Dr Annette Hand

Professor

School: Healthcare and Nursing Sciences

Professor Annette Hand is the first Clinical Academic Professor of Nursing across the Northeast and North Cumbria, holding a joint full-time appointment between Northumbria University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Renowned for her international research profile, Professor Hand has made significant and sustained contributions to the care and management of people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers, evidenced by high-quality research outputs, impactful policy leadership, and membership in major regional, national, and international research bodies.

Renowned for her international research profile, Professor Hand has made significant and sustained contributions to the care and management of people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers, evidenced by high-quality research outputs, impactful policy leadership, and membership in major regional, national, and international research bodies. Her academic contributions include 11 book chapters and 53 publications—five as first author in leading international journals—and she was a key contributor to the Northumbria University 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Professor Hand has been instrumental in advancing the NMAHPs research agenda mentoring the next generation of NMAHP researchers and supporting the development of research strategy. Professor Hand is the director of the NIHR NENC INSIGHTs, a programme that has been designed in inspire and support earlier careers into research across the region.

Professor Hand’s leadership extends beyond academia to influence clinical innovation, policy, and service improvement. She has served as Clinical Lead for Nursing within the Parkinson’s Excellence Network and Vice Chair of the national Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist Association and she sits on a number of NIHR and PUK boards and funding panels.

Her research has pioneered new insights and tools, such as the Non-Motor Symptom Questionnaire for Parkinson’s disease, which is now widely used in clinical practice and research globally. Professor Hand is also regularly invited to present at major national and international conferences, advised the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and consulted for broadcast media.

She holds a Professional Doctorate in Healthcare, a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Research with distinction, and a Master of Arts in Advanced Practice, Nursing. Professor Hand is a supervisor for PhD and MSc students, a reviewer for numerous journals, and has a strong academic publication record and a history of securing research funding from the NIHR and other major bodies. Her work continues to shape national strategies, improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s and their families, and develop the future of nursing and healthcare research.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Professor Hand is a clinical academic, specialising in the field of Parkinson's disease, nurisng research, patient safety and informal carers. Her research interests include examining motor and non-motor features of Parkinson's, sexual dysfunction, care needs in Parkinson's and transitions of care. She is led on a longitudinal study examining the care needs in people with moderate to advanced disease and aspects related to care home placement and a project that examined the scope and role of the Parkinson's Nurse across the UK. She is currently leading an NIHR award to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a digital intervention for carers for people with Parkinson's. Professor Hand is also part of the Newcastle PSRC, and co-theme lead looking at safer transitions of care.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
3171 Better mealtimes for people living with dementia in care homes: a feasibility study, Faraday, J., Van der Graaf, P., Hand, A. 4 Jul 2025, In: Age and Ageing
A common outcome set for trials in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB COS), Kane, J., Fitzpatrick, R., Betzhold, S., Daly, G., Kalfas, E., Kinchin, I., Aarsland, D., Greaney, K., Grycuk, E., Folkerts, A., Kalbe, E., Rodriguez-Porcel, F., Saldanha, I., Smith, V., Taylor, J., Thompson, R., Wyman-Chick, K., Leroi, I., Hand, A. 11 Jul 2025, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions
Do hospital-to-home transitions work for older adults with multiple long-term conditions including dementia? A realist review, Lawson, L., Cooper, M., Tolley, C., Hand, A., Nazar, H. 9 Jul 2025, In: BMC Geriatrics
Parkinson's landscape, Hand, A. 23 Apr 2025, In: British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
Specialist medication monitoring and prescribing in primary care: case study of shared care agreements in Northern England, UK, Cooper, M., Trotter, V., Hand, A., Nazar, H. 19 Nov 2025, In: BMJ Open Quality
An evaluation of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals 4Ps Programme for the development of nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals’ research skills, Pope, F., Faraday, J., Hand, A., Tinkler, L. 12 Jun 2024, In: Nurse researcher
Improving mealtimes for people with dementia: Feasibility study, Faraday, J., Hand, A. 1 Dec 2024, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia
Living with pain and Parkinson’s developing an understanding of the impact, trajectory, and pain management needs: A qualitative interview study protocol, Naisby, J., Avery, L., Baker, K., Parkinson, M., Hand, A., Rochester, L., Yarnall, A., Walker, R., Flynn, D., Ryan, C., Finch, T. 26 Dec 2024, In: BMJ Open
Parkinson’s families project: a UK-wide study of early onset and familial Parkinson’s disease, Towns, C., Fang, Z., Tan, M., Jasaityte, S., Schmaderer, T., Stafford, E., Pollard, M., Tilney, R., Hodgson, M., Wu, L., Labrum, R., Hehir, J., Polke, J., Lange, L., Schapira, A., Bhatia, K., Hand, A., Singleton, A., Blauwendraat, C., Klein, C., Houlden, H., Wood, N., Jarman, P., Morris, H., Real, R. 1 Dec 2024, In: NPJ Parkinson's Disease
The impact and value of the Parkinson’s nurse specialist to people with Parkinson’s and their care partners: a grounded theory qualitative study, McEwan, K., Clarke, A., Dalkin, S., Hand, A. 28 Oct 2024, In: BMC Nursing

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Northern Health Futures Hub, Wilson, R. (Principal Investigator), Hand, A. (Co Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 01/10/23 - 30/09/26, £256,044.00
Development and feasibility trial of iSupport and Parkinsons Disease, Hand, A. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/04/23 - 30/09/25, £346,911.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Publication Peer-review: British Journal of Nursing (Journal) 2025
Membership of board: NIHR & Department of Health (External organisation) 2025
Membership of board: NIHR & Department of Health (External organisation) 2024
Publication Peer-review: Journal of Medical Economics (Journal) 2022
Invited talk: Research Month - Novel Careers 2022
Oral presentation: USP Project - Data so far 2022
Membership of board: NIHR & Department of Health (External organisation) 2022
Oral presentation: World Parkinson's Day 2021
Consultancy: PD Masterclass 2021
Oral presentation: WPC Partner Highlight: Parkinson's Connect 2021

PGR Supervision

Yogini Chokeepermal-Naidu Adapting a digital intervention programme to support carers of people living with Parkinson’s Disease Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025

Further Information

Professor Hand is a clinical academic, specialising in the field of Parkinson's disease. She has worked within specialist Parkinson’s services in the UK for over 28 years, starting as the Research Associate before obtaining a nurse specialist post. For over 21 years she worked as a Nurse Consultant in Parkinson’s. As a clinician her main role is to support patients and their families and support a team of Parkinson’s specialist nurses. As an autonomous practitioner she is responsible for diagnosis and management of all stages of Parkinson’s. She has worked on and been involved with multiple research studies at a local, national and international level, including non-motor symptoms, sexual dysfunction, Information Prescriptions and Care Needs in Parkinson’s. Her doctorate focused on understanding carer stain and its relationship to care home placement for people with Parkinson’s. Annette also has held the UK national role of Clinical Lead for Nursing within the Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network, as part of the clinical leadership team. This role was developed to support service improvements through education, knowledge exchange and evidence based practice and support the role of the Parkinson’s Nurse across the UK.

Annette was appointed to Professor of Nurisng - Clinical Academic in July 2021, a joint appointment between Northumbria University and Newcastle upon tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to drive a collaborative nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professional agenda in research, education and clinical practice.