Amanda was a nursing sister on a medical/stroke rehabilitation unit for older adults before graduating with a BA in Social and Political Studies at the University of Sheffield, followed by a MA in Applied Research Methods and Quality Evaluation. She was awarded her Doctorate in Sociology in 2001. Prior to working at Northumbria University, Amanda worked in the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield and the University of Aberdeen in the Centre of Academic Primary Care. Professor Clarke was Head of Department of Nursing Midwifery and Healthcare at Northumbria University from 2012-18 and has taught extensively across undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programmes. Her research interests focus on the health care of older adults and on end-of-life care, organisation and delivery.   

My work has focused on listening to older adults' views and experiences about later life; specifically, around living with persistent pain and end-of-life issues and developing a programme of education around those needs in a variety of contexts. This has involved working closely with older adults as service users, carers, research participants and peer educators; community advisors and voluntary groups; and health care practitioners from acute, continuing care and primary care settings. Main themes include:

• Exploring ways in which life story and narrative work may be utilised to gain a more rounded understanding of service users' experiences and needs from a research, policy and practice perspective; 

• Developing more participatory and innovative ways of working with older adults as research participants, service users, co-researchers and peer educators; 

• Active ageing in the context of older adult’s everyday lives, especially those with long-term conditions and at the end of life. 

• End-of-life care, organisation and delivery.  

I support the Workforce & Practice Development research group in the Faculty.

Current awards: