Professor Iestyn Williams

Iestyn Williams

Health Services Management Centre
Professor of Health Policy and Management
Director of Research in HSMC

Contact details

Address
School of Social Policy, HSMC
Park House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2RT

Iestyn is a Professor of Health Policy and Management and Director of Research for the School of Social Policy. He is involved in a range of research, teaching and knowledge transfer work and has a broad methodological experience and expertise. He specialises in social science approaches to Health Services Research, employing mixed methods study designs. He has specific expertise in: priority setting, decision making and decommissioning in health care; strategic planning and decision making; implementation studies, and; qualitative evidence synthesis and reporting.

Qualifications

His main qualifications are:

  • PhD Health Care Policy and Management, University of Birmingham (2009)
  • MPhil Cultural Studies and Sociology, University of Birmingham (2002)
  • BSocSc (1st) Media, Culture and Society, University of Birmingham (1995)

Biography

Iestyn's academic background is in Sociology which he studied at undergraduate and postgraduate level at the University of Birmingham. Before joining HSMC, Iestyn worked in NHS management and prior to this spent five years in research and service development in the third sector. 

Current and recent projects 

  • A national study into decommissioning in health care (funded by the National Institute for Health Research)
  • A national study into publication bias in health services delivery research (funded by the National Institute for Health Research and led by Warwick University)
  • An investigation of capital spending in NHS organisations (funded by the Health Foundation)

Postgraduate supervision

Iestyn welcomes PhD proposals on the following themes:

  • Priority setting, decision making and decommissioning

  • Health care change and improvement

  • Social science methods in health services research

Research

Research Projects

  • A Multicentre Study to Investigate Feasibility of a Protocol-Driven Multidisciplinary Service Model to Tackle ‘Spurious Penicillin Allergy’ in Secondary Care (National Institute for Health Research HS&DR), CI, £800k (2020-2023)
  • Inter-CEPt: Intervening to eliminate the centre effect variation in home dialysis use. (National Institute for Health Research HS&DR), CI, £1,110k (2020-2023)
  • NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC). West Midlands, Theme 1: long term conditions. CI, £9m (2019-2026)
  • Health policy and civil unrest – an analysis of the global archive of news reports (Universities of Illinois and Birmingham BRIDGE Seed Fund) PI, £10k (2019)
  • Publication and related bias in health services and delivery research (HSDR): Systematic review of literature, evaluation of empirical evidence and methodology and key informant interviews (2017-2019)
  • Decommissioning in health care: The views of patients, service users, carers and the public (2015-2017)
  • Community Hospitals Research Programme (2014-2017)
  • Decommissioning health care (2013-2016) NIHR HS&DR

Other activities

  • Member of the Council of Governors, University Hospitals Birmingham
  • Secretary, International Society for Priorities in Health
  • Associate Editor Journal of Health Organisation and Managemet
  • External Examiner City University London
  • External examiner Alliance Manchester Business School

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Smith, CQ, Williams, I & Leggett, W 2024, 'A matter of (good) faith? Understanding the interplay of power and the moral agency of managers in healthcare service reconfiguration', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 342, 116553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116553

Krishna, MT, Bhogal, R, Ng, BY, Kildonaviciute, K, Jani, YH, Williams, I, Sandoe, JAT, Pollard, R, Jones, N, Dunsmure, L, Powell, N, Hullur, C, Balaji, A, Moriarty, C, Jackson, B, Warner, A, Daniels, R, West, R, Thomas, C, Misbah, SA & Savic, L 2024, 'A multicentre observational study to investigate feasibility of a direct oral penicillin challenge in de-labelling ‘low risk’ patients with penicillin allergy by non-allergy healthcare professionals (SPACE study): Implications for healthcare systems', Journal of Infection, vol. 88, no. 3, 106116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2024.01.015

Damery, S, Lambie, M, Williams, I, Coyle, D, Fotheringham, J, Solis-Trapala, I, Allen, K, Potts, J, Dikomitis, L & Davies, SJ 2024, 'Centre variation in home dialysis uptake: a survey of kidney centre practice in relation to home dialysis organisation and delivery in England', Peritoneal Dialysis International. https://doi.org/10.1177/089686082412322

