Dr Julia Hackett
Senior Research Fellow
ORCID 0000-0003-1720-6665
Julia is a Senior Research Fellow at the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research. Julia’s disciplinary background is in psychology, with both a MSc and PhD in Health Psychology. She has a strong portfolio of applied research, which focuses on improving patient care across the life course, specialising in chronic health and illness, supportive, and palliative care. Recognising the profound impact that serious illness has on both patients and their families, from the outset of her career Julia has been motivated to improve outcomes not only for patients, but also for those who care for and support them. Her research is underpinned by the core principles of health psychology and she is passionate about amplifying the voices of those with lived experience, particularly those whose experiences are often underrepresented, to inform meaningful research, policy and practice.
Julia has expertise in qualitative methods and experience of working with people of all ages, including: children and young people, young adults, and older people; living with medical complexity, life-threatening, and/or life-limiting conditions, and their families. She has significant experience of developing, leading, managing, and disseminating practice and policy-relevant research and has held significant leadership roles on major NIHR funded studies, totalling £1,690,035. She has been the Principal Investigator for five studies and a co-applicant on NIHR HSDR and charity funded studies. Julia routinely works collaboratively with internal and external partners to ensure impact beyond academia.
Recent Funding Awarded
Lead applicant for the following grants:
Candlelighters Supportive Care Research Centre: Understanding Implementation of National Febrile Neutropenia Guidance for Children and Young People: A Positive Deviance Study: £65,000, 01/03/2024.
ESRC IAA: Workshop to co-design a mindfulness based intervention for bereaved parents: £1982, 01/01/2024.
ESRC Festival of Ideas: Mindfulness with Grounding, Art, and Sound for Bereaved Parents and Carers: £845, 01/10/2023.
Marie Curie Research Grants Scheme: Parent and professional experiences of 24/7 paediatric end-of-life care: a mixed methods study: £141,644, 01/09/2022.
Yorkshire and Humber Children’s Palliative Care Network: Children and Young People’s Palliative and End of Life Care Research: 247 Scoping Work, £72,000, 01/06/2022.
Martin House Research Centre, University of York: Paternal bereavement: a workshop to identify research priorities: £1975, 30/03/2021.
Co-applicant for the following grants:
OSCARS: Building better support: Co-designed insights into the wellbeing of young people affected by paediatric brain tumours: £20,000, 01/01/2025.
Motability: Exploring the numbers, needs and experiences of children and young people with a disability and mobility difficulties: £560,188, 01/06/24.
True Colours Trust: Development of best practice guidelines for healthcare, charity and other organisations, which involve or engage parents of children with serious or life-limiting illness or bereaved parents: £44,655, 01/04/2023.
NIHR HSDR: Chaplaincy services and spiritual care and support needs of children and young people, and their parents, facing end of life: £408,705:40, 01/08/2020.
Recent Publications
Barrett L., Fraser L., Ziegler L., Jarvis S., Picton S., Hackett J. “We are running on the fumes of goodwill.” Professionals’ experiences of delivering 24/7 end-of-life care to children and their families: a qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care. (2025).
Barrett L., Fraser L., Ziegler L., Jarvis S., Picton S., Hackett J. “We’re teetering on unsteady ground.” Parents’ experiences of accessing 24/7 paediatric end-of-life care: a qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care. (2025). 12;24(1):285.
Peat, G., McLorie, E.V., Barrett, L., Weatherly, H., Hinde, S., Walker, G.L., Noyes, J., Oddie S., Vasudevan, C., Feltbower, R.G., Phillips, B., Hewitt, C., Hain, R., Subramanian, G., Haynes, A., Fraser, L.K., Murtagh, F.E.M., Hackett J. (2025). Parents’ experiences of paediatric end-of-life care in the UK: a multisite qualitative study. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 25:681-692.
Barrett, L., Peat, G., McLorie, E.V.., Weatherly, H, Hinde, S., Walker, G.L., Noyes, J., Oddie, S, Vasudevan, C., Feltbower, R.G., Phillips, B., Hewitt, C., Hain, R., Subramanian, G., Haynes, A., Murtagh, F.E.M., Hackett, J., Fraser, L.K. (2025). Parents’ experiences of the financial and employment impacts of their child receiving end-of-life care: a national qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care. 24(1):157.
