Dr Sion Scott

I am a hospital pharmacist researcher and my methodological expertise is the application of behavioural science to develop and evaluate health interventions.

I completed my MPharm at the School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia in 2015 and began my clinical career at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. I returned to the University of East Anglia in 2016 to complete an NHS-funded PhD in behavioural science in which I developed a ‘practitioner behaviour change intervention for deprescribing in the hospital setting’. My deprescribing intervention is being tested in an NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research across 24 hospitals and 22,000 patients in England. After completing a series of postdoctoral positions and a Lectureship at the University of East Anglia, I joined the University of Leicester in 2021.

Current research projects

Chief investigator

• The Identification of Medication Adherence Barriers Questionnaire intervention (IMAB-Qi): Developing a package to support IMAB-Qi delivery in general  practice and a trial to test IMAB-Qi effectiveness and costeffectiveness - NIHR PGfAR (2024-2029)
  
• Development of The Determinants of Metabolic Side Effects Questionnaire (DMS-Q) – Pharmacy Research UK and the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (2023-2025)
• Validation of the Patient Experience of Deprescribing Questionnaire (PED-Q) – United States of America National Institute on Aging (2023-2024)
• Development of a behaviour change intervention to prevent severe antipsychotic medication associated metabolic syndrome (University of Leicester PhD studentship) (2022-25)
• Development of a behaviour change intervention for screening and management of oropharyngeal dysphagia in primary care (University of Leicester PhD studentship) (2021-24)

Co-investigator

• Increasing understanding of barriers and facilitators to clinical engagement and research involvement for adults with ID from minority ethnic backgrounds, residing in the East Midlands – CRN EM (2023-2024)
• Reframing ‘wandering’ as a meaningful activity using realist synthesis and qualitative exploration: the FREEDEM study – NIHR RfSC (2024-2025)
• Evaluating staff training and the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act in care homes for older adults - NIHR HS&DR (2023-2025)
• Measuring quality of life in deprescribing trials (Co-investigator) - United States of America National Institute on Aging (2022-2023)
• The clinical social and cost effectiveness of a decision support tool to optimise community-based tailored management of sleep for people living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and sleep disturbance - (Co-investigator) - NIHR PGfAR (2022-2027)
• FluCare: Estimating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention to increase care home staff influenza vaccination rates - NIHR PHR (2021-2024)
• CompreHensive geriAtRician-led MEdication Review (CHARMER) - NIHR PGfAR (2020-2025)

Past research projects

Chief investigator

• Learning from proactive deprescribing experiences within the Care Homes Independent Pharmacist Prescribing Study to develop national policy regarding deprescribing in care homes for older people - NIHR TRiP (2021-2022)
• Generating the evidence for safely and acceptably switching people with Parkinson’s to liquid formulations - EIRA Research and Development Grant (2020-2021)
• Selecting theory and evidence-based components and characterising their modes of delivery for a hospital deprescribing intervention - Pharmacy Research UK (2018-2019)
• Developing a theory and evidence-based model for hospital deprescribing - Pharmacy Research UK (2017-2018)

Co-investigator

• Development of a trial to evaluate a theory and evidence-based medication adherence intervention to enhance structured medication reviews in primary care - NIHR PDG (2022-23)
• Improving the quality and experience of care for patients prescribed medicines with a risk of dependence or withdrawal - NIHR RfPB (2021-22)
  
  

2024

Scott S, Buac N, Bhattacharya D. An Internationally Derived Process of Healthcare Professionals’ Proactive Deprescribing Steps and Constituent Activities. Pharmacy. 2024; 12(5):138. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy12050138

Martin-Kerry J, Scott S, Taylor J, Wright D, Patel M, Griffiths J, Keevil V, Witham MD, Clark A, Keller I, Turner D. Supporting meaningful participation of older people in core outcome set development. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2024 Aug 2.

Scott S, Atkins B, D’Costa T, Rendle C, Murphy K, Taylor D, Smith C, Kellar I, Briggs A, Griffiths A, Hornak R. Development of the Guide to Disseminating Research (GuiDiR): A consolidated framework. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2024 Aug 22.

