Background

Introduction

 My research interests are in applied econometrics with a focus on understanding the relationship between health behaviours,  outcomes, the family, work, and inequalities.  I am also interested in cross-disciplinary work across the social sciences. 

Roles and Responsibilities 

• Lead for Fuse Health Inequalities Theme

Area of expertise

•  Applied econometrics related to health behaviours, work, and health inequalities

Qualifications

• BA Economics, Political Science, and International Development, 2003, McGill University, Canada
• MSc Economic and Development Economics, 2005, University of Nottingham
• PhD Health Economics, 2009, University of Sheffield  

Previous Positions

• Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen, 2009-2011 

Honours and Awards

• MRC early career fellowship in the economics of health 2009-2011
• Cairncross Prize for best paper by a young member of the Scottish Economic Society, 2010 

Google scholar: Click here.

Research

Research Interests

My research interests lie within the field of applied econometrics related to health and inequalities including:

 -the relationship between health behaviour and social and health inequalities

-intergenerational persistence of health and or income inequalities

-the relationship between health outcomes and inequalities

-the role of health related behaviour on marriage stability and divorce

-cross country comparisons of health and income inequalities

Research Roles

 I am a co-investigator on several research projects.

Postgraduate Supervision

I would be interested in supervising any postgraduate student in a project related to applied microeconometrics in any of the topic areas above.

Current Students:

 Natassia Robinson (2015-): DNA methylation as a mediating mechanism linking early life events and subsequent obesity

Augustina Pemu (2016-): Demand and costs of birth outcomes for refugee and asylum seeker women in the UK

Julija Stoinuite (2019-:) The impact of welfare reform on health

Eftychia Kotornia (2018- ) Determinants of poor oral health in older adults

Sarah Darbyshire-Evans (2019-:) Global health inequalities

Completed Students:

2017: Susanna Mills: A mixed method programme of study on the determinants and outcomes of home food preparation

2018: Tomos Robinson: Exploring Inequalities in Child Cognitive Ability, Well-being, and Risky Health Behaviour

2018: Matthew Little: Financial Expectations and Health

Esteem Indicators

• Awarded a MRC early career fellowship in the economics of health 

Funding

Principal Investigator:

2019-2020: Improved use of routine data to assess and evaluate food environments. School of Public Health Research. £81,690.00.  

2018: The Intergenerational Persistence of Inequalities in Health and Income: Where can we target policy to best reduce inequalities?. Understanding Society Policy Fellowship. £57,202. REF split: 100%

2016: Evaluation of the Stockton on Tees-Eco Scheme. Stockton on Tees Borough Council. £40,915.16 REF split: 100%.

Co-Investigator:

2020-2022: McGovern R, Christie A, Arnott B, Brown H, Hardy C, Harrison H, Kaner E, Mawson C, McGovern W, Phillips P, Rankin J, Spencer L. (2020) Public Health Practice Evaluation: Best Start in Life Alliance. NIHR SPHR. £214,299.75 

2015-2020. Alternatives To prophylactic Antibiotics for the treatment of Recurrent urinary tract infections in women (ALTAR study). National Institute of Health Research HTA Commissioned Call. £874,398.82. Co-applicant. RS Pickard (PI).  REF Split: 15%.

 

2015. NHS 111 Service Evaluation.  Co-applicant.  £289,434.43.  REF split: 55%. 

 

2014-2017. Social Science Perspective on the Working Lives of Those With Cancer: Psychosocial, Organisational and Economic Perspectives. ESRC Research Seminars. £5,637.90. Co-applicant with, S Maclennan, P Dewe, L Vale, S Heys, J N'Dow, J Hassard & T Cox (PI). REF Split: 100%.

 

2014-2016.  A feasibility study of using an immersive virtual reality environment to

reduce anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder. £191,581. Co-applicant, J Parr (PI).

 

2013-2017. Reducing Alcohol Related Harms in an English Context.  NIHR School of Public Health Research. £179,321.81. Co-applicant. REF Split: 25%. 