Williams, I, Kapiriri, L, Vélez, C-M, Aguilera, B, Danis, M, Essue, B, Goold, S, Noorulhuda, M, Nouvet, E, Razavi, D & Sandman, L 2024, 'How did European countries set health priorities in response to the COVID-19 threat? A comparative document analysis of 24 pandemic preparedness plans across the EURO region', Health Policy, vol. 141, 104998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.104998

Glynn, J, Jones, T, Bell, M, Blazeby, J, Burton, C, Conefrey, C, Donovan, JL, Farrar, N, Morley, J, McNair, A, Owen-Smith, A, Rule, E, Thornton, G, Tucker, V, Williams, I, Rooshenas, L, Hollingworth, W & Mabunda, DHP (ed.) 2023, 'Did the evidence-based intervention (EBI) programme reduce inappropriate procedures, lessen unwarranted variation or lead to spill-over effects in the National Health Service?', PLOS One, vol. 18, no. 9, e0290996. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290996

Al-Janabi, H, Williams, I & Powell, M 2023, 'Is the NHS underfunded? Three approaches to answering the question', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 116, no. 12, pp. 409–412. https://doi.org/10.1177/01410768231214340

Smith, C & Williams, I 2023, 'The Pervasiveness of Power: Dilemmas for Researchers of Major System Change in Healthcare: Comment on ““Attending to History” in Major Systems Change in Healthcare in England: Specialist Cancer Surgery Service Reconfiguration”', International Journal of Health Policy and Management. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2023.7639

Vélez, C-M, Aguilera, B, Kapiriri, L, Essue, BM, Nouvet, E, Sandman, L & Williams, I 2022, 'An analysis of how health systems integrated priority-setting in the pandemic planning in a sample of Latin America and the Caribbean countries', Health Research Policy and Systems, vol. 20, no. 1, 58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-022-00861-y

Tshimologo, M, Allen, K, Coyle, D, Damery, S, Dikomitis, L, Fotheringham, J, Hill, H, Lambie, M, Phillips-Darby, L, Solis-Trapala, I, Williams, I & J Davies, S 2022, 'Intervening to eliminate the centre-effect variation in home dialysis use: protocol for Inter-CEPt—a sequential mixed-methods study designing an intervention bundle', BMJ open, vol. 12, no. 6, e060922. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-060922

Burn, E, Tattarini, G, Williams, I, Lombi, L & Gale, N 2022, 'Women's experience of depressive symptoms while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from an international web survey', Frontiers in Sociology, vol. 7, 763088. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.763088

Davidson, D, Williams, I, Glasby, J & Ellis Paine, A 2022, '‘Localism and intimacy, and... other rather imponderable reasons of that sort’: a qualitative study of patient experience of community hospitals in England', Health and Social Care in the Community, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.14083

Chapter

Williams, I & Mannion, R 2022, De-implementation. in F Rapport, R Clay-Williams & J Braithwaite (eds), Implementation Science: the key concepts. 1st edn, Routledge Key Guides, Routledge, pp. 209-212. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003109945-64

Abstract

Davies, S, Williams, I, Lambie, M, Weight, L, Coyle, D, Damery, S, Fotheringham, J, Allen, K, Solis-Trapala, I & Potts, J 2023, 'P-128 - Developing An Intervention Bundle To Enhance Uptake Of Home Therapies For Patients With Kidney Failure In The UK: Results Of The Inter-Cept Study', Bulletin de la Dialyse à Domicile, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. S124-S125. https://doi.org/10.25796/bdd.v6i3.79903

Paper

Allen, K, Shaw, K, Spry, J, Damery, S, Williams, I & Dikomitis, L 2023, 'Culture and trust in renal centres: ethnographic findings to support person-centred dialysis choice', Paper presented at BSA Medical Sociology Study Group Annual Conference 2023, Sussex, United Kingdom, 11/09/23 - 13/09/23.

Review article

Ledda, V, George, C, Glasbey, J, Labib, P, Li, E, Lu, A, Kudrna, L, Nepogodiev, D, Picciochi, M, Williams, I & Bhangu, A 2024, 'Uncertainties and opportunities in delivering environmentally sustainable surgery: the surgeons' view', Anaesthesia, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 293-300. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.16195

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

  • Setting priorities in health care
  • involving citizens and the public in health and social care decisions
  • the challenges of removing or replacing health care services and organisations
  • the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
  • Health Care Commissioning