Dr Marie Falahee BSc PhD CPsychol

Institute of Inflammation and Ageing
Lecturer in Behavioural Rheumatology

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 371 7891
Email: m.falahee@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @DrMarieFalahee

Address: Rheumatology Research Group
Institute of Inflammation and Ageing (IIA)
University of Birmingham
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Birmingham B15 2WB
United Knigdom

Patient perceptions are key predictors of clinical outcomes and health behaviours, and a central focus of Dr Falahee’s research is on understanding the perspectives of individuals with, or at risk of musculoskeletal disorders and the development of psychological and/or educational interventions to improve clinical outcomes or enhance shared decision making.

There is an increasing research interest in the development of predictive biomarkers and preventive strategies for rheumatoid arthritis, and Dr Falahee has a particular interest in the measurement of patient preferences in this context, in order to facilitate the efficient translation of this work and to inform the design of future clinical services that are effective and acceptable to patients and other stakeholders. She is also involved in the development of international evidence-based recommendations on the methodologies used to integrate patient preferences into decision making throughout the lifecycle of medical products as a partner in the European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative funded consortium PREFER.

Dr Falahee is passionate about patient and public involvement in research and as academic coordinator of the Birmingham Rheumatology Research Patient Partnership (R2P2): she facilitates patient involvement across the Rheumatology Research Group, ensuring that our research is informed by patients’ needs, experiences and expectations and is sharply focussed on public benefit.

Qualifications

Lecturer in Behavioural Rheumatology:

Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society 2017
PhD School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, 1997
BSc (Hons) Class 1. School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, 1992

Biography

2017 - Lecturer, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham

2014- Post-doctoral Researcher, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham

2000 - Career Break

1997 - Lecturer in Psychology, Aston University

1995 - Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham

1992 - PhD School of Psychology, University of Birmingham

1989 - BSc University of Birmingham

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Falahee supervises doctoral students in areas related to her research interests and welcomes enquiries from self-funded PhD students with a background in behavioural / social science or medicine who have an interest in behavioural rheumatology. Dr Falahee is currently co-supervising an Arthritis Research UK funded PhD student (Imogen Wells) examining stakeholder perspectives on preventive approaches to rheumatoid arthritis

Research

Dr Falahee is interested in the application of behavioural science to improve outcomes for those affected by musculoskeletal disorders. Specific areas of interest include:

Developing programmes to facilitate the implementation of preventive treatments for individuals at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis
Enhancing understanding of patient decision making about treatments or investigation strategies for inflammatory arthritis
Enhancing understanding of outcomes that are relevant to patients with inflammatory arthritis
Developing approaches to reduce delays in access to care/treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Other activities

Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society
Allied Health Professional Member of the British Society for Rheumatology
Member of the United Kingdom Society for Behavioural Medicine
Member of the EULAR Study Group for Risk Factors for RA
Member of the EULAR PARE Study Group for Collaborative Research

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Birch, B, Simons, G, Buckley, C, Raza, K & Falahee, M 2020, 'Development and formative evaluation of patient research partner involvement in a multi-disciplinary European translational research project', Research Involvement and Engagement, vol. 6, 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-020-0178-7

Mosor, E, Stoffer-Marx, M, Steiner, G, Raza, K, Stack, R, Simons, G, Falahee, M, Skingle, D, Dobrin, M, Schett, G, Englbrecht, M, Smolen, J, Kjeken, I, Hueber, A & Stamm, T 2019, 'I would never take preventive medication! Perspectives and information needs of people who underwent predictive tests for rheumatoid arthritis', Arthritis Care & Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23841

Falahee, M, Simons, G, Raza, K & Stack, R 2018, 'Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of risk in the context of genetic testing for the prediction of chronic disease: a qualitative metasynthesis', Journal of Risk Research, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 129-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2016.1153503

Simons, G, Stack, R, Stoffer-Marx, M, Englbrecht, M, Mosor, E, Buckley, C, Kumar, K, Hansson, M, Hueber, A, Stamm, TA, Falahee, M & Raza, K 2018, 'Perceptions of first-degree relatives of patients with rheumatoid arthritis about lifestyle modifications and pharmacological interventions to reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis development: a qualitative interview study', BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol. 2, 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-018-0038-3

Bayliss, K, Raza, K, Simons, G, Falahee, M, Hansson, M, Starling, B & Stack, R 2018, 'Perceptions of predictive testing for those at risk of developing a chronic inflammatory disease: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies', Journal of Risk Research, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 167-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2015.1119183

Pollock, J, Raza, K, Pratt, AG, Hanson, H, Siebert, S, Filer, A, Isaacs, J, Buckley, C, McInnes, IB & Falahee, M 2017, 'Patient and researcher perspectives on facilitating patient and public involvement in rheumatology research', Musculoskeletal care, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 395–399. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1171

Falahee, M, Raza, K, Simons, G, Buckley, C & Stack, R 2017, 'Patients’ perceptions of their relatives’ risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and of the potential for risk communication, prediction and modulation', Arthritis Care and Research, vol. 69, no. 10, pp. 1558–1165. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23179

Simons, G, Falahee, M, Kumar, K, Raza, K & Stack, R 2017, 'Qualitative exploration of illness perceptions of rheumatoid arthritis in the general public: Illness perceptions of Rheumatoid Arthritis', Musculoskeletal care, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1135

Simons, G, Belcher, J, Morton, C, Kumar, K, Falahee, M, Mallen, CD, Stack, R & Raza, K 2017, 'Symptom recognition and perceived urgency of help-seeking for rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases in the general public: a mixed method approach', Arthritis Care & Research, vol. 69, no. 5, pp. 633-641. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.22979

Abstract

Monzani, D, Russo, S, Kihlbom, U, Jongerius, C, Faccio, F, Pizzoli, S, Marton, G, Vergani, L, Pinto, CA, Harding, S, Janssens, R, Huys, I, Kubler, J, Simons, G, Falahee, M, Herman, R, Hammad, T & Pravettoni, G 2018, 'PMU103 - incorporating psychological constructs into patient preference studies: which you should consider including in your next study?', Value in Health, vol. 21, no. Supplement 3, pp. S324-S324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2018.09.1939

Falahee, M 2017, 'Patient’ perspectives on prediction and prevention', Rheumatology, vol. 56, no. Supplement 2, pp. I95. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex060.095

Mosor, E, Stoffer, M, Steiner, G, Raza, K, Stack, R, Simons, G, Falahee, M, Schett, G, Hueber, AJ, Englbrecht, M, Smolen, JS & Stamm, T 2017, 'SAT0719-HPR ''and suddenly you are a person at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis!’' Different perspectives of individuals on predictive testing –: results of an international qualitative interview study.', Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 76, pp. 1511. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.4705

Mosor, E, Stoffer, M, G, S, Raza, K, Stack, R, Simons, G, Falahee, M, Schett, G, englbrecht, M, Smolen, JS, Hueber, AJ & Stamm, T 2017, 'Suddenly you are a person at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis!" Different perspectives of individuals on predictive testing - Results of an international Qualitative interview study', Arthritis and Rheumatology, vol. 69, no. suppl 10.