Dr Denise Tanner

Department of Social Work and Social Care
Associate Professor of Social Work

Contact details

Telephone: +44(0)121 414 2941
Email: d.l.tanner@bham.ac.uk

Address: Department of Social Work and Social Care
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Denise Tanner is Associate Professor (Social Work). She teaches on BA and MA Social Work courses. Her areas of teaching and research interest include adult social work/social care policy and practice; social work with older people; social work skills; social perspectives of mental distress; and service user involvement in education and research.

Qualifications

PhD Social Work (University of Warwick, 2005)
Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Coventry University, 1998)
Certificate in Supervisory Management (Distinction) (Coventry University, 1995)
M.Soc.Sc. Mental Disorder Studies (University of Birmingham, 1985)
BSc. Sociology (1st class) with Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (University of Bath, 1982)

Teaching

Adult social work/social care policy and practice
Social work with older people
Relationship-based practice
Social work skills
Qualitative social research
Service user involvement in research

Postgraduate supervision

Denise Tanner's current doctoral supervision covers the following areas:

• Evaluation of the teaching of communication skills to social work students
• Navigation of safety and risk by people with dementia and their carers
• Older people and carers’ experiences of ‘hospital-at-home’
• New relationships in permanent care settings from the perspective of the non-
care dwelling spouse/partner.

Other activities

Senior Fellow, NIHR School for Social Care Research
Member of ‘G8’ a group of social work academics who promote social work with older people as a specialist area of practice, requiring distinctive knowledge and skills.
Member of British Society of Gerontology.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Bartlett, R, Kaley, A, Hussain, N, Ahmed, F, McKelvie, S & Tanner, D 2025, 'Access to Social Farms for People With Dementia Living at Home in England: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Using Levesque’s Conceptual Framework', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 2025, no. 1, 5593382. https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/5593382

Tanner, D, Willis, P, Beedell, P, Nosowska, G, Milne, A, Nelson-Becker, H & Perry, E 2025, '‘Being that hopeful person’: the contribution of social workers to older people’s wellbeing', British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf080

Kinghorn, P, Ince, R, Hastings, A, Birks, Y & Tanner, D 2025, 'Continued Policy Drift on the Funding of Adult Social Care in England: What can be learned from the shelving of proposed charging reforms?', Social Policy and Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.70031

Bartlett, R, Tanner, D, Hussain, N, McKelvie, S, Kaley, A, Ahmed, F & Malcolm, G 2025, 'Improving access to social farms for people with dementia, including people from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan', Journal of Dementia Care, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 23-26. <https://journalofdementiacare.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/JDCJAN25_38pp.pdf>

Glasby, J, Allen, K, Bennett, M, Douglass, T, Iqbal, A, Kinghorn, P, Needham, C, Plappert, H, Roberts, T, Skrybant, M, Smith, D, Tanner, D, Taylor, B, Topping, A, Ward, L & Zafar, S 2026, 'Improving outcomes when care homes close: NIHR Programme Grant multi-methods study', Programme Grants for Applied Research, vol. 14, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.3310/GJJG3821

Zafar, S, Needham, C, Glasby, J, Tanner, D & Douglass, T 2025, '‘It was about as far at odds with our provider failure protocol…as you can get’: Untangling care policy when care homes close', Social Policy and Administration, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.70021

Tanner, D, Harte, L, Douglass, T, Glasby, J & Zafar, S 2025, 'Social workers’ experiences of supporting older people when care homes close: critical gerontology as a professional tool', British Journal of Social Work.

Douglass, T, Tanner, D, Zafar, S, Allen, K, Iqbal, A, Needham, C & Glasby, J 2025, 'Understanding older people's experiences of care home closure through the lenses of precarity and transition', International Journal of Care and Caring, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1332/23978821Y2025D000000147

Willis, P, Tanner, D, Beedell, P, Noszlopy, L, Richards, S & Nosowska, G 2025, 'What Constitutes Successful Joint Working with Social Work? A Study of Integrated Practice in Supporting Older People with Care and Support Needs', Journal of Long-Term Care, vol. 2025, pp. 344-353. https://doi.org/10.31389/jltc.391

Iqbal, A, Kinghorn, P, Glasby, J, Tanner, D & Roberts, T 2023, 'A Scoping Review of the Costs, Consequences, and Wider Impacts of Residential Care Home Closures in a UK Context', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 2023, 8675499. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/8675499

Litchfield, I, Glasby, J, Parkinson, S, Hocking, L, Tanner, D, Roe, B & Bousfield, J 2023, 'Trying to find people to fit the tech…”: a qualitative exploration of the lessons learnt introducing Artificial Intelligence-based technology into English social care', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 2023, 9174873. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9174873

Digital or Visual Products

Wakeham, M, Tanner, D, Ubhi, M, Baasi, B, Przybylko, R & Sadd, J, How can a social worker help you?, 2024, Digital or Visual Products. <https://youtu.be/Yr1TNoUfYI8>

Kinghorn, P & Tanner, D, Paying Care Home Fees: What happens next?, 2024, Digital or Visual Products. <https://youtu.be/YiR_vbpZd6U>

Other contribution

Kinghorn, P, Ince, B, Tanner, D, Hastings, A, Baxter, K & Birks, Y 2024, Paying care home fees: What to do next. University of Birmingham.

Glasby, J, Litchfield, I, Parkinson, S, Hocking, L & Tanner, D 2023, 'If I knew then what I know now...': a short guide to introducing new technology in adult social care. BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre. <https://preview-uob.cloud.contensis.com/documents/college-social-sciences/social-policy/brace/ai-and-social-care-booklet-final-digital-accessible.pdf>

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