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Professor Matt Kiernan

Professor

Department: Nursing, Midwifery & Health

Matthew entered academia as a mature student whilst serving in the Royal Navy. Originally qualifying as a RGN in Derby in 1991 he subsequently qualified as a RN (Mental Health) in 2001 with a BSC Med Sci from Sheffield University. He was awarded a PhD from Nottingham University in 2011.

Matthew was the Head of Mental Health Nursing in the Royal Navy, the Specialist Nurse Advisor for Mental Health (Royal Navy) and the Defence Specialist Nurse Advisor (Mental Health) prior to taking up his appointment as a Senior Research Fellow at the Academic Department for Defence Nursing.

Whilst in the Royal Navy Matthew’s research focus was care delivery and the psychological effects of basic training on the individual. Matthew retired from the Royal Navy on Health grounds due to injuries he sustained as a result of operational service. Since arriving at Northumbria he has been committed to developing The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families' Research. Matthew is currently leading a range of research projects which focus veterans and military families. Further details can be found here.

Matthew is currently an Independent Advisory Panel Member for the British Army Infantry Training Centre, the Chair of the EMDR UK and Ireland Scientific and Research Committee, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research.

Campus Address

Room B106
Coach Lane Campus West
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

Professor Matthew Kiernan entered academia as a mature student whilst serving in the Royal Navy. Originally qualifying as a RGN in Derby in 1991 he subsequently qualified as a RN (Mental Health) in 2001 with a BSC Med Sci from Sheffield University. He was awarded a PhD from Nottingham University in 2011.

 

Matthew was the Head of Mental Health Nursing in the Royal Navy, the Specialist Nurse Advisor for Mental Health (Royal Navy) and the Defence Specialist Nurse Advisor (Mental Health) prior to taking up his appointment as a Senior Research Fellow at the Academic Department for Defence Nursing. Matthew saw active service in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Since arriving at Northumbria he has been committed to developing The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families' Research as its Director. Matthew is currently leading a range of research projects which focus veterans and military families. Matthew is the chair of the Independent Advisory Panel for the British Army Infantry Training Centre in Catterick Garrison and an Academic Advisor to the Office of Veterans Affairs.

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Developing a nationwide registry of UK veterans seeking help from sector charities ? A machine learning approach to stratification, Serra, G., Tomietto, M., McGill, A., Kiernan, M. 1 Feb 2025, In: The European Journal of Public Health
  • Developing a nationwide dataset of UK veterans seeking help from sector charities, Serra, G., Tomietto, M., McGill, A., Kiernan, M. 1 Nov 2024, In: European Journal of Public Health
  • Eye movement desensitization reprocessing as a treatment for PTSD in conflict-affected areas, Wippich, A., Howatson, G., Allen, G., Farrell, D., Kiernan, M., Scott-Bell, A. 1 Dec 2024, In: Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
  • Facilitating Domestic and Civic-Style Activity in the Later Life of Army Veterans: The Influencing Culture of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Cullen, H., Osborne, A., Kiernan, M., Wilson-Menzfeld, G. 15 Sep 2024, In: Geriatrics
  • Identifying the risk factors associated with food insecurity in the UK veteran population: A nationwide survey, Johnson, A., Serra, G., Tomietto, M., Kiernan, M. 14 Oct 2024, In: Journal of Nutritional Science
  • One is too Many: A Conceptual Framework for Safety Planning within Service Delivery for Veterans and their Families, Kiernan, M., McGill, G., Watson, P., Farrell, D., Oxburgh, G., Arnfield, J., Rebair, A., Knibbs, L., Allen, S., Gettings, R., Senior, E. 20 Mar 2024
  • The Tri-Service Food Insecurity Study, Kiernan, M., Tomietto, M., Johnson, A., Serra, G., King, H., Rollason, E. 8 Feb 2024
  • Validation of a complex needs indicator for veterans in the UK using a composite indicators’ method, Fadeeva, A., Tomietto, M., Tiwari, A., Mann, E., Serra, G., Kiernan, M. 1 Jun 2024, In: Public Health in Practice
  • Bereaved military families: Relationships and identity, McGill, G., Mann, E., Moreland, M., Osborne, A., Kiernan, M., Wilson-Menzfeld, G. 18 Aug 2023, In: Journal of Loss and Trauma
  • Bereaved UK military families: A mixed methods study on the provision of practical and emotional support, Fadeeva, A., Mann, E., McGill, G., Wilson-Menzfeld, G., Moreland, M., Melling, A., Kiernan, M. 21 Apr 2023, In: Death Studies

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • 'Military Children' Promote, Protect, Prevent, Watson, P. (Principal Investigator), Kiernan, M. (Co Investigator), Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, 01/09/24 - 31/08/25, £124,899.00
  • Veteran suicide: Understand-Identify-Prevent, Kiernan, M. (Principal Investigator), Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, 01/07/21 - 30/06/23, £205,405.00

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Invited talk: Reducing military suicide in health and social care delivery: safety planning. 2025
  • Invited talk: Improving the health and social wellbeing of veterans through data visualisation: The MONARCH study (Map Of Need Aggregated ResearCH study) 2023
  • Invited talk: Digital Innovation and Veteran Care - A roundtable discussion 2023
  • Invited talk: Presentation to the House of Lords: Research on Military Bereaved Communities 2023
  • Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre Conference 2023
  • Invited talk: Reducing the risk of suicide for those in the care system 2023
  • Membership of board: Office for Veteran Affairs (Cabinet Office) (External organisation) 2022
  • Invited talk: One is too ManyVeteran Suicide: Understand-Identify-Prevent 2022
  • Invited talk: Presentation on the function of the Map of Need Project to the Veterans Advisory Board, Cabinet Office, UK Government 2022
  • Oral presentation: The MONARCH Study 2022

  • Tobyn Eagles Developing an aggregative data system for the evaluation of outcomes at The Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC). Start Date: 01/10/2024
  • Christina Dodds Military Women; Our Stories; A Narrative Inquiry of women who have served in the British Armed Forces Start Date: 23/09/2022
  • Colin Gordon Understanding Veteran Beneficiary Dis-engagement as a Tool for Case Work Practice. Start Date: 22/09/2022 End Date: 22/02/2025

Philosophy PhD November 01 2003


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