Kristelle Craven works as a Research Associate on the TELSTAR project alongside Dr Niki Chouliara. She also holds a part-time role as an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Research Leader at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
Kristelle was awarded her PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2025, where her research focused on the co-design and development of a self-guided, digital return-to-work toolkit for stroke survivors and their employers.
From 2011 to 2014, Kristelle worked as a research fellow at the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York. She qualified as an occupational therapist in 2017 and has since worked in various NHS and private sector roles, including neurorehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation for individuals with injuries as part of the ROWTATE trial. She also has experience contributing to a process evaluation of a vocational rehabilitation intervention for stroke survivors (the RETAKE trial).
Kristelle also holds an MA (Hons) in Psychology, an MSc in Health Psychology, and an MSc in Occupational Therapy (pre-registration). Her research interests include rehabilitation through digital technologies, implementation science, and workforce development, with a focus on improving accessibility and scalability of interventions.
Kristelle’s research focuses on rehabilitation and workforce development, with a particular interest in digital health technologies and implementation science. Her work aims to improve accessibility and scalability of interventions for stroke survivors and other populations requiring rehabilitation.
She is currently a Research Associate on the TELSTAR project, which seeks to understand how stroke telerehabilitation works and for whom, using a realist evaluation approach. This involves exploring mechanisms, contexts, and outcomes to inform effective implementation of telerehabilitation services.
Kristelle’s PhD at the University of Nottingham (awarded in 2025) focused on the co-design and development of a self-guided, digital return-to-work toolkit for stroke survivors and their employers. Her research included identifying barriers and facilitators to implementation and selecting strategies to support adoption in real-world settings.
- Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT)
- Mentee on the NIHR Mentoring Programme
Featured publications
- Craven, K., Holmes, J., Kettlewell, J., & Radford, K. (2025). Development of a digital, self-guided return-to-work toolkit for stroke survivors and employers using intervention mapping. PLOS digital health, 4(8), e0000971. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000971
- Craven, K., Kettlewell, J., De Dios Pérez, B., Powers, K., Holmes, J., & Radford, K. A. (2024). What do employers need when supporting stroke survivors to return to work?: a mixed-methods study. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 32(4), 392–404. DOI: 10.1080/10749357.2024.2409005
- Craven, K., De Dios Pérez, B., Holmes, J., Fisher, R., & Radford, K. A. (2024). Factors influencing employers’ support for employees with acquired brain injuries or mental illness to return to- and stay in work: A qualitative systematic review. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 79(1), 93-121. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-230214 (Original work published 2024)