 

2013-15. Phase 2 research to support the evaluation and implementation of adult cooking skills interventions in the UK: pilot RCT with process and economic evaluation components. Department of Health, Public Health Research Consortium. £258,460.00. Co-applicant with, AJ Adamson, J Adams, J Halligan, N Hobbs, M Stead, D Stocken, L Vale & M White (PI). REF Split: 20%. 

 

2011-2015. Development and stage 2 RCT with internal pilot of a weight loss maintenance intervention for obese adults after clinically significant weight loss. Medical Research Council. £615,011.00. Co-applicant with, M White, AJ Adamson , V Araujo-Soares , E McColl, L Vale, P Olivier, P Wright, A Batterham & F Sniehotta (PI). REF Split: 9%. 

 

 

Teaching

Postgraduate Teaching 

• MSc in Public Health and Health Services Research
   -    Health Economics
•       Health Policy

Other:

•  Dissertation Examiner
• Undergraduate Dissertation Supervisor

Publications

• Alderson H, Kaner E, Brown R, Howel D, McColl E, Smart D, Copello A, Fouweather T, McGovern R, Brown H, McArdle P, Lingam R. Behaviour change interventions to reduce risky substance use and improve mental health in children in care: the SOLID three-arm feasibility RCT. Public Health Research 2020, 8(13).
• Simpson J, Brown H, Albani V, Ball Z, Bambra C. Investigating the relationship between changes in social security benefits and mental health: a protocol for a systematic review. BMJ Open 2020, 10(6), e035993.
• Mills S, Wolfson J, Wrieden W, Brown H, White M, Adams J. Perceptions of 'home cooking': a qualitative analysis from the United Kingdom and United States. Nutrients 2020, 12(1), 198.
• Watts PN, Rance S, McGowan V, Brown H, Bambra C, Findlay G, Harden A. The long-term health and wellbeing impacts of Healthy New Towns (HNTs): protocol for a baseline and feasibility study of HNT demonstrator sites in England. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 2020, 6, 4.
• Brown H. Understanding the role of policy on inequalities in the intergenerational correlation in health and wages: Evidence from the UK from 1991-2017. Plos One 2020, 15(6), e0234737.
• Brown H, D'Amico F, Knapp M, Orrell M, Rehill A, Vale L, Robinson L. A cost effectiveness analysis of maintenance cognitive stimulation therapy (MCST) for people with dementia: examining the influence of cognitive ability and living arrangements. Aging & Mental Health 2019, 23(5), 602-607.
• Sniehotta FF, Evans EH, Sainsbury K, Adamson A, Batterham A, Becker F, Brown H, Dombrowski SU, Jackson D, Howell D, Ladha K, McColl E, Olivier P, Rothman AJ, Steel A, Vale L, Vieira R, White M, Wright PC, Araújo-Soares V. Behavioural intervention for weight loss maintenance vs. standard weight advice in adults with obesity: a randomised controlled trial in the UK (NULevel Trial). PLoS Medicine 2019, 16(5), e1002793.
• Brown H, Munford L, Wilding A, Robinson T, Holland P, Barr B, Hill H, Regan M, Rice N, Sutton M, Bambra C. Health for wealth: decomposing the role of health on productivity in England using individual and population-level longitudinal data from the UK. In: Lancet Public Health Conference. 2019, Warwick, UK: The Lancet.
• Robinson T, Brown H, Norman P, Barr B, Fraser L, Bambra C. Investigating the impact of New Labour's English health inequalities strategy on geographical inequalities in infant mortality: a time trend analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2019, 73, 564-568.
• Addison M, McGovern R, Angus C, Becker F, Brennan A, Brown H, Coulton S, Crowe L, Gilvarry E, Hickman M, Howel D, McColl E, Muirhead C, Newbury-Birch D, Waqas M, Kaner E. Alcohol screening and brief intervention in police Custody suites: Pilot cluster randomized controlled Trial (AcCePT). Alcohol and Alcoholism 2018, 53(5), 548-559.
