Human Nutrition Research Centre

Staff Profile

Dr Steph Scott

Senior Research Associate

Background

Dr Stephanie Scott is an NIHR ARC Senior Research Fellow based at Newcastle University. She co-convened the British Sociological Association’s (BSA) North East Medical Sociology Group (2014-2017) and remains an active member, in addition to the BSA Alcohol and Youth Study Groups respectively. Dr Scott is an Associate member of Fuse, a UKCRC Centre of Research Excellence, and is co-lead for the Complex Systems research strand. She is involved in several NIHR SPHR research programmes (Public Mental Health, Children and Young People) and a named collaborator for the North East and Cumbria NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), with responsibility for health inequalities and marginalised communities.  Dr Scott has secured research income with a total value of over £2 million (ESRC, NIHR, CRUK, PHE, PHRC). During her time at Teesside University, she developed the ESRC accredited MSc Social Research Methods programme (Social Policy and Criminology) for 2018/2019 and acted as Course Leader for all undergraduate Criminology and Sociology programmes 2019/2020. Dr Scott’s teaching expertise includes youth justice as well as sociological and criminological theory, having previously led teaching provision of Mixed Methods in Health Research for Newcastle University at MSc. level. Dr Scott is committed to engagement and participation, and co-founded The Young Person's Advisory Group North England (YPAGne) in 2015, and continued to facilitate this group until late 2017. Her key research interests include sociological and criminological theory, particularly cultural criminology; marginalisation, stigma and health inequalities; drug and alcohol use; young people, families and mental health; nutrition, food insecurity and food environments in vulnerable populations; use of mixed methods; system-level interventions; urban space; and corporate and policy influences on human behaviour. Current and forthcoming work focuses on: the prison food environment; defining (and measurement of) institutional food insecurity; recreational drug use in older populations; the impact of stigma on the health of marginalised groups; the impact of physical distancing measures on children and young people with an incarcerated family member; community aid responses to food insecurity during the pandemic and young people’s experiences of physical/social distancing and lockdown during the pandemic.

Research

Research Income

  • Understanding community aid responses to the coronavirus pandemic: a qualitative exploration of how communities in North East England have mobilised to tackle food insecurity. £3,521, Funder: Catherine Cookson Foundation (as principal investigator; 2020-21)
  • ‘Lockdown Life NE’: Exploring young people’s experiences of social distancing during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative diary-based study using digital and mobile technologies. £1000, Funder: NE Youth (as principal investigator, 2020-21)
  • Enabling children and young people’s involvement in whole system action to reduce inequalities in the social determinants of health. Funder: NIHR SPHR (as co-investigator, 2020-22)
  • Child health system evaluation project: Integrated Care Systems and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. Funder: NIHR SPHR (as co-investigator, 2020-22)
  • Exploring Prison Food Environments in England and Wales: Mapping the Priorities of People in Prison for the Improvement of Food Standards and Diet Quality. £30,000, Funder: NHS England / HMPPS (as principal investigator, start date paused due to covid-19).
  • Youth Endowment Fund Capacity building Grant: £49,965 (as co-investigator; May 2020-Nov 2020)
  • Developing and piloting mental health campaign to reduce stigma in Trailblazer schools. Funder: NHS England’s Northern England Clinical Networks (NECN) (as co-investigator; Nov 2019-Mar 2020), £20,000.
  • Behavioural Insights Study: To improve uptake of support for services for Drug and Alcohol misuse in Hartlepool and to reduce prevalence in children and young people. £48, 555.82; Funded by Hartlepool Borough Council (as co-investigator; 2018-2020).
  • FOrwaRD: Is there a role for dually focused intervention in young adults (18-25) to tackle unhealthy eating and heaving drinking and effectively reduce future health inequalities? £255, 000; Funded by the Public Health Research Consortium (as co-investigator; 2016-2018)
  • Socio-ecological influences on adolescent alcohol use and linked unhealthy eating behaviours: systematic review and synthesis of qualitative studies. £5,131; Funded by Fuse (as principal investigator; 2017-2019)
  • IDEA: Identifying and Describing Alcohol Frames. £18, 500; Funded by Cancer Research UK (as co-investigator; 2015-2016)
  • A multi-centre cluster-randomised controlled trial of screening and brief alcohol intervention to prevent risky drinking in young people aged 14-15 in a high school setting (SIPS JR-HIGH). £897,061; Funded by NIHR-PHRP (as co-investigator; 2014-2018)
  • Examining the evidence base for alcohol screening and brief interventions in the UK prison system. £20,000; Funded by Public Health England (as co-investigator; 2014)
  • Post and research core-funded by an ESRC Case PhD Studentship (Exploring Industry Driven Influences on Young People who Drink Alcohol; 2008-2012

Additional / pilot work:

  • The SAILS project: evaluating embedded mental health provision within supported housing for young adults aged 18-25 (as principal investigator; in collaboration with Gateshead Council)
  • Recreational drug use in older populations (as co-investigator)
  • Marginalisation and Health-Related Stigma: a qualitative systematic review and meta-ethnography (as lead reviewer)
Public Health Practitioners experiences of managing a dual identity as front-line staff and a mother during the COVID-19 pandemic (as co-investigator).

Teaching

Previous teaching experience:

 

Course Lead for MSc Social Research Methods (Criminology and Social Policy) (2018-19)

Course Lead for undergraduate Criminology and Sociology Programmes (2019-2020)

Module leader for Are we doing youth justice (Level 6) (2017-2020)

Module leader for Contemporary Criminological Theory (at Masters level) (2017-18)

Module leader for Making Sense of Society (Sociological Theory) (Level 4) (2017-18)

Module leader for Principles of Sociology (Level 4) (2019-present)

Module tutor for Crime and Justice (Level 5) (2017-18)

Module tutor for Inside Out (Level 6) (2017-2020)

Module tutor for Further qualitative methods (at Masters level) (2010-2017)

 

PhD Supervision:

 

Bell Z (start date: 2019) A qualitative exploration of the social determinants of food

insecurity and its nutritional impact amongst women and children in the North East of

England (Gateshead) (ongoing; ESRC Nine DTP; fourth supervisor)

 

Raby P (start date: 2018) Exploring health care staffs’ experience of delivering care in the

prison environment (ongoing; funded by Teesside University; third supervisor)

 

Hopwood S (start date: 2018) Domestic Abuse and the Limits of Criminalisation (ongoing;

DTA PhD studentship; third supervisor)


Publications