Dr Ben Bowers

Research group: Health Systems Design

Twitter: @Ben_Bowers__

Biography

Dr Ben Bowers is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Engineering Design Centre. He is an Assistant Professor of Primary Care, Wellcome Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, and Honorary Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care. He is also the Co-Theme Lead for NIHR ARC East of England’s Palliative and End of Life Care theme.

He leads a programme of interdisciplinary research focused on improving the care of patients dying at home. Ben’s Wellcome funded post-doctoral interdisciplinary research is investigating the human and system factors involved in the safe, effective and timely use of injectable symptom control medications. This research draws on engineering design, patient safety and social science disciplines.

In 2023, Ben was announced as one of the 75 nurses and midwives whose work has had an especially significant impact on the NHS since its creation. He was awarded the RCGP & SAPC Outstanding Early Career Researcher in 2024 and the European Association for Palliative Care Early Researcher Award 2023, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to international palliative care and primary care research.

Ben is also based in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge. He is a Post-Doctoral Associate at Jesus College and a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

Selected recent publications

Fennessy R, Paterson A, Ward J, Clarkson PJ, Bowers B. Mapping patient journeys: Exploring patient and informal carer experiences of injectable anticipatory medication care in the community to identify opportunities for practice improvements. Palliative Medicine 2026. Online First

Bernstein M, Polak L, Barclay S, Etkind S, Pollock K, Spathis A, Schichtel M, Hopkins S, Browne S, Bowers B. Accessing and administering anticipatory medications for community end-of-life symptom control: a qualitative focus group study. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2026; Online First 

Hudson BF, Ashcroft P, Bedford J, Bush J, Bowers B, et al. Setting research priorities for palliative and end-of-life care: a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership Refresh. BMJ Open 2026;16: e108910

Mourhli J, Sosnowski K, Kuhn I, Bowers B. Muslim communities’ perspectives and preferences regarding end-of-life symptom management: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. BMJ Open 2026; 16:e108877

Bowers B, Gwyn S, Yardley S, Hellard S, Clarkson J, Pollock K, Barclay S, Carson-Stevens A. Learning from end-of-life injectable medication patient safety incidents in the community: a mixed-methods analysis. British Journal of General Practice 2026; 76(763): e151-e162

Madden B, Bowers B. Sorted: An experimental interpretive poetry piece on injectable medications care at the end of life. Journal of Research in Nursing 2025;30(5-6):643-648

Bowers B, Pollock K, Etkind S, Leary A, Barclay S, Polak L. 'We've Taken on a More Advanced Clinical Role': A Multimethod Study of Community Nurses' Extended Roles in Palliative Care.  Journal of Advanced Nursing 2025; 82: 1681-1691

Bowers B, Bashford T. 'Make do and mend': redefining resilience within community healthcare. British Journal of Community Nursing 2025 Aug 2;30(8):364-366

Bowers B, Fennessy R, Mourhli J. Providing effective dying symptom control at home. British Journal of Community Nursing 2024; 29(12): 553-554

Bowers B, Pollock K, Wilkerson I, Massou E, Brimicombe J, Barclay S. Administering injectable medications prescribed in the anticipation of the end of life in the community: A mixed-methods observational study. International Journal of Nursing Studies 2024. 153: 104734

Morgan L, Barclay S, Pollock K, Massou E, Bowers B. The financial costs of anticipatory prescribing: A retrospective observational study of prescribed, administered and wasted medications using community clinical records. Palliative Medicine 2023; 32(10): 1544-1561

Bowers B, Antunes BCP, Etkind S, et al. Anticipatory prescribing in community end-of-life care: systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence since 2017. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2023; 13: e612-e623