Richards David A

David is Professor at the University of Western Norway, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health Services Research at the University of Exeter, and an emeritus Senior Investigator in the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Faculty. He has been a registered nurse for 37 years and is at the forefront of national and international efforts to improve the evidence base for both mental health care and nursing, particularly in re-valuing fundamental nursing care. He undertakes pragmatic mixed methods studies, combining experimental and observational research on complex nursing interventions, to significantly improve the usefulness of research in nursing for clinicians and patients. He was chief investigator of the UK’s MRC funded ‘COVID-NURSE’ clinical trial, evaluating a pandemic-specific fundamental nursing care protocol used by nurses caring for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. David led the development of the low-intensity treatment methods at the heart of the UK Department of Health‘s ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies‘ (IAPT) programme from its inception in 2005 and was Clinical Informatics Advisor to the IAPT programme from 2008-2011. David is joint editor of the best-selling research methods textbook 'Complex Interventions in Health' and author of more than 280 research articles.