McLorie, E.V., Hackett, J., Barrett, L., et al. (2025). Healthcare professionals’ perspectives of providing end-of-life care for infants, children and young people in acute settings: A multi-site qualitative study. Palliative Medicine. 39(4):483-498.
Holder, P., Page, B., Hackett, J., Michell, S., Fraser, L.K. (2024). Patient and Public Involvement work with parents of children with life-limiting conditions and bereaved parents: A rapid systematic review. Health Expectations. 27:370120.
Bedendo, A., Papworth, A., Beresford, B., Phillips, B., Vasudevan, C., Walker, G., Weatherly, H., Feltbower, R., Hinde, S., Hewitt, C., Murtagh, F., Noyes, J., Hackett, J., Hain, R., Oddie, S., Subramanian, G., Haynes, A., & Fraser, L.K. (2024). End of life care in paediatric settings: UK national survey. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.
Bedendo, A., Hinde, S., Beresford, B., Papworth, A., Phillips, B., Vasudevan, C., McLorie, E., Walker, G., Peat, G., Weatherly, H., Feltbower, R., Hewitt, C., Haynes, A., Murtagh, F., Noyes, J., Hackett, J., Hain, R., Oddie, S., Subramanian, G., & Fraser, L.K. (2024). Consultant-led UK paediatric palliative care services: professional configuration, services, funding. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 14.
Barrett, L., Hackett, J., Taylor, J., Papworth, A., Walker, G., Fraser, L.K. (2024). Evaluating parent and public involvement activities within a paediatric palliative care research centre: Route map to impactful and meaningful engagement. Palliative Medicine, 0(0).
Kammin, V., Fraser, L.K., Hackett, J. (2024). Experiences of music therapy in paediatric palliative care from multiple stakeholder perspectives: a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis. Palliative Medicine, 38(3).
Fraser, L.K., Bedendo, A., O’Neill, M., Taylor, J., Hackett, J., Horridge, K., Cade, J., Richardson, G., Phung, H., McCarter, A., Hewitt, C. (2023). Safety, Resource Use and Nutritional content of Home-Blended diets in children who are gastrostomy fed – findings from ‘YourTube’ a prospective cohort study. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 0:1-8.
Fraser, L.K., Bedendo, A., O’Neill, M., Taylor, J., Hackett, J., Horridge, K., Cade, J., Richardson, G., Phung, Han., McCarter, A., Hewitt, C. (2023). ‘YourTube’ the role of different diets in gastrostomy-fed children: Baseline findings from a prospective cohort study. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology.
Bedendo, A., Papworth, A., Hackett, J., Haynes, A., Weatherly, H., Hinde, S., Walker, G., Murtagh, F., & Fraser, L.K. (2023). Consultant led specialist paediatric palliative care team provision in the UK: the ENHANCE Study on end-of-life care for children. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care.
Papworth, A., Hackett, J., Beresford, B., Murtagh, F., Weatherly, H., Hinde, S., Benendo, A., Walker, G., Noyes, J., Oddie, S., Vasudevan, C., Feltblower, R., Philips, B., Hain, R., Subramanian G., Haynes, A., & Fraser, L. K. (2023). Regional perspectives on the coordination and delivery of paediatric end-of-life care in the UK: A qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care, 22(117).
McLorie, E.V., Fraser, L.K., Hackett, J. (2023). Provision of care for children with medical complexity in tertiary hospitals in England: qualitative interviews with health professionals. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 7(1):001932.
McLorie, E.V., Hackett, J., Fraser, L.K. (2023). Understanding parents’ experiences of care for children with medical complexity in England: a qualitative study. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 7:e002057.
Fields, D., Fraser, L.K., Taylor, J., Hackett, J. (2023). What does ‘good’ palliative care look like for children and young people? A qualitative study of parents’ experiences and perspectives. Palliative Medicine, 37(3): 355-371.
Barrett, L., Fraser, L.K., Noyes, J., Taylor, J., Hackett, J. (2023). Understanding parents’ experiences of end-of-life care for children: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis. Palliative Medicine, 37(2): 178-202.
Hackett, J., Heavey, E., Beresford. “It was like an airbag, it cushioned the blow”: A multi-site qualitative study of bereaved parents’ experiences of using cooling facilities. (2022). Palliative Medicine, 36(2): 365-374.
Land, J., Hackett, J., Sidhu, G., Heinrich, M., McCourt, O., Young, K., Fisher, A., Beekan, R. (2022). Myeloma patients’ experiences of a supervised physical activity programme: a qualitative study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 30: 6273-6286.
