Jane’s programme of research has centred on health visiting and school nursing practice and safeguarding children. It encompasses a body of work spanning over 25 years, which has had considerable impact across the UK and internationally on public health nurses’ clinical practice in the recognition of children and their families in need of help. This programme of research has helped to unpack the distinctive contribution of public health nursing in safeguarding and child protection work. Jane's current research interests include:
- Safeguarding children and child protection
- Professional assessment in public health nursing
- Health visiting practice
- Children and young people's emotional health and wellbeing
- Parenting
- Childhood overweight and obesity
Research group membership
Jane is a member of OxINMAHR - the Oxford Institute of Nursing and Midwifery and Allied Health Research.
She leads the Faculty Children and Families Research Group and is co-Lead of the cross University Children and Young People Research Network
Externally Jane is an expert nurse member (and vice chair) of Coventry and Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee (NRES). She is a member of the NIHR HS&DR Grant Panel, a review panel member of the HEE/NIHR/NHS Clinical Doctorate Research Fellowship Scheme and the NIHR Pre-doctoral Local Authority (PLAF) scheme.
She is also a Visiting Professor and Member of the Children’s and Young People’s Health in Social Context CYPHiSCO, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kristianstad University, Sweden.
Research grants and awards
Current Research Grants
- Appleton J.V., Aveyard H, Mumby-Croft, K. and Malone M. A synthesis of the evidence for effective parenting support.Public Health England. (Principal Investigator)
- Malone M., Watson E, Appleton J.V., Brett J., Henshall C. et al. Investigating how nurse education prior to and during Covid prepares nurses for the pandemic: an analysis of what works. UKRI/ESRC/COVID- 2020-2022. (Co-investigator)
- Appleton J.V. (PI) Think Baby - Take 2. Oxford Brookes University Central Research Fund. Research Excellence Award. (Start 2021-2022). (Principal investigator)
- Paavilainen E., Appleton J.V., Baldacchino A. et al. “ERICA-Stopping Child Maltreatment through Pan-European Multiprofessional Training Programme: Early Child Protection Work with Families at Risk”. (RDAP-GBW-AG-2018-2 Domestic violence/European Commission). 2019-2021. (Lead investigator in England, UK).
- Alwan N., Smith D., Roderick P., Vassilev I., Slater K., Appleton J.V. et al…. Combining individual and area-based measures of disadvantage for risk stratification and intervention to improve health in Wessex’s young families: The Wessex FRIEND Toolbox (Family Risk IdEntificatioN and Decision). 2019- Sept. 2021. NIHR ARC Wessex. (Co-investigator)
- Burch K, Moultrie K, Kerslake A, Daru J, Green C, Sharpe M, Taylor V, Appleton J.V. (2017) Evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund. DfE. 2018-2021.