, and COVID‐19 pandemic lessons for occupational therapy practices in the future. A descriptive qualitative design was employed with a purposive and convenience sampling…
Exploring the Factors Preventing Older Adults From Reporting Cybercrime and Seeking Help: A Qualitative, Semistructured Interview Study
Background: Older adults under‐report cybercrime, despite being more likely than younger people to experience repeat victimisation, financial loss and more severe emotional consequences. Considering vulnerabilities more common in old age, we sought to identify, and consider ways to address, barriers that older people experience when reporting cybercrime to statutory agencies with a role in reporting. Methods: From community groups, police and vic…
“The Service, I Could Not Do without It…”: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Significance of Meals on Wheels among Service Users and People Who Refer Them to the Service
Meals on Wheels (MoWs) is a social care service providing daily meals and social contact to adults who need support to live in the community. Considering the rising number of adults who need help with shopping for food and preparing meals in England, MoWs could be essential for these individuals; yet little is known about the experiences of MoWs service users and people who refer them to MoWs (“referrers”), with the service. The aim of this study…
Co-Creating a Nature-Based Social Prescription Intervention in Urban Socioeconomically Deprived Neighbourhoods: A Case Study from Recetas Project in Barcelona, Spain
Active citizen participation in research is important to generate societal impact of outcomes. Even so, many times, the community input in these processes is limited or non-existent, and co-creation processes are often not documented. This paper describes a structured and systematised protocol to co-create a nature-based social prescribing intervention addressed to face loneliness in urban deprived neighbourhoods. As a result, a nature-based soci…
Winging It”: An Exploration of the Self-Perceived Professional Identity of Social Prescribing Link Workers
The practice of social prescribing (SP) has been rapidly expanding throughout the UK in recent years. The role of SP link workers (SPLWs) currently has no nationally prescribed requirements in terms of qualifications, background, or experience. This qualitative study of 13 SPLWs using semi-structured interviews is believed to be the first exploration of perceptions of their professional identity and the agency and structure within their roles. SP…
Identifying Key Benefits and Characteristics of Community Gardening for Vulnerable Populations: A Systematic Review
Vulnerable communities (including people from refugee, Indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse, and low socioeconomic backgrounds) represent the most at-risk populations facing inequities and negative health, economic, and social outcomes. The recent COVID-19 pandemic both highlighted and fuelled these disparities. Community gardening has emerged as a community-based solution to address these inequities, yet the research literature has …
Development of the ‘Museum Health and Social Care Service’ to promote the use of arts and cultural activities by health and social care professionals caring for older people
It is well documented that engagement in arts and cultural activities contributes to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of older people. Despite this, many health and social care professionals do not recognize or accept arts and cultural activities as relevant to their care remit. To address this, a team of 17 individuals comprising older service users, and staff from a range of health and social care, arts, and museum and archiv…
H.a.r.p: Investigating Mesolithic landscapes of life and death at the western edge of Europe
Space and place: Archaeologies of female monasticism in later medieval Ireland
The personal communities of men experiencing later life widowhood
Increasingly men are becoming widowed in later life due in part to a longer life expectancy. Social networks and social support are thought to help buffer the negative consequences of such later life transitions. This paper explores the personal communities of a group of older men experiencing widowhood. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted, September 2013-February 2014, with seven older widowers, 71-89 years of age, in North Staffordsh…
Conducting longitudinal research with older widows: Exploring personal communities through multiple methods
This article reports on the process of undertaking a longitudinal multiple methods study with older women experiencing the transition of later-life widowhood. Three qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 older widows in North Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Interviews included the use of personal community diagrams to identify the structure of personal communities and Christmas and Christmas cards to further explore social relation…
Stone Dead: Uncovering Early Mesolithic Mortuary Rites, Hermitage, Ireland