Smith C, Bhattacharya D, Hansjee D, Jeffries C, Richards K, Scott S. Tackling unmanaged oropharyngeal dysphagia in primary care: a behavioural science realist review of interventions. BMJ open. 2024 Aug 1;14(8):e086184.

Wright D, Patel A, Blacklock J, Bion V, Birt L, Bryant T, Clark A, Cook L, Griffiths A, Guillard C, Hammond A, S Scott, A Wagner. FluCare: results from a randomised feasibility study of a complex intervention to increase care home staff influenza vaccination rates. Archives of Clinical and Biomedical Research. 2024 Jul 2;8:273-90.

McDonald EG, Lundby C, Thompson W, Boyd C, Farrell B, Gagnon C, Herbin J, Khuong N, Moriarty F, Pierson T, Scott S, Reeve E. Reducing potentially inappropriate polypharmacy at a national and international level: the impact of deprescribing networks. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology. 2024 Jun 2.

Thompson W, Lundby C, Bleik A, Waring H, Hong JA, Xi C, Hughes C, Salzwedel DM, McDonald EG, Pruskowski J, Scott S, Spinewine A. Measuring quality of life in deprescribing trials: a scoping review. Drugs & Aging. 2024 May 6:1-9.

Bhattacharya D, Kantilal K, Martin-Kerry J, Millar V, Clark A, Wright D, Murphy K, Turner D, Scott S. Developing a core outcome set for evaluating medication adherence interventions for adults prescribed long-term medication in primary care. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2024 Apr 3.

Alharthi MS, Scott S, Hughes C, Bond C, Hatah E, Bryant L, Holland R, Kosari S, Baqir W, Loke Y, Wright D. Taxonomy development for term standardization in activity resulting from medication review processes: a Delphi study. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2024 Feb 22:riae002.

Seddon J, Friedrich C, Wadd S. Dicks D, Scott S, Robinson A, Walker C. Improving patient experience for people prescribed medicines with a risk of dependence or withdrawal: co-designed solutions using experience based co-design. BMC Prim. Care 25, 17 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02253-9

2023

Aryankhesal A, Blake J, Wong G, Megson M, Briscoe S, Allan L, Broomfield NM, Eastwood Z, Greene L, Hilton A, Killett A, S Scott, et al. Sleep disturbance in dementia or mild cognitive impairment: a realist review of general practice. British Journal of General Practice. 2023 Nov 3.

Krockow, E.M., Emerson, T., Youssef, E. Scott, S. Tromans, S. Evidencing general acceptability of open-label placebo use for tackling overtreatment in primary care: a mixed methods study. BMC Med 21, 362 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03074-4

Alsaif F, Twigg M, Scott S, Blyth A, Wright D, Patel A. A systematic review of barriers and enablers associated with uptake of influenza vaccine among care home staff. Vaccine. 2023 Sep 4:S0264-410X(23)01048-4. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.08.082.

Birt, L., Katangwe-Chigamba, T., Scott, S. et al. Protocol of the process evaluation of cluster randomised control trial for estimating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention to increase care home staff influenza vaccination rates compared to usual practice (FluCare). Trials 24, 587 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07613-5

Sud, D., Anandaram, A., Atkins, H., McAskill,R., Scott, S. Utilisation of Health Technologies for Physical Health of People with Learning Disabilities: Point of Care Testing. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-023-00362-3

Scott S, Atkins B, Martin-Kerry JM, Pritchard M, Alldred DP, Clark AB, Colles A, Hammond A, Murphy K, Keevil VL, Kellar I. CompreHensive geriAtRician-led MEdication Review (CHARMER): protocol for a feasibility study of a hospital deprescribing behaviour change intervention. BMJ open. 2023 Aug 1;13(8):e075795.

Thompson W, Reeve E, McDonald EG, Farrell B, Scott S, Steinman MA, Morin L, Lundby C. Ten deprescribing articles you should know about: A guide for newcomers to the field. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology. 2023 May 3.

Scott S. Unveiling the latest deprescribing research: a new themed collection. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2023 Jun;31(3):267-8.

Scott S, Martin-Kerry J, Bhattacharya D. Developing and testing complex behaviour change interventions to support proactive deprescribing: A narrative review. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2023 Mar 27. doi: 10.1111/bcpt.13863.

