Faraz is currently a Lecturer in Health Inequalities at Lancaster University. Following his Medical Research Council PhD studentship at the Institute of Public Health (University of Cambridge), he joined the Lancaster Dementia Research Team as a Senior Research Associate. His previous research work at Lancaster University was within the national Neighbourhoods and Dementia Programme.

Faraz is a Public Health researcher, with extensive experience in international health and working with ethnic minority communities in the UK. Prior to starting his research at the Institute of Public Health (University of Cambridge), he was working as a Research Fellow at the University of York. He holds an MSc in International Health from the University of Leeds and has a strong interest in addressing inequalities in health. His previous experience includes public-private partnerships in increasing TB case-detection among poor and disadvantaged groups, health systems evaluation, and developing and evaluating health promotion programmes for minority ethnic groups.

My research interests focus on patient experience, dementia, equity and health services research. During my education and research, I have worked on a number of mixed methods projects. In addition to receiving training in mixed-methods research at the University of Cambridge during my PhD, I have also received training in qualitative research methods short course from the University of Oxford. The qualitative research method course provided training in conducting qualitative research and various analytical techniques. In my doctoral study, I have specifically used thematic analysis for my qualitative data, and developed a number of mixed-effect regression models to analyse my quantitative data.

My previous research at Lancaster University was working within the national Neighbourhoods and Dementia Programme (https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/neighbourhoods-and-dementia/), which aims to develop the evidence base for dementia training in NHS hospitals (a mixed method study). Viewing the acute hospital as a neighbourhood space increasingly occupied by people with dementia, his research will examine the impact of dementia training on staff skills, knowledge, confidence and satisfaction, and improved outcomes for patients living with dementia in the acute hospital settings.

Journals/ publications

I have published as a first author, and in collaboration with experts in the field of tobacco control, patient experience and quality of care. Published papers in peer-reviewed, open-access journals during my PhD and have authorship of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) report:

• Ahmed, F., G.A. Abel, C.E. Lloyd, J. Burt, and M. Roland (2015) Does the availability of a South Asian language in practices improve reports of doctor-patient communication from South Asian patients? Cross sectional analysis of a national patient survey in English general practices. BMC Family Practice, [Online]. 16(1). [Free full text] 

• Ahmed, F., J. Burt, and M. Roland (2014) Measuring Patient Experience: Concepts and Methods. The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 7(3) pp. 235-241. [Free full text]

• Ainsworth, H., S. Shah, F. Ahmed, A. Amos, I. Cameron, C. Fairhurst, R. King, G. Mir, S. Parrott, A. Sheikh, D. Torgerson, H. Thomson, and K. Siddiqi (2013) Muslim communities learning about second-hand smoke (MCLASS): study protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials, 14(1) p.295 [Free full text]

• Saunders, C.L., G.A. Abel, A. El Turabi, F. Ahmed, and G. Lyratzopoulos (2013) Accuracy of routinely recorded ethnic group information compared with self-reported ethnicity: evidence from the English Cancer Patient Experience survey. BMJ Open, 3(6) [Free full text]

• Ahmed, F. and R. King. 2012. Development and testing of a smoke-free homes intervention with Muslim faith leaders in Leeds, UK (abstract). The Lancet, [Online] , 30(Supplement 3) p.S22 Available from: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60378-5/abstract [Accessed on 28 July 2015]