John and Senga Bond

Drs John and Senga Bond
Award of Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science

Professor Senga Bond CBE and Professor John Bond are pioneers of nursing, gerontology and health services research whose revolutionary thinking has helped shape research models at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The couple have written a series of ground-breaking papers and texts. Their most celebrated, "Sociology and health care: An introduction for nurses and other health care professionals", was first published in 1986, with a second edition in 1994.

They were instrumental in establishing Newcastle University’s Centre for Health Services Research, Clinical Trials Unit, and the Institute of Health and Society. In the 1990s, in the face of government cuts, they pioneered a cooperative funding model at the university – and, by pooling resources, were able to save the careers of many of its staff. This innovative model has helped shape Glasgow Caledonian’s Yunus Centre.

A qualified nurse and midwife, Senga was a pioneer of health services research applied to nursing and has chaired influential research committees including Research Assessment Exercise Nursing Panels and was a long-standing member of the Health Services Research Board at the Medical Research Council.

Senga has been awarded a fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing and, in 2004, was recognised with a CBE for services to nursing research.

John undertook one of the world’s first surveys of the needs of older people, which informed his understanding of the emerging issue of cognitive impairment. This led to a career as a leading researcher and writer on social gerontology, policy, epidemiology, public health and the sociology of medicine. His work demonstrates the impact of structural processes on the lives of older people in care environments and his thinking on mild cognitive impairment has recast the relationship between research, practice and quality of life.

John has received a National Institute for Health Senior Investigator award and was instrumental in creating Newcastle University’s influential Institute for Ageing and Health.