Serena is a Postdoctoral Researcher Associate affiliated to the ESRC Centre for Care and based at the University of Kent, Centre for Health Services Studies. In her current role of qualitative researcher in the Centre for Care team, Serena is working on the project ‘Care workforce change: organisation, delivery and development’.
Serena’s profile is characterised by an integration between theoretical and practical knowledge in the fields of social policy and public health, and by a multidisciplinary orientation.
Serena joined the Centre for Care in 2022, after the completion of a PhD at the University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research. Before this, she gained a MA in Social policies from the University of Padua and a BA in Social sciences and social work from the University of Venice.
Alongside her academic path, Serena worked in Italy as a social worker in several local councils and within the National Health System. She has more than 10 years of experience in the field of addiction prevention and treatment. In her role, Serena provided assessment and support to individuals and families affected by alcohol and drug use disorders; developed projects in collaboration with relevant community stakeholders; and collaborated with a range of public, private and third sector organisations to create support interventions for patients with complex needs. Serena was pleased to supervise and tutor numerous students during their professional and research internships.
Research interests
Serena’s interests are at the intersection between medical sociology, public health and social- and health services- research. her expertise is primarily in the use of narrative and biographical approaches. In her PhD, Serena applied the Free Association Narrative Interview method to explore drinking practices in mothers from different social classes. Serena has particular interest in:
- socio-economic and health inequalities,
- gendered negotiation of health practices,
- evaluation of complex interventions in health and social care settings,
- advanced qualitative research methods,
- alcohol and other substance use policy and treatment systems.
Publications
Vicario, S., Peacock, M., Buykx, P., Meier, P. S., and Bissell, P. (2021). Women’s informal surveillance of alcohol consumption in intimate heterosexual relationships during the early parenting period. Social Science & Medicine, 291, 114499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114499.
Vicario, S., Peacock, M., Buykx, P., Meier, P. S., and Bissell, P. (2021). Negotiating identities of ‘responsible drinking’: Exploring accounts of alcohol consumption of working mothers in their early parenting period. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(6), 1454-1470. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13318
Vicario, S., Buykx, P., Peacock, M., Hardie, I., De Freitas, L., Bissell, P., & Meier, P. S. (2023). Women’s alcohol consumption in the early parenting period and influences of socio‐demographic and domestic circumstances: A scoping review and narrative synthesis. Drug and alcohol review. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13643
Papers and conferences
Vicario, S., Women’s informal surveillance of alcohol consumption in intimate heterosexual relationships during the early parenting period: a caring practice. Transforming Care Conference 2023 – Sheffield. http://www.transforming-care.net/2023-transforming-care-conference/presentation/
Vicario, S., Women’s informal surveillance of alcohol consumption in intimate heterosexual relationships during the early parenting period. BSA Medical Sociology Conference 2022 – Lancaster. Published Abstract. Available at: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25915/medsoc22_day3final_abstract_book.pdf
Sinigaglia M., Vicario S., Gui L. (2022) Sustainability” from ‘being’ to ‘doing’: perceptions, knowledge and applications in Social Work practices, 3rd Italian Conference of Social Work Research, Rome. Published abstract. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EmBpys480fTuz5_6uJZytEKqoAN0Z5tl/view
Invidia A., Vicario S., Giuriatti R., Foscaro R., Panebianco D. (2022) Social capital, social trust and quality of life in patients with substance use disorders receiving home support interventions, 3rd Italian Conference of Social Work Research, Rome. Published abstract. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EmBpys480fTuz5_6uJZytEKqoAN0Z5tl/view
Vicario S., De Freitas L., Peacock M., Buykx P., Bissell P. and Meier P. (2022) Mothers’ alcohol consumption in the early parenting period and influences of socio-economic and household circumstances: a narrative systematic review, 3rd Italian Conference of Social Work Research, Rome. Published abstract. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EmBpys480fTuz5_6uJZytEKqoAN0Z5tl/view
Vicario S. (2018) Women’s alcohol consumption and social construction of genders, Pre-meeting course – VIII Advanced residential Course in Hepatology, Padua. Oral presentation.
Vicario S., Buykx P., Bissell P. and Meier P. (2018) Understanding women’s drinking practices in the transition to motherhood through a social class lens, 44th Annual KBS Symposium, Chang-Mai. Published abstract. Available at: https://www.kettilbruun.org/web_archive/chiangmai_2018/participants_list.html
Vicario, S., Saia, M., Caroli, D., Scribano, L., De Lazzari, F., Rosa-Rizzotto, E. and Lobello S. (2018) Hospitality discharge for alcohol-related problems in north-eastern Italy in a sixteen-year period: influence of new population at risk, 53rd European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) annual meeting, Paris. Published poster. Journal of Hepatology, 68 (suppl 1), S162. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(18)30536-1 Available at: https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(18)30536-1/pdf
Caroli, D., Saia, M., Rosa-Rizzotto, E., Vicario, S., Scribano, L. and Lobello, S. (2018) From Alfa-Interferon to DAAs: impact on hospitalization rate for HCV liver-related diseases from 2000 to 2016 in North-East Italy, 24th National Congress of Digestive Diseases, Rome. Published Abstract. Digestive and Liver Disease, 50(2), e78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1590-8658(18)30290-1 Available at: https://www.dldjournalonline.com/article/S1590-8658(18)30290-1/pdf
Vicario, S., Rosa-Rizzotto, E., Peraro, L., Caroli, D., De Lazzari, F., Vendramin, A. and Lobello, S. (2015) Social and health integrated approach to Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs): An Italian experience in a specialist service. 15th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA), Valencia. Published abstract. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 50(S1), i1-i67 50(suppl 1), i35. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agv076.128 Available at: https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/50/suppl_1/i35/180726