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Dr Rebecca Garcia

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Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies
  • School of Health, Wellbeing & Social Care
  • Nursing
  • rebecca.garcia

Professional biography

Rebecca is a Registered Nurse (adult) and Chartered Psychologist, currently employed as a central academic and working as the Associate Head of School for Nursing and the health professions. Previously, Rebecca was the Programme Lead for R39 and was the field lead for Adult Nursing, coordinating the specialism and diversity of adult nursing for qualified members of staff, to benefit both staff and students. To support the research community, Rebecca is a member of the Open University's Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) and is a doctoral supervisor and regular peer reviewer of academic journals.  

Professional memberships:

  • Nursing Midwifery Council
  • British Psychological Society
  • Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Research Groups: 

Open University WELS Open Thanatology Research group, Perinatal mental health and WELS health and nursing research groups. 

Qualifications:

Doctor of Philosophy  - University of Bedfordshire, 2017

‘Examining the factors that contribute to perinatal mortality in white British, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in Luton.'

MSc Health Psychology (Distinction) - University of Bedfordshire, September 2013

BSc Psychology (First Class Honours) - University of Bedfordshire. October 2009-2012

Registered General Nurse - Guys and Lewisham School of Nursing 1994

PGCTHE - University of Bedfordshire 

Advance HE - External Examiners Training (Open University) 

 

Research interests

My research interests include aspects of social health psychology including health inequalities, women's health beliefs and behaviours and perinatal mortality. 

External collaborations

I am an external Examiner for Bucks New University (post-graduate programs) and a regular academic reviewer for BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and the BMJ, among others. I am also a consultant for East London Foundation NHS Trust working with quality improvement projects that address inequalities in perinatal mental health. 

Publications

Does gender influence children’s and young people’s caring? A qualitative, systematic review and meta-ethnography. (2023-03)
Boyle, Geraldine; Constantinou, Georgina and Garcia, Rebecca
Children & Society, 37(2) (pp. 404-423)

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Managing Grief Experienced by Bereaved Spouses or Partners of Adults Who Had Received Palliative Care (2022)
Jones, K.; Methley, A.; Boyle, G.; Garcia, R. and Vseteckova, J.
Illness, Crisis, & Loss, 30(4) (pp. 596-613)

Nurse identity: reality and media portrayal (2022)
Garcia, Rebecca and Qureshi, Irtiza
Evidence Based Nursing, 25(1) (pp. 1-5)

Frailty and spousal/partner bereavement in older people: a scoping review (2021-10)
Garcia, Rebecca; Mahon, Aiofe; Boyle, Geraldine; Jones, Kerry and Vseteckova, Jitka
Journal of Health and Social Care Improvement, 4(1) (pp. 14-23)

Understanding the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on nurses from ethnic minority backgrounds (2021-09-01)
Qureshi, Irtiza; Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen and Randhawa, Gurch
The Nursing Standard, 36(9) (pp. 29-34)

Analysis of routinely collected data: Determining associations of maternal risk factors and infant outcomes with gestational diabetes, in Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and white British pregnant women in Luton, England (2021-03)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Guppy, Andy; Griffiths, Malcolm and Randhawa, Gurch
Midwifery, 94, Article 102899

A qualitative study exploring the experiences of bereavement after stillbirth in Pakistani, Bangladeshi and White British mothers living in Luton, UK (2020-12)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Malcolm, Griffiths and Gurch, Randhawa
Midwifery, 91, Article 102833

Ethnic differences in risk factors for adverse birth outcomes between Pakistani, Bangladeshi and White British mothers (2020-01)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Guppy, Andrew; Griffiths, Malcolm and Randhawa, Gurch
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 76(1) (pp. 174-182)

Frailty and Spousal/Partner Bereavement in Older People: A Systematic Scoping Review Protocol (2020)
Vseteckova, J.; Mahon, A.; Boyle, G.; Jones, K. and Garcia, R.
Biomedical Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, 24(4)

