Steven has three main research interests:

• children and young people's mental health, especially primary care, self care perspectives and service design
• supporting students in learning
• occupational stress and psychological health, especially in relation to nursing and other health professions

Steven's interest in children and young people's mental health stems from his clinical background: almost all of his clinical practice has been in this speciality. He maintains contact with a number of children's mental health specialists and services across Greater Manchester and has been involved in several research projects in this area; in particular, he was the Principal Investigator on an NIHR funded study looking at self-care in children and young people's mental health and is the PI on the NIHR funded Blueprint study. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing.

His interest in supporting students operates on a number of levels and played a key part in his promotion to Professor of Mental Health Nursing Education in 2013.

His interest in stress and psychological health stems from his academic background as a psychologist, occupational stress in student nurses and midwives being the topic of his PhD (awarded 2003).

Steven is largely a quantitative researcher (with a special interest in mutivariate statistical methods). He is an experienced systematic review, having been involved in several NIHR-commissioned evidence syntheses. 

More recently, Steven has been working with colleagues on mixed methods studies and has developed skills in more qualitative approaches such as focus groups and case study research.

Steven's teaching workload lies mainly around:

• mental health (particularly children and young people's mental health, primary care perspectives in mental health and public mental health); he is course leader for an undergraduate nursing unit in children and young people's mental health
• supporting students to learn
• research and evidence-based practice.

Steven has devised study skills packages (including online materials) that have been widely praised both within and external to the University. He is co-author of several study skills books for nurses, social work students, education professionals and policing professionals.

He is the the editor of a widely praised, core mental health textbook Mental Health Nursing: An Evidence-Based Introduction (Sage Publications, March 2011).

Steven's clinical research involves collaborating with a number of third sector and voluntary organisations championing children and young people's mental health. He is an unpaid non-executive director of the mental health Community Interest Company, Six Degrees Social Enterprise.

Professor Steven Pryjmachuk is Professor of Mental Health Nursing Education in the School of Health Science's Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.

His teaching, clinical and research work has centred largely on an overarching intellectual project and personal philosophy of supporting and facilitating individuals – be they students, patients or colleagues – to develop, learn or care independently. His achievements here played a key part in both his promotion to Professor in 2013 and in achieving Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2014.

Steven has extensive experience of leadership in teaching and learning, having been Mental Health Division Lead, Director of Undergraduate Education, Director of NHS Education Contracts and External Liaison for the non-medical professions He has sat on a number of University, Faculty and School committees, and is an invited external examiner and assessor for several Russell Group and international universities. 

As well as being a Registered Mental Health Nurse, Steven is also a Chartered as a Psychologist by the British Psychological Society. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses from 2012-20 and its President from 2018-19. He also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric  Nursing and is reviewer for a variety of international nursing, mental health and psychological journals.

Steven was elected as vice Chair (2015-16) and Chair (2017-18) of Mental Health Nurse Academics UK, an organisation representing 65 Higher Education Institutions providing education and research on mental health nursing.

• 1985 BA(Hons) Psychology
• 1990 Registered Mental Health Nurse, RN (Mental Health)
• 1993 MSc Applied Psychology
• 1994 Postgraduate Diploma in Education
• 2003 PhD
• 2004 Chartered Psychologist, CPsychol
• 2014 Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, SFHEA