Dr Helen Chester

Helen is Research Fellow at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce (HSCWRU).

Helen is an experienced mixed-methods researcher who has been working in adult social care research since 2007 and has used a wide range of methodologies and approaches. She has a PhD in Social Statistics and a Masters in Research Methods and Statistics and experience of applying these skills in a variety of studies, particularly in Ageing and Mental Health, including as a co-investigator and Trial Manager. Her research interests centre around the commissioning and delivery of community-based and long-term care, particularly in relation to services for older people, including people with dementia, and the social care workforce.

Prior to joining King’s College London, she was a Senior Research Fellow at Research in Social Care for Older People (RSCOP) within the Institute of Mental Health at University of Nottingham. There she led a study of commissioning arrangements for care homes (2019-2022). Helen was a Research Fellow and Research Associate at the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Manchester (2007-2019). PSSRU was a member of the NIHR School for Social Care Research since its commencement in 2010 and Helen was involved in several studies including a study of commissioning arrangements for home care, of which she was co-investigator.

Helen was also involved in a five-year programme of research funded by the NIHR ('Effective home support in dementia care: components, impact and costs of tertiary prevention'). She was Trial Manager for the Dementia Early Stage Cognitive Aids New Trial (DESCANT) and contributed to the development, analysis and publication of other studies undertaken within the programme including discrete choice experiments and an observational study of home support for people in later stage dementia and their carers.

Prior to this, Helen was involved in work commissioned as part of the Department of Health Social Care Workforce Research Initiative (2007-2011); research about the range of support for people with dementia living at home and their carers; and an evaluation of Department of Health funded pilot projects testing different models of assessment for vulnerable adults. Her other employment has included research and project officer roles at Edith Cowan University and the Department of Health in Western Australia.

Helen Chester: ORCID iD