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Dr Annessa Rebair

Assistant Professor

Department: Nursing, Midwifery & Health

Assistant Professor and Subejct Lead for Mental Health Nurisng

My role is varied and includes: acting as ambassador for the university and the nursing profession at national and local events. I advocate for the nursing profession via academic, clinical and research engagement and publications. Involved in curriculum development and module leadership,  I am a personal tutor for undergraduate students offering pastoral and academic support, this is both enjoyable and rewarding. My role also includes involvement with the PhD process, such as supporting PhD students and acting as subject specialist. I engage in research-rich teaching and the development of research.

National Contribution: Currently I am leading on a national project for Health Education England. I did lead for the Royal College of Nurisng (RCN)  for suicide awareness and prevention (2015-2018) and  represented the RCN at the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, I was elected to the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (2016-2018). Trustee for the national charity Papyrus (2013-2019)  and key instigator and contributor to ensurimg suicide awareness was identified as a competency for all student nurses and included in NMC standards. 

Subject specialities include: suicide, acute mental health care, solution-focused practice, Executive and leadership coaching, personal development, humanistic care and spirituality. 

Research interests: grounded theory, interpretivism, constructivism, participatory research

Professioanl Doctorate: Entitled: Meeting Spaces: crafting conversations about suicide in pre-registration nurse education, is concerned with  the co-construction of meaningful encounters in health contexts. It identifies the need for nurses to meet a suicidal person with  genuine intention of seeing otherness and being with the uncertainty of suicide. Meaningful conversations about suicide were co-created in illuminating space in what was considered a human pivotal encounter. A specific kind of space is required to support meaningful conversations about suicide as the experience of the encounter incorporates more than just words. Drawing on Martin Buber's teachings on spirituality, the formation of a meeting space requires fully embracing  the other with awareness and intention, energetically extending boundaries of the physical self into surrounding space. It is here, in the space in between, that an authentic experience can be co-created. The Meeting Space Framework was constructed from the grounded theory of this research. 

Annessa Rebair

Campus Address

Coach Lane Campus East



  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Accurate reporting of maternal suicide data enables development of targeted suicide prevention interventions, Clibbens, N., Rebair, A. 12 Jun 2024, In: Evidence-based nursing
  • 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 Intuitive Jacket: Creating A Wearable Interface Acknowledging the Role of the Body in Trauma Mental Health, Bruce, T., Lightley, L., Wright, C., Rebair, A., Holmquist, L. 14 Mar 2023, AHs '23: Proceedings of the Augmented Humans International Conference 2023, New York, NY, USA, ACM
  • The Timeline: A Qualitative Study Exploring Therapeutic Experiences in an Immersive Interactive Virtual Environment (IIVE) for Trauma Mental Healthcare, Bruce, T., Rebair, A., Holmquist, L. 8 Oct 2022, NordiCHI ‘22 Conference (CHI ’22), Aarhus, Denmark. Participative Computing for Sustainable Futures. October 8-12, 2022, New York, ACM
  • Co-constructing conversations about suicide: the Meeting Space Framework, Rebair, A. 10 Feb 2022, In: British Journal of Nursing
  • Identifying nurses’ needs in relation to suicide awareness and prevention, Rebair, A., Hulatt, I. 1 Mar 2017, In: Nursing Standard
  • The art of noticing: essential to nursing practice., Watson, F., Rebair, A. 22 May 2014, In: British Journal of Nursing

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A and Watson, F. Evaluating the introduction of Mad Studies into undergraduate mental health nursing curriculum through zine making: a co-produced qualitative study. RCN International Research Conference. Oral presentation. 2024
  • Invited talk: Rebair, A. Therapeutic yoga for people bereaved by suicide. Suicide Bereavement UK, 11th International Conference. Workshop and talk. 2022
  • Invited talk: Rebair, A. Yoga to support young people with suicidal thoughts. Teen Yoga Foundation International Summit. Oral presentation and teaching session. 2021
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A. Meeting spaces: constructing conversations about suicide in nurse education. Suicide Bereavement UK, 10th International Conference. Poster presentation. 2021
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A. GROWing coaching at the heart of nurse education and practice. Solutions Focused Global Conference. Oral presentation. 2021
  • Oral presentation: Rebair. A. Conversations about suicide in nurse education and practice. International Mental Health Nursing Research Conference. Oral presentation 2021
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A. Suicide and spirituality incorporating Martin Buber’s spiritual teachings. International Network for the Study of Spirituality Conference. Oral presentation. 2021
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A and Glascott, M. Person Shaped Discovery: creating a teaching module with a difference. International Mental Health Nursing Research Conference. Oral presentation and panel discussion 2020
  • Invited talk: Rebair, A. Co-constructing conversations about suicide. 5th Commonwealth Nurses’ and Midwives Conference. Oral Presentation. 2020
  • Oral presentation: Rebair, A. Meeting Spaces: crafting conversations about suicide in nurse education. NET International Conference. Oral poster presentation. 2018

Sithandazile Masuku Working at the interface of Health and Criminal Justice. How do mental health nurses make sense of their role as custody diversion nurses?. Start Date: 28/09/2020

  • Nursing PhD January 11 2019
  • Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2014
  • ILM Level 7 Executive and Leadership Coaching


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