In Europe, cremation as a burial practice is often associated with the Bronze Age, but examples of cremated human remains are in fact known from the Palaeolithic onwards. Unlike conventional inhumation, cremation destroys most of the evidence we can use to reconstruct the biography of the buried individual. Remarkably, in Ireland, cremation is used for the earliest recorded human burial and grave assemblage (7530–7320 bc ) located on the banks of…
The personal communities of men experiencing later life widowhood
Increasingly men are becoming widowed in later life due in part to a longer life expectancy. Social networks and social support are thought to help buffer the negative consequences of such later life transitions. This paper explores the personal communities of a group of older men experiencing widowhood. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted, September 2013-February 2014, with seven older widowers, 71-89 years of age, in North Staffordsh…
Stone Dead: Uncovering Early Mesolithic Mortuary Rites, Hermitage, Ireland
In Europe, cremation as a burial practice is often associated with the Bronze Age, but examples of cremated human remains are in fact known from the Palaeolithic onwards. Unlike conventional inhumation, cremation destroys most of the evidence we can use to reconstruct the biography of the buried individual. Remarkably, in Ireland, cremation is used for the earliest recorded human burial and grave assemblage (7530–7320 bc ) located on the banks of…
Remembering the past, looking to the future: Christmas as a symbol of change in later life widowhood
Many older women experience the loss of a spouse or partner in later life. This paper explores older women's experiences of Christmas in order to locate process and meaning in relation to the transition of later life widowhood. Drawing on longitudinal data, derived from three in-depth interviews conducted over 18 months with 26 older widows, this paper presents a number of themes from the women's accounts of their Christmas celebrations and their…
Edmund Spenser at Kilcolman Castle: The archaeological evidence
As part of a broader study of the Elizabethan colonization of Munster, the home of a member of the colonial elite was the object of four seasons of fieldwork, 1993–96. Kilcolman Castle in north County Cork now comprises a ruined tower-house and some mounds of masonry overlooking Kilcolman Bog. The castle and 3,000 acres had been granted to the poet Edmund Spenser, who refurbished and occupied it from 1588 to 1598, when Tyrone's rebellion burned K…
Prehistoric burial and ritual, in southwest Ireland
Archaeological monitoring of the construction of the N21 road improvements, Co. Kerry, Ireland, in 1999 uncovered four sub-circular features in the townland of Rockfield (FIGURE 1).The central feature revealed itself to be small pit containing a cremation burial. The bones in this shallow pit had been subjected to intense heat, though the boulder clay beneath was unburnt. Radiocarbon (calibrated σ2) dating showed that this cremation dated from 14…
Across the Pond: A Comparative Analysis of Social Capital Formation in the United States and Great Britain
This study began with the observations of author Tracy Collins, a British citizen then residing in the United States, who saw many differences between Britons and Americans in leisure time, work expectations, and community life. Conversations between Collins and American co-author Wanda Rushing, and our readings of historical and contemporary comparisons of life in the two countries, led to this project. This study allowed us to conduct a compara…
Edmund Spenser at Kilcolman Castle: The archaeological evidence
As part of a broader study of the Elizabethan colonization of Munster, the home of a member of the colonial elite was the object of four seasons of fieldwork, 1993–96. Kilcolman Castle in north County Cork now comprises a ruined tower-house and some mounds of masonry overlooking Kilcolman Bog. The castle and 3,000 acres had been granted to the poet Edmund Spenser, who refurbished and occupied it from 1588 to 1598, when Tyrone's rebellion burned K…
Timolin: Un caso de estudio, el patrimonio de un monasterio en la Irlanda tardomedieval
Es poco el trabajo arqueológico que se ha realizado en los monasterios de mujeres de la Irlanda tardomedieval en tanto que espacios de espiritualidad femenina. Esto se debe en parte al hecho de que generalmente se han conservado peor que los monasterios masculinos contemporáneos. Todavía más escasas son las investigaciones acerca de las propiedades monásticas masculinas o femeninas, de su topografía y de las redes que representan. La existencia d…
Remembering the past, looking to the future: Christmas as a symbol of change in later life widowhood
Many older women experience the loss of a spouse or partner in later life. This paper explores older women's experiences of Christmas in order to locate process and meaning in relation to the transition of later life widowhood. Drawing on longitudinal data, derived from three in-depth interviews conducted over 18 months with 26 older widows, this paper presents a number of themes from the women's accounts of their Christmas celebrations and their…
It pushed me back into the human race’: Evaluative findings from a community Christmas event
