Professor Iestyn Williams

Iestyn Williams

Health Services Management Centre
Professor of Health Policy and Management

Contact details

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

Iestyn is a Professor of Health Policy and Management in the School of Social Policy and Society. 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.

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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

Kapiriri, L, Vélez, C-M, Aguilera, B, Essue, BM, Nouvet, E, Razavi, D, Williams, I, Danis, M, Goold, S, Abelson, J & Kiwanuka, S 2024, 'A global comparative analysis of the the inclusion of priority setting in national COVID-19 pandemic plans: A reflection on the methods and the accessibility of the plans', Health Policy, vol. 141, 105011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105011

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, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/08968608241232200

Thirumala Krishna, M, Jani, Y, Williams, I, Muijica-Mota, R, Bestwick, R, Siciliano, M, West, RM, Bhogal, R, Ng, BY, Kildonaviciute, K, Pollard, R, Jones, N, Dunsmure, L, McErlean, M, Powell, N, Hullur, C, Balaji, A, Sandoe, J, Warner, A, Daniels, R, Thomas, C, Misbah, SA & Savic, L 2024, 'Direct oral penicillin challenge in secondary care with low-risk patients: the SPACE mixed-methods study with cost-effectiveness analysis', Health and Social Care Delivery Research, vol. 13, pp. 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3310/MTYW6557

Jani, Y, Williams, I, McErlean, M, Bhogal, R, Ng, BY, Kildonaviciute, K, Balaji, A, Daniels, R, Dunsmure, L, Hullur, C, Jones, N, Misbah, S, Pollard, R, Powell, N, Sandoe, JAT, Thomas, C, Warner, A, West, R, Savic, L & Thirumala Krishna, M 2024, 'Factors influencing implementation and adoption of direct oral penicillin challenge for allergy delabelling: a qualitative evaluation', BMJ open quality, vol. 13, no. 3, e002890. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2024-002890

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

Allen, K, Shaw, K, Spry, J, Dikomitis, L, Coyle, D, Damery, S, Fotheringham, J, Lambie, M, Davies, SJ & Williams, I 2024, 'How does organisational culture facilitate uptake of home dialysis? An ethnographic study of kidney centres in England', BMJ open, vol. 14, no. 12, e085754. <https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/12/e085754>

Essue, BM, Kapiriri, L, Mohamud, H, Vélez, C-M, Nouvet, E, Aguilera, B, Williams, I & Kiwanuka, S 2024, 'Priority setting in times of crises: an analysis of priority setting for the COVID-19 response in the Western Pacific Region', Health Policy, vol. 142, 105010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105010

Aguilera, B, s.Donya, R, Vélez, C-M, Kapiriri, L, Abelson, J, Nouvet, E, Danis, M, Goold, S, Williams, I & Noorulhuda, M 2024, 'Stakeholder participation in the COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and response plans: A synthesis of findings from 70 countries', Health Policy, vol. 142, 105013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105013

Vélez, C-M, Kapiriri, L, Goold, S, Danis, M, Williams, I, Aguilera, B, Essue, B & Nouvet, E 2024, 'Was priority setting considered in COVID-19 response planning? A global comparative analysis', Health Policy OPEN, vol. 7, 100125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpopen.2024.100125

Letter

Williams, I, Daniel, J, Mansur, AH, Christopher, DJ & Krishna, MT 2024, 'Exploring facilitators and barriers in asthma management in rural, semi-urban and urban populations in Vellore, India: an interview study of patients and primary care physicians', Clinical & Experimental Allergy . https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14477

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, Adisa, A, Agyei, F, Caton, L, George, C, Ghaffar, A, Ghosh, D, Hachach-Haram, N, Haque, PD, Ingabire, JCA, Kudrna, L, Li, E, McClain, C, Nepogodiev, D, Ntirenganya, F, Shrime, MG, Williams, I & Bhangu, A 2024, 'Environmentally sustainable surgical systems', BMJ Global Health, vol. 9, no. Suppl 4, e015066. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015066

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