Dr Sarah-Jane Hannah Fenton BSc(Hons); PGCert; PGCert ; MPhil; PhD

Dr Sarah-Jane Hannah Fenton

Health Services Management Centre
Lecturer in Mental Health Policy

Contact details

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

Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton is a Lecturer in Mental Health Policy based in the Health Services Management Centre and the Institute for Mental Health (IMH).

The Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University 麻豆精选 is one of the UK's foremost centres for research, evaluation, teaching and professional development for health and social care organisations. The Institute for Mental Health (IMH) is an interdisciplinary research centre with a specific youth mental health focus that will deliver high quality internationally relevant research to inform and impact upon public policy and practice and improve the care and outcomes for people experiencing problems with their mental health.

Sarah-Jane has particular expertise in youth, adolescence, mental health, health policy, realist and qualitative research.

Qualifications

  • 2019-2020 PGCert, Higher Education, University 麻豆精选 
  • 2012 – 2016 PhD, University 麻豆精选 (awarded December 2016) & University of Melbourne (awarded August 2017)
  • 2015 PGCert Advanced Research Methods and Skills, University 麻豆精选 (Excellent)
  • 2009-2011 PGCert, Psychodynamic Approaches to Working with Adolescents, Tavistock & Portman Clinic (Distinction)
  • 2005-2007 MPhil, Comparative Social Policy, University of Oxford
  • 2001-2004 BSc (Hons), Geography, University of Exeter (1st)

Biography

Find out more about Trailblazer

Sarah-Jane completed her Doctoral Research in 2016, graduating with a dual award degree from the University 麻豆精选 (2016) and the University of Melbourne (2017). This research explored mental health policy and service delivery for adolescents and young people aged 16-25 years of age. It was a comparative study exploring policy and systems in the UK with those in Australia; and delivery of services to people experiencing mental ill health aged between 16-25 years old. 

Sarah-Jane held a post-doctoral Research Fellow post on an NIHR funded study evaluating the use of patient experience data to improve the quality of inpatient mental health care (). She re-joined the University 麻豆精选 as a lecturer in mental health policy in 2018 and she currently co-leads the Innovation in Policy Systems and Services (IPSS) research theme within the IMH. Sarah-Jane was the Post-Graduate taught co-lead for IMH and led on the development of the Masters in Mental Health (MSc).

Teaching

Sarah-Jane has taught across a range of modules in the Institute for Mental Health, the Department of Social Policy Sociology and Criminology and the Department of Social Work and Social Care at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.

Postgraduate supervision

Sarah-Jane is interested in supervising PhD work related to youth mental health; mental health policy and practice; qualitative research involving realist methodologies; and research into health and social care involving young people.

Doctoral research

PhD title

Research

Find out more about EURIPIDES

Research interests

Youth; mental health; mental health policy and service delivery; realist methodology; international social policy; and comparative research.

Research projects

2020-2024 Co-Investigator – UKRI/ESRC Research Grant, ODA, Colombia – Mapping Mental Health Resources for Young People Living in a Conflict Context at The Colombian Pacific Region, University 麻豆精选 in partnership with Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)

2019-2022 Project team member – NIHR HS&DR – Early evaluation of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme, University 麻豆精选

2016 –2018 Research Fellow – (EURIPIDES) study, University of Warwick Medical School

2015 –2016 Research Fellow – Family Potential Research Centre for Policy and Practice Research – working on an ESRC Knowledge Exchange project looking at family inclusive policy and practice, University 麻豆精选

2014 Research Assistant – Health Exchange project ‘Workplace wellbeing programmes and their impact on employees and their employing organisations: evidence from firms’ – University 麻豆精选

2014 Research Assistant – 21st Century Public Servant research – Melbourne School of Government – University of Melbourne

2014 Research Assistant – Faculty of Arts Finance Office – ARC budget centre – University of Melbourne

2013 – 2014 Research Assistant – ARC Discovery project - Melbourne School of Government – University of Melbourne

2013 Research Assistant – Community Organising – University 麻豆精选

2012 Research Assistant – Birmingham Policy Commission into Ageing Well in the 21st Century – University 麻豆精选

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Weber, S, Carranza Franco, F, Arango, AM, Rengifo, JR, Pinilla-Roncancio, M, Fenton, S-J, Casas, G, Jackson, P & Aranguren Romero, JP 2025, '', Conflict and Health, vol. 19, 23.

Whitley-Gronborg, M, Fenton, S-J, Woodcock, KA & Montgomery, P 2025, '', Children and Youth Services Review.

Fenton, S-J, Carr, S & Isham, L 2024, '', Clinics in Integrated Care, vol. 22, 100190.

Jones, VR, Waring, J, Wright, N & Fenton, S-J 2024, '', Youth, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-14.

Jones, VR, Waring, J, Wright, N & Fenton, SJ 2024, '', JCPP Advances.

Fenton, S-J, Rengifo Gutierrez, JR, Pinilla-Roncancio, M, Casas, G, Carranza, F, Weber, S, Jackson, P & Aranguren Romero, JP 2024, '', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 24, no. 1, 138.

Weber, S, Carranza Franco, F, Rengifo Gutierrez, JR, Romero, C, Arrieta, S, Martinez, K, Pinilla-Roncancio, M, Fenton, S-J, Casas, G, Jackson, P & Aranguren Romero, JP 2024, '', International Journal of Mental Health Systems, vol. 18, no. 1, 9.

Isham, L, Tighe, K & Fenton, S-J 2024, '', Social Work Education.

Ellins, J, Hocking, L, Al-Haboubi, M, Newbould, J, Fenton, S-J, Daniel, K, Stockwell, S, Leach, B, Sidhu, M, Bousfield, J, McKenna, G, Saunders, K, O'Neil, S & Mays, N 2023, '', Health and Social Care Delivery Research, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 1-137. ,

Ellins, J, Hocking, L, Al-Haboubi, M, Newbould, J, Fenton, S-J, Daniel, K, Stockwell, S, Leach, B, Sidhu, M, Bousfield, J, McKenna, G, Saunders, C, O鈥橬eill, S & Mays, N 2023, '', Journal of Mental Health.

Shrom, S, Fenton, S-J & Cumming, J 2023, '', International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1070-1090.

Hua, P, Shakoor, S, Fenton, S-J, Freestone, M, Weich, S & Bhui, K 2023, '', BMJ Mental Health, vol. 26, no. 1, e300661.

Abstract

Kelly, L, Addai Asantewaa, O, Almehmadi, SSR, Bedwin, L, Doig, G, Fenton, S-J, Hall, S, Kam, HKP & Ritter, C 2024, '', EDI Colloquium 2024, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 18/06/24 - 18/06/24. <>

Review article

Members of the Institute for Mental Health Youth Advisory Group 2023, '', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 320, 115619.

Lee, R, Leighton, SP, Thomas, L, Gkoutos, G, Wood, S, Fenton, S-J, Deligianni, F, Cavanagh, J & Mallikarjun, P 2022, '', British Journal of Psychiatry , vol. 220, no. 4, pp. 179-191.

Expertise

Mental health; policy; youth; adolescence