Many older people in Britain spend Christmas day alone. The Christmas period may be especially difficult for older people who are socially isolated, living with dementia or who have physical impairments, and may feel particularly marginalised at this time of year. This paper draws on evaluative research findings from a community Christmas event held in December 2014 at the University of Salford for older people and their carers who would be on th…
Conducting longitudinal research with older widows: Exploring personal communities through multiple methods
This article reports on the process of undertaking a longitudinal multiple methods study with older women experiencing the transition of later-life widowhood. Three qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 older widows in North Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Interviews included the use of personal community diagrams to identify the structure of personal communities and Christmas and Christmas cards to further explore social relation…
Stone Dead: Uncovering Early Mesolithic Mortuary Rites, Hermitage, Ireland
In Europe, cremation as a burial practice is often associated with the Bronze Age, but examples of cremated human remains are in fact known from the Palaeolithic onwards. Unlike conventional inhumation, cremation destroys most of the evidence we can use to reconstruct the biography of the buried individual. Remarkably, in Ireland, cremation is used for the earliest recorded human burial and grave assemblage (7530–7320 bc ) located on the banks of…
The personal communities of men experiencing later life widowhood
Increasingly men are becoming widowed in later life due in part to a longer life expectancy. Social networks and social support are thought to help buffer the negative consequences of such later life transitions. This paper explores the personal communities of a group of older men experiencing widowhood. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted, September 2013-February 2014, with seven older widowers, 71-89 years of age, in North Staffordsh…
H.a.r.p: Investigating Mesolithic landscapes of life and death at the western edge of Europe
Space and place: Archaeologies of female monasticism in later medieval Ireland
Development of the ‘Museum Health and Social Care Service’ to promote the use of arts and cultural activities by health and social care professionals caring for older people
It is well documented that engagement in arts and cultural activities contributes to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of older people. Despite this, many health and social care professionals do not recognize or accept arts and cultural activities as relevant to their care remit. To address this, a team of 17 individuals comprising older service users, and staff from a range of health and social care, arts, and museum and archiv…
“The Service, I Could Not Do without It…”: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Significance of Meals on Wheels among Service Users and People Who Refer Them to the Service
Meals on Wheels (MoWs) is a social care service providing daily meals and social contact to adults who need support to live in the community. Considering the rising number of adults who need help with shopping for food and preparing meals in England, MoWs could be essential for these individuals; yet little is known about the experiences of MoWs service users and people who refer them to MoWs (“referrers”), with the service. The aim of this study…
Co-Creating a Nature-Based Social Prescription Intervention in Urban Socioeconomically Deprived Neighbourhoods: A Case Study from Recetas Project in Barcelona, Spain
Active citizen participation in research is important to generate societal impact of outcomes. Even so, many times, the community input in these processes is limited or non-existent, and co-creation processes are often not documented. This paper describes a structured and systematised protocol to co-create a nature-based social prescribing intervention addressed to face loneliness in urban deprived neighbourhoods. As a result, a nature-based soci…
Winging It”: An Exploration of the Self-Perceived Professional Identity of Social Prescribing Link Workers
The practice of social prescribing (SP) has been rapidly expanding throughout the UK in recent years. The role of SP link workers (SPLWs) currently has no nationally prescribed requirements in terms of qualifications, background, or experience. This qualitative study of 13 SPLWs using semi-structured interviews is believed to be the first exploration of perceptions of their professional identity and the agency and structure within their roles. SP…
Identifying Key Benefits and Characteristics of Community Gardening for Vulnerable Populations: A Systematic Review
Vulnerable communities (including people from refugee, Indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse, and low socioeconomic backgrounds) represent the most at-risk populations facing inequities and negative health, economic, and social outcomes. The recent COVID-19 pandemic both highlighted and fuelled these disparities. Community gardening has emerged as a community-based solution to address these inequities, yet the research literature has …
‘If It Was Easy Somebody Would Have Fixed It’: An Exploration of Loneliness and Social Isolation Amongst People Who Frequently Call Ambulance Services
INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to explore social isolation and loneliness in those who frequently contacted the ambulance service, what factors contributed to this and how unmet needs could be addressed. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with staff from the ambulance service and service users who were identified as frequently contacting the ambulance service. Service users also completed the UCLA loneliness scale and personal community …
A mixed methods evaluation of the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS
Breastfeeding rates remain persistently low in the United Kingdom (UK) despite wide-scale rollout of UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative training and accreditation. More must be done to ensure breastfeeding practitioners can provide effective support. The memory aide CHINS (Close, Head free, In-line, Nose to Nipple and Sustainable) could help practitioners remember, recall, and apply breastfeeding theory in practice and this paper presents a UK evalu…
Older Adults’ Experiences of Using Strategies to Maintain and Foster Social Participation: A Systematic Review with Metasynthesis of Qualitative Studies
Social participation is positively associated with older adults’ health. Health‐care services, therefore, need to empower older adults to adapt to the social changes that accompany aging. This systematic review, with a metasynthesis of qualitative studies, aimed to describe and develop an understanding of home‐dwelling older adults’ (65 yrs+) experiences of using strategies to maintain and foster their social participation. The main search was pe…
Supporting Older Men’s Social Participation: A Framework for Engagement
Community social participation activities are considered effective in reducing social isolation and loneliness (SIL) amongst older people. However, most community social group participants are women with a paucity of research exploring older men’s perspectives and preferences. This study explored the challenges and facilitators to older men’s social participation utilizing a multi-method qualitative design including interviews ( n = 18) and a col…
The Place of Intuition in the Clinical Reasoning of Occupational Therapists: A Multiple‐Case Study
Background . Clinical reasoning is a crucial process for healthcare professionals, involving both intuitive and analytical components. Intuition, which can be defined as immediate and context‐sensitive thoughts, would play an important role in the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists (OTs). However, understanding of how OTs use their intuition remains limited. Thus, this study aimed to better understand the place of intuition in the clin…
Unveiling Social Belonging: Exploring the Narratives of Immigrant Muslim Older Women
Background and Objectives . Older adults who lack a secure sense of social belonging may report loneliness, isolation, and ostracization in their communities. Little attention has been paid to the perceptions of social belonging among immigrant Muslim older (IMO) women. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring IMO women’s experiences of social belonging. Research Design and Methods . This qualitative descriptive study used photo elicitat…
Managing the Last Move: Older People’s Practical, Relational, and Emotional Work throughout the Transition from Home to a Nursing Home
Moving into a nursing home is a significant transition for older people which can be emotional and stressful. The literature on the decision to move and subsequent residential stress focuses on the time after admission; however, there is less understanding of older people’s management of the process. To fully understand and possibly reduce negative consequences and health‐related risks, the aim of this article is to explore how older people manag…
The Role of Third Place concerning Loneliness in the Context of Ageing in Place: Three Neighbourhoods in Stockholm
There is an increasing recognition of the impact of built environment in the neighbourhood on healthy ageing, especially in the context of ageing in place. This study examines perceptions of third place and its potential value for mitigating loneliness in older adults. Thirty participants aged 65–89, living in ordinary housing across three neighbourhoods in the city of Stockholm, Sweden, conducted the interview‐based sorting procedures, namely, M…
Unveiling Digital Pathways to Active Aging: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Older Adults’ Experiences and the Impact of Person‐Level Factors on mHealth Intervention Engagement
Background . Mobile health (mHealth) interventions hold promise in assisting older adults to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. Yet, little is known about how older adults perceive using smartphones to enhance their PA. This study explored older adults’ experiences with the “My Health Plan” mHealth intervention and examined which person‐level factors were associated with adherence. Methods . Forty older adults (52.5% female, mean age: 72.6 y…
Medicine (16 works) · Psychology (16 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Gerontology (7 works) · Nursing (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Qualitative research (5 works) · Archaeology (4 works)