• Forbes R, Ased A, Abouhajar A, Brennand C, Brown H, Carnell S, Chadwick T, Eardley I, Lecouturier J, Mossop H, Pearce I, Pickard R, Thiruchelvam N, Walton K, Wilkinson J, Harding C. ALternatives To prophylactic Antibiotics for the treatment of Recurrent urinary tract infection in women (ALTAR): study protocol for a multicentre, pragmatic patient‐randomised non‐inferiority trial. Trials 2018, 19, 616.
• Frew E, Brown H, Goodman A, Platt M, Seidler E, Spetz J, McIntyre D. Building an international health economics teaching network. Health Economics 2018, 27(6).
• Presseau J, Mackintosh J, Hawthorne G, Francis JJ, Johnston M, Grimshaw JM, Steen N, Coulthard T, Brown H, Kaner E, Elovaninio M, Sniehotta FF. Cluster randomised controlled trial of a theory-based multiple behaviour change intervention aimed at healthcare professionals to improve their management of Type 2 diabetes in primary care. Implementation Science 2018, 13, 65.
• Naghdi S, Moradi T, Brown H, Ghiasvand H, Mobinizadeh M. Decomposing inequality in financial protection situation in Iran after implementing the health reform plan: What does the evidence show based on national survey of households' budget?. International Journal of Health Planning and Management 2018, 33(3), 652-661.
• Bambra C, Munford L, Brown H, Wilding A, Robinson T, Holland P, Barr B, Hill H, Regan M, Rice N, Sutton M. Health for Wealth: Building a Healthier Northern Powerhouse for UK Productivity. Northern Health Sciences Alliance, 2018.
• Heslehurst N, Brown H, Pemu A, Coleman H, Rankin J. Perinatal health outcomes and care among asylum seekers and refugees: a systematic review of systematic reviews. BMC Medicine 2018, 16, 89.
• Mills S, Adams J, White M, Wrieden W, Brown H. Sociodemographic characteristics and frequency of consuming home-cooked meals and meals from out-of-home sources: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. Public Health Nutrition 2018, 21(12), 2255-2266.
• Brown H. The Economics of Public Health: Evaluating Public Health Interventions. Palgrave Pivot, 2018.
• Brown H, Presseau J. Work Me Not Into Temptation: Exploring the Relationship between Work and Healthy Eating in Dieters Using Data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. Australian Economic Review 2018, 51(3), 368-381.
• Mill SDH, Brown H, Wrieden WL, White M, Adams J. Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2017, 14, 109.
• Mills S, White M, Brown H, Wreiden W, Kwansicka D, Halligan J, Robalino S, Adams J. Health and social determinants and outcomes of home cooking: a systematic review of observational studies. Appetite 2017, 111, 116-134.
• Mills S, White M, Wrieden W, Brown H, Stead M, Adams J. Home food preparation practices, experiences and perceptions: A qualitative interview study with photo-elicitation. PLoS ONE 2017, 12(8), e0182842.
• Brown H, Fattakhova G, Bambra C, Taylor P. Making healthy homes? A pilot study of the return on investment from an external wall insulation intervention. BMC Research Notes 2017, 10, 736.
• Kaner EFS, Beyer FR, Garnett C, Crane D, Brown J, Muirhead C, Redmore J, O'Donnell A, Newham JJ, de Vocht F, Hickman M, Brown H, Maniatopoulos G, Michie S. Personalised digital interventions for reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in community-dwelling populations. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2017, (9), CD011479.
• Brown H, Becker F. Are all health shocks the same? Exploring the relationship between labour market outcomes and a diagnosis of cancer, COPD, diabetes and depression. In: 6th Biennial Conference of the American Society of Health Economists. 2016, Philadelphia, PA, USA: American Society of Health Economists.
• Brown H, Becker F, Antwi K. Association between lipid biomarkers, physical activity, and socioeconomic status in a population based cross-sectional study in the United Kingdom. Sports Medicine - Open 2016, 2, 25.