Papworth, A. J. Hackett, J. Beresford, B. A., Murtagh, F. E. M., Weatherly, H. L. A., Hinde, S., Bedendo, A. Walker, G., Noyes, J., Oddie, S., Vasudevan, C., Feltbower, R., Phillips, B, Hain, R., Subramanian, G., Haynes, A. R. & Fraser, L. K. (2022). End of life care for infants, children and young people (ENHANCE): Protocol for a mixed methods evaluation of current practice in the United Kingdom. NIHR Open Research, 2:37.
Hackett, J. Helping parents process the death of their child is crucial. Together for Short Lives. 11th May 2021. Available at: https://www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk/helping-parents-process-the-death-of-their-child-is-crucial/
Hackett, J. & Beresford, B. (2021). “Cold bedrooms” and other cooling facilities in UK children’s hospice, how they are used and why they are offered: a mixed methods study. Palliative Medicine, 35(3): 603-610.
Bennett MI, Allsop MJ, Allen P, et al. (2021). Pain self-management interventions for community-based patients with advanced cancer: a research programme including the IMPACCT RCT. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; (Programme Grants for Applied Research, No. 9.15).
Pini, S.A., Hackett, J., Taylor, S., Bekker, H., Bennett, M.I., Ziegler, L. (2020). Patient and professional experiences of palliative care referral discussions from cancer services: a qualitative interview study. European Journal of Cancer Care, 30(1): 1-10.
Hackett, J; Taylor, S; Allsop, M; Bennett, M; Bewick, B. (2020). Using information and communication technologies to improve the management of pain from advance cancer in the community: Qualitative study of the experience of implementation for patients and health professionals. Health Informatics Journal, 26(4): 2435-2445.
Allsop, M., Johnson, O., Taylor, S., Allen, P., Hackett, J., Bennett, M.I., Bewick, B. (2019). Multidisciplinary software design for the routine monitoring and assessment of pain in palliative care services: The development of PainCheck. JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, 10.
Hackett, J; Bekker, H; Bennett, MI; Carder, P; Gallagher, J; Henry, C; Kite, S; Taylor, S; Velikova, G; Ziegler, L. (2018). Developing a complex intervention to support timely engagement with palliative care for patients with advanced cancer in primary and secondary care in the UK: a study protocol. BMJ Open, 8: e022835.
Hackett, J; Thorneloe, R; Side, L; Wolf, M; Horne, R; Cuzick, J; Smith, S. (2018). Uptake of breast cancer preventative therapy in the UK: results from a multicentre prospective survey and qualitative interviews. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 170: 633-640.
Hackett, J; Ziegler, L; Godfrey, M; Foy, R; Bennett, M. (2018). Primary palliative care team perspectives on coordinating and managing people with advanced cancer in the community. BMC Family Practice, 19: 177.
Allsop, M; Wright-Hughes, A; Black, K; Hartley, S; Fletcher, M; Ziegler, L; Bewick, B; Meads, D; Hughes, N; Closs, J; Hulme, C; Taylor, S; Flemming, K; Hackett, L; O’Dwyer, J; Brown, J; Bennett, M. (2018). Improving the management of pain from advanced cancer in the community: study protocol for a pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 8: e021965.
Hackett, J; Godfrey, M; Bennett, M. (2016). Patient and caregiver perspectives on managing pain in advanced cancer: A qualitative longitudinal study. Palliative Medicine, 1-9.
Godfrey, M & Hackett, J. (2015). Advanced Care Planning: Policy and Real Life Decision-Making? Age and Aging, 44(3): 348-350.
Glidewell, L; West, R; Hackett, J; Carder, P; Doran, T; Foy, R. (2015). Does a local financial incentive scheme reduce inequalities in the delivery of clinical care in a socially deprived community? A longitudinal analysis. BMC Family Practice, 16(61).
Hackett, J; Glidwell, L; West, R; Carder, P; Doran, T; Foy, R. (2014). ‘Just another incentive scheme.’ A qualitative interview study of a local pay-for-performance scheme for primary care. BMC Family Practice, 15(1): 168.
Glidewell L; Boocock S; Pine K; Campbell R; Hackett J; Gill S; Wilkie M. (2013). Using behavioural theories to optimise shared haemodialysis care: a qualitative intervention development study of patient and professional experience. Implementation Science, 8: 118.