Staff Profile

I am a member of the Population Health Sciences Institute and work across the Public Health and Health Inequalities and Nutrition Exercise and Metabolism themes. I am also part of the Healthier Lives NUCoRE.

Qualifications:

Diploma in Nursing Studies (Children's Nursing), Queen's University, Belfast

BSc (Hons) Health Studies (Bioscience), Queen's University, Belfast

Diploma in Tropical Nursing, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London

MSc Public Health Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London

PhD, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne 

Professional Membership: 

Nursing and Midwifery Council: Registered Children's Nurse (part 15)

Fellow of the Higher Education Authority

I am a member of the Population Health Sciences Institute and work across the Public Health and Health Inequalities and Nutrition Exercise and Metabolism themes. I am also part of the Healthier Lives NUCoRE. 

My research interest focuses on improving children and young people's diets through both policy and interventions in the school environment.  I work on several research projects that are currently or previously funded through the Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard - Health of the Public 2024, NIHR, and MRC. My research enables me to actively engage with a wide range of external stakeholders and organisations.

I currently supervise two PhD students and regularly supervise BSc and MSc dissertations. I contribute to the teaching on the BSc (Hons) Food and Human Nutrition and MSc Public Health programmes and am module lead for the NUT 3002 Nutrition Dissertation module.

• Articles