Area of expertise

Applied public health research focusing on understanding and evaluating the health inequalities impact of public health and healthcare interventions and policies.  I am interested in research that enables local government and the NHS to promote health and healthcare equity.

In partnership with my academic role I work as a Public Health Consultant at Public Health England North East centre.  I also lead the Public Health Specialty for the Clinical Research Network in the North East and North Cumbria, growing and supporting the delivery of public health research in the region.   

Prior to this I studied Human Sciences as an undergraduate at Oxford University, worked in Public Health Intelligence and undertook postgraduate studies in Public Health at LSHTM followed by an MRC/ESRC PhD in Public Health at UCL.

Memberships

• Faculty of Public Health
• Higher Education Academy
• Clinical Research Network - North East North Cumbria
• Fuse: associate member of Complex Systems and Health Inequalities research programmes
• Population Health Sciences Institute: researcher within the Public Health and Health Inequalities theme

 Qualifications

• 2019  Fellow, Faculty of Public Health
• 2018  PgCert Advanced Studies in Academic Practice, Newcastle University
• 2018  Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• 2014  Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• 2011  Membership, Faculty of Public Health
• 2009  Diplomate Membership, Faculty of Public Health
• 2009  PhD Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London
• 2005  MSc (Distinction) Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• 2002  MA(Oxf) (1st Class) Human Sciences, Wadham College, Oxford

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I am undertaking a 5 year (2019-2024) HEE/NIHR funded Integrated Clinical Academic fellowship programme of research:

UNFAIR: UNderstanding Factors explaining Avoidable hospital admissions Inequalities - Research study

I have been engaged in a broad portfolio of applied public health research, projects include:

• Reducing inequalities in cancer waiting times and improving services for patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer: exploring patient experience and the opportunities for co-design
• High-rise health: a mixed methods study of the impact of social housing improvements on the health and wellbeing of residents in high-rise flats.
• Evaluating the impact of welfare reform on individuals in Walker, Newcastle.
• Thematic content analysis of Health and Wellbeing Strategies in England addressing whether these are fit for purpose.
• Food at checkouts in non-food stores: a cross-sectional study of a large indoor shopping mall in Gateshead.
• Evaluating the equity of access, uptake and use of public health interventions by age.
• Systematic review of socioeconomic inequalities in patient, referral, diagnostic or treatment intervals for lung cancer patients.
  

I am a Fellow of Higher Education Academy and have a PGcert in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice from Newcastle University.

I am an academic supervisor for Public Health Specialty Registrars in the North East.

Teaching and supervision of medical students and Newcastle University Public Health and Health Services Research MSc students. Delivered training for Paediatric Registrars and other NHS-based support.

• Sowden S, Haste A, Thomson R, Sharp L. Co-design to deliver service improvement – what does this mean and can we do it? A qualitative study with cancer patients and NHS professionals. In: National Cancer Research Institute Conference. 2018, Glasgow, UK.
• Sowden S, Haste A, Sharp L, Lambert M, Thomson R. Embedding patient voice in cancer service improvement: A qualitative study of patients’ experience of the NHS cancer diagnostic care pathway. In: 2018 NCRI Cancer Conference of National Cancer Research Institute. 2018, Glasgow: Nature Publishing Group.
• Forrest LF, Adams J, Ben-Shlomo Y, Buckner S, Payne N, Rimmer M, Salway S, Sowden S, Walters K, White M. Age-related references in national public health, technology appraisal and clinical guidelines and guidance: documentary analysis. Age and Ageing 2017, 46(3), 500-508.
• Salway SM, Payne N, Rimmer M, Buckner S, Jordan H, Adams J, Walters K, Sowden SL, Forrest L, Sharp L, Hidajat M, White M, Ben-Shlomo Y. Identifying inequitable healthcare in older people: Systematic review of current research practice. International Journal for Equity in Health 2017, 16(1), 123.
• Moffatt S, Lawson S, Patterson R, Holding E, Dennison A, Sowden S, Brown J. A qualitative study of the impact of the UK 'bedroom tax'. Journal of Public Health 2016, 38(2), 197-205.
• Lambert MF, Sowden S. Revisiting the risks associated with health and healthcare reform in England: perspective of Faculty of Public Health members. Journal of Public Health 2016, 38(4), e438-e445.
• Forrest LF, Sowden S, Rubin G, White M, Adams J. Socio-economic inequalities in stage at diagnosis, and in time intervals on the lung cancer pathway from first symptom to treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis. Thorax 2016, 72(5), 430-436.
• Beenstock J, Sowden S, Hunter D, White M. Are health and well-being strategies in England fit for purpose? A thematic content analysis. Journal of Public Health 2015, 37(3), 461-469.
• Wright J, Kamp E, White M, Adams J, Sowden S. Food at checkouts in non-food stores: a cross-sectional study of a large indoor shopping mall. Public Health Nutrition 2015, 18(15), 2786-2793.
• Wright J, Kamp E, White M, Adams J, Sowden S. Food at checkouts of non-food stores: a cross-sectional study of a large indoor shopping mall in Gateshead UK, February - March 2014. In: European Public Health Association. 2014, Glasgow, UK: European Journal of Public Health.
• Sowden S, White M. High-rise health: a qualitative study of the effect of social housing improvements on the health and wellbeing of residents in high-rise flats. In: Public Health Science: A National Conference Dedicated to New Research in UK Public Health. 2014, Glasgow, UK: The Lancet Publishing Group.
• Sowden S, White M. High-rise health: a qualitative study of the effect of social housing improvements on the health and wellbeing of residents in high-rise flats. In: Public Health Science 2014. 2014, Glasgow, Scotland, UK: The Lancet Publishing Group.
• Moffatt S, Brown J, Sowden S, Patterson RA, Holding E, Dennison A, Lawson S. Public Health Implications of UK welfare reform: qualitative research in a North East England community. In: European Public Health Conference. 2014, Glasgow, UK: European Journal of Public Health.
• Forrest LF, Sowden S, Rubin G, White M, Adams J. Socio-economic inequalities in patient, primary care, referral, diagnostic, and treatment intervals on the lung cancer care pathway: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic Reviews 2014, 3(30), 1-5.
• Forrest LF, Sowden S, Rubin G, White M, Adams J. Socio-economic inequalities in stage at diagnosis, and in time from first symptom to treatment, for lung cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. In: European Public Health Conference. 2014, Glasgow: Oxford University Press.
• Sowden SL. Is Access to and Use of Exercise Referral Scheme Equitable? An examination of socioeconomic differences in referral to and use of Exercise Referral Schemes in London [PhD thesis]. London, UK: University College London, 2009.
• Sheringham J, Sowden S, Stafford M, Simms I, Raine R. Monitoring inequalities in the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in England: the added value of ACORN, a commercial geodemographic classification tool. Sexual Health 2009, 6(1), 57-62.
• Sowden SL, Breeze E, Barber J, Raine R. Do general practices provide equitable access to physical activity interventions?. British Journal of General Practice 2008, 58(555), 698-701.
• Sowden SL, Raine R. Running along parallel lines: how political reality impedes the evaluation of public health interventions. A case study of exercise referral schemes in England. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2008, 62, 835-841.