Scott S, Atkins B, Kellar I, Taylor J, Keevil V, Alldred DP, Murphy K, Patel M, Witham MD, Wright D, Bhattacharya D. Co-design of a behaviour change intervention to equip geriatricians and pharmacists to proactively deprescribe medicines that are no longer needed or are risky to continue in hospital. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2023 May 1;19(5):707-16.

Smith C, Bhattacharya D, Scott S. Understanding how primary care practitioners can be supported to recognise, screen and initially diagnose oropharyngeal dysphagia: protocol for a behavioural science realist review. BMJ open. 2023 Feb 1;13(2):e065121.

Alharthi M, Wright D, Scott S, Birt L. Barriers and enablers to deprescribing for older people in care homes: The theory-based perspectives of pharmacist independent prescribers. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2023 Jan 31.

God E, Bhattacharya D, Scott S. What is known about the determinants of developing antipsychotic-induced metabolic syndrome and interventions to address them for community dwelling adults: a scoping review protocol. medRxiv 2023.01.05.22283663; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.05.22283663

Micallef C, Enoch DA, Kamranpour P, Santos R, Tyler N, Scott S. The role of hospital antimicrobial and infectious diseases pharmacists in the UK: a theoretically underpinned exploration. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance. 2023 Feb;5(1):dlac136.

2022

Alharthi M, Scott S, Alldred DP, Holland R, Hughes C, Birt L, Blacklock J, Bond C, Clark A, Wright D. Pharmacist Independent Prescriber (PIP) deprescribing in UK care homes: contextual factors associated with increased activity. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2022 Dec 14.

Birt L, Wright DJ, Blacklock J, Bond CM, Hughes CM, Alldred DP, Holland R, Scott S. Enhancing deprescribing: A qualitative understanding of the complexities of pharmacist‐led deprescribing in care homes. Health & Social Care in the Community. 2022 Nov;30(6):e6521-31.

Patel A, Sims E, Blacklock J, Birt L, Bion V, Clark A, S Scott et al. Cluster randomised control trial protocol for estimating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention to increase care home staff influenza vaccination rates compared to usual practice (FLUCARE). Trials. 2022 Dec;23(1):1-2.

Greene, L., Aryankhesal, A., Megson, M., Blake, J., Wong, G., Briscoe, S., Hilton, A., Killett, A., Reeve, J., Allan, L., Ballard, C., Broomfield, N., van Horik, J., Khondoker, M., Lazar, A., Litherland, R., Livingston, G., Maidement, I., Medina-Lara, A., Rook, G., Scott, S., Shepstone, L. and Fox, C. Understanding primary care diagnosis and management of sleep disturbance for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: a realist review protocol. BMJ open. 2022 Nov 1;12(11):e067424.

Wade Thompson, Chris Xi, Carmel Hughes, Frank Moriarty, Douglas M Salzwedel, Emily McDonald, Jennifer Pruskowski, Adam Bleik, Harman Waring, Sion Scott, Anne Spinewine, Jean S Kutner, Emma Bjørk, Trine Graabæk Hansen, Carina Lundby. Measuring quality of life in deprescribing trials: a scoping review protocol. 2022 osf.io/aez6w.

Alharthi M, Wright D, Scott S, Blacklock J. Terms used to describe and define activities undertaken as a result of the medication review process: Do they require standardisation? A systematic review. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. 2022 Nov 21:1-6.

Rendell T, Barnett J, Scott S, Wright D. Designing an evidence based community pharmacy service specification for a pharmacogenomic testing service. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. 2022 Dec;44(6):1406-16.

Martin-Kerry J, Taylor J, Scott S, Patel M, Wright D, Clark A, Turner D, Alldred DP, Murphy K, Keevil V, Witham MD. Developing a core outcome set for hospital deprescribing trials for older people under the care of a geriatrician. Age and Ageing. 2022 Nov;51(11):afac241.

Atkins, B, Bhattacharya, D, Smith, C, S Scott. Barriers and enablers to switching from a solid to a liquid formulation of Parkinson’s medication: a theory-based mixed methods investigation. Int J Clin Pharm 44, 1046–1056 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-022-01446-z

Rendell T, Barnett J, Scott S, Wright D. Designing a theory and evidence informed pharmacogenomic testing service in community pharmacy in England. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2022 Apr 9.

