Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, DN, MSc, BSc, RN, RHV, FRSP

About Cheryll

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE’s career spanned research, health visiting and policy. After many years in practice and leading local and national research and health visiting projects she joined the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) in 2000 to become their first research lead. In 2007 she was awarded the Doctorate in Nursing having focused her research on perinatal mental health, her professional interest. In 2008 she took on the role of Lead Officer for that organization. During her time there she contributed to many government level policy and research initiatives. She also led their successful campaign against disinvestment in health visiting, before moving to England’s Department of Health in 2010 to support their activities to rebuild the profession.

​

Supported by health visiting academic colleagues, in 2012, Cheryll founded the Institute of Health Visiting (www.ihv.org.uk), a UK wide body to strengthen the quality and consistency of health visiting services across the UK.

Retired since 2021 Cheryll continues to support national research, is a professional adviser to UNICEF Europe, supporting their work to introduce and strengthen a proxy health visiting model into Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and is currently Chair of the Global Network for Public Health Nursing.

​

Cheryll has received many honours for her work but the most humbling was in 2016 when she was awarded a CBE as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday honours. It was in recognition of her contributions to the health visiting profession.