• Brown H. Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Correlation in BMI Categories in Long-Term Relationships. Australian Economic Review 2016, 49(4), 453-470.
• Brown H, Biosca O. Exploring the relationship between time preference, body fatness, and educational attainment. Social Science and Medicine 2016, 158, 75-85.
• Birch J, Scott S, Newbury-Birch D, Brennan A, Brown H, Coulton S, Gilvarry E, Hickman M, McColl E, McGovern R, Muirhead C, Kaner E. A pilot feasibility trial of alcohol screening and brief intervention in the police custody setting (ACCEPT): study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 2015, 1, 6.
• Biosca O, Brown H. Boosting health insurance coverage in developing countries: do conditional cash transfer programmes matter in Mexico?. Health Policy and Planning 2015, 30(2), 155-162.
• Brown H, van der Pol M. Intergenerational transfer of time and risk preferences. Journal of Economic Psychology 2015, 49, 187-204.
• Halligan J, O'Brien N, Purves R, Becker F, Goffe L, Brown H, Vale L, Stocken D, Adamson A, Adams J, Stead M, White M. Research to support the evaluation and implementation of adult cooking skills interventions in the UK: pilot RCT with process and economic evaluations [ISRCTN 91580447]. London, UK: Public Health Research Consortium, 2015.
• Mills S, White M, Robalino S, Wrieden W, Brown H, Adams J. Systematic review of the health and social determinants and outcomes of home cooking: protocol. Systematic Reviews 2015, 4(5), 35.
• Evans EH, AraujoSoares V, Adamson AJ, Batterham AM, Brown H, Campbell M, Dombrowski SU, Guest A, Jackson D, Kwasnicka D, Ladha K, McColl E, Olivier P, Rothman AJ, Sainsbury K, Steel AJ, Steen IN, Vale L, White M, Wright P, Sniehotta FF. The NULevel trial of a scalable, technology-assisted weight loss maintenance intervention for obese adults after clinically significant weight loss: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2015, 16, 421.
• Brown H, Hole AR, Roberts J. Going the same 'weigh': spousal correlations in obesity in the United Kingdom. Applied Economics 2014, 46(2), 153-166.
• Presseau J, Hawthorne G, Sniehotta FF, Steen N, Francis JJ, Johnston M, Mackintosh J, Grimshaw JM, Kaner E, Elovainio M, Deverill M, Coulthard T, Brown H, Hunter M, Eccles MP. Improving Diabetes care through Examining, Advising, and prescribing (IDEA): Protocol for a theory-based cluster randomised controlled trial of a multiple behaviour change intervention aimed at primary healthcare professionals. Implementation Science 2014, 9, 61.
• Brown H, van der Pol M. The role of time preferences in the intergenerational transfer of smoking. Health Economics 2014, 23(12), 1493-1501.
• Brown H, Roberts J. Born to be wide? Exploring correlations in mother and adolescent body mass index. Economic Letters 2013, 120(3), 413-415.
• Brown H, Adams J. The role of time preference in smoking cessation: a longitudinal analysis of data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia survey, 2001-08. Addiction 2013, 108(1), 186-192.
• Brown H, Roberts J. Exercising choice: The economic determinants of physical activity behaviour of an employed population. Social Science and Medicine 2011, 73(3), 383-390.
• Brown H, Roberts J. Exploring the factors contributing to sibling correlations in BMI: a study using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Obesity 2011, 20(5), 978-984.
• Brown P, Brown H. Lessons from the Past: Economic and Technological Impacts of U.S. Energy Policy. Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal 2011, 3(2), 23-30.
• Brown H. Marriage, BMI, and Wages: A Double Selection Approach. Scottish Journal of Political Economy 2011, 58(3), 347-377.