Interventions to Widen Participation for Black and Asian Minority Ethnic Men into the Nursing Profession: A Scoping Review (2020)
Qureshi, Irtiza; Ali, Nasreen; Garcia, Rebecca and Randhawa, Gurch
Diversity and Equality in Healthcare, 17(2) (pp. 107-114)

Children’s unmet palliative care needs: a scoping review of parents’ perspectives (2019-12-03)
Constantinou, Georgina; Garcia, Rebecca; Cook, Erica and Randhawa, Gurch
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 9(4) (pp. 439-450)

Understanding the consumption of folic acid during preconception, among Pakistani, Bangladeshi and white British mothers in Luton, UK: a qualitative study (2018-06-15)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Griffiths, Malcolm and Randhawa, Gurch
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 18, Article 234 (pp. 1-9)

Barriers and Enablers for UK Home Grown South Asian Prospective Students Choosing Nursing and Midwifery Courses and Careers (2018)
Ali, Nasreen; Quereshi, Iritza; Sidika, Tamanna; Mondokova, Andrea; Muhmood, Sultan; Jan, Azra; Garcia, Rebecca; Cook, Erica; Burden, Barbara; Reid, Caroline and Randhawa, Gurch
Diversity and Equality in Healthcare, 15(4) (pp. 190-197)

Differences in the pregnancy gestation period and mean birth weights in infants born to Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and white British mothers in Luton, UK: a retrospective analysis of routinely collected data (2017-08-11)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Guppy, Andy; Griffiths, Malcolm and Randhawa, Gurch
BMJ Open, 7 (pp. 1-7)

A comparison of antenatal classifications of ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ prevalence between white British, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pregnant women in England; analysis of retrospective data (2017-04-11)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Guppy, Andy; Griffiths, Malcolm and Randhawa, Gurch
BMC Public Health, 17 (pp. 1-7)

Analgesic effects of self-chosen music type on cold pressor-induced pain: Motivating vs. relaxing music (2015-09-07)
Garcia, Rebecca and Hand, Christopher J.
Psychology of Music, 44(5) (pp. 967-983)

Specific antenatal interventions for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) pregnant women at high risk of poor birth outcomes in the United Kingdom: a scoping review (2015)
Garcia, Rebecca; Ali, Nasreen; Papadopoulos, Chris and Randhawa, Gurch
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15, Article 226(1)

Chapter 6: Social Determinants of Health (2022-10)
Garcia, Rebecca
In: Gary, Faye A. and Lotas, Marylin J. eds. A Population Health Approach to Health Disparities for Nurses: Care of Vulnerable Populations (pp. 105-130)
ISBN : 978-0-8261-8504-4 | Publisher : Springer

A systematic review Protocol to determine interventions that are used to support the spiritual well-being of nurses (2022-05-09)
Garcia, Rebecca; Mozdiak, Elizabeth; Taylor, Anne and Vseteckova, Jitka
NIHR/PROSPERO

A cancer diagnosis during covid-19. A nurse’s insider perspective (2022-05-08)
Garcia, Rebecca and Garcia, Miguel
Evidenced Based Nursing

Protocol: A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) compared with other psychological therapies in managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care in the UK (2020)
Jones, Kerry; Methley, Abigail; Boyle, Geraldine; Garcia, Rebecca; Smith, K and Vseteckova, Jitka
Prospero - International Prospective register of Systematic Reviews

Protocol: A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) compared with other psychological therapies in managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care worldwide (2020)
Vseteckova, Jitka; Jones, Kerry; Boyle, Geraldine; Garcia, Rebecca and Methley, Abigail
Prospero - International Prospective register of Systematic Reviews

Frailty and spousal/partner bereavement in older people: a systematic review (2019)
Vseteckova, Jitka; Mahon, Aoife; Boyle, Geraldine; Guntupalli, Aravinda; Jones, Kerry and Garcia, Rebecca
Prospero 2019 CRD4201919453

A systematic review of the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) compared with other psychological therapies in managing grief experienced by bereaved spouses or partners of adults who had received palliative care in the UK
Vseteckova, Jitka; Jones, Kerry; Methley, Abigail; Boyle, Geraldine and Garcia, Rebecca
NIHR: National Institute for Health Research