2021

Scott S. Deprescribing: a call for research that supports implementation in practice. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2021 Dec;29(6):525-6.

Prajapati AR, Dima A, Mosa G, Scott S, Song F, Wilson J, Bhattacharya D. Mapping modifiable determinants of medication adherence in bipolar disorder (BD) to the theoretical domains framework (TDF): a systematic review. Psychological medicine. 2021 May.

Hatton K, Bhattacharya D, Scott S, Wright D. Barriers and facilitators to pharmacists integrating into the ward-based multidisciplinary team: A systematic review and meta-synthesis. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2021 Nov 1;17(11):1923-36.

Scott S, Wright DJ, Bhattacharya D. The role of behavioural science in changing deprescribing practice. British journal of clinical pharmacology. 2021;87(1):39-41.

Scott S, May H, Patel M, Wright DJ, Bhattacharya D. A practitioner behaviour change intervention for deprescribing in the hospital setting. Age and ageing. 2021 Mar;50(2):581-6.

2020

Scott S, Twigg MJ, Clark A, Farrow C, May H, Patel M, Taylor J, Wright DJ, Bhattacharya D. Development of a hospital deprescribing implementation framework: a focus group study with geriatricians and pharmacists. Age and ageing. 2020 Jan 1;49(1):102-10.

Shenoy R, Scott S, Bhattacharya D. Quantifying and characterising multi-compartment compliance aid provision. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2020 Apr 1;16(4):560-7.

2019

Scott S, Clark A, Farrow C, May H, Patel M, Twigg MJ, Wright DJ, Bhattacharya D. Attitudinal predictors of older peoples’ and caregivers’ desire to deprescribe in hospital. BMC geriatrics. 2019 Dec;19(1):1-1.

Prajapati AR, Dima AL, Clark AB, Gant C, Gibbons C, Gorrod R, Mosa G, Scott S, Song F, Teague B, Twigg MJ. Mapping of modifiable barriers and facilitators of medication adherence in bipolar disorder to the Theoretical Domains Framework: a systematic review protocol. BMJ open. 2019 Jun 1;9(2):e026980.Wright D,

Wright DJ, Scott S, Bhattacharya D. Deprescribing: routine pharmacy practice or an exciting research opportunity?. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2019 Oct;27(5):406-7.

Wright D, Scott S, Buck J, Bhattacharya D. Role of nurses in supporting proactive deprescribing. Nursing Standard. 2019 Feb 22;34(3):44-50.

2018

Scott S, Clark A, May H, Bhattacharya D. Validation and feasibility of the medication acceptability questionnaire to investigate tablet and liquid alendronic acid with older hospital patients. Pharmacy. 2018 Aug 11;6(3):84.

Scott S, Clark A, Farrow C, May H, Patel M, Twigg MJ, Wright DJ, Bhattacharya D. Deprescribing admission medication at a UK teaching hospital; a report on quantity and nature of activity. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 2018 Oct;40(5):991-6.

Al-Jabr H, Twigg MJ, Scott S, Desborough JA. Patient feedback questionnaires to enhance consultation skills of healthcare professionals: a systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling. 2018 Sep 1;101(9):1538-48.

I am happy to supervise PhD projects with a behavioural science methodological approach underpinning the development and evaluation of healthcare innovations. Please email me if you would like to discuss a potential PhD project.

Current postgraduate researchers

 Primary supervision

• Emma Good Development of a behaviour change intervention to prevent severe antipsychotic medication associated metabolic syndrome (University of Leicester PhD studentship) (2022-25)

• Caroline Smith Development of a behaviour change intervention for screening and management of oropharyngeal dysphagia in primary care (University of Leicester PhD studentship) (2021-24)

Secondary supervision

• Majed Q.M Alorabi Optimizing medication administration through effective implementation of pharmacy-based technology (2023-26)

 Previous postgraduate researchers

• Mohammed Alharthi Development of pharmacists’ deprescribing role in care home setting (2020-23)

• Royal Pharmaceutical Society 2024 Outstanding Pharmacy Early-Career Researcher Award

MPharm (Hons) First class, University of East Anglia (2015)

PhD Behavioural medicine, University of East Anglia (2019)

PGCert Higher Education Practice, University of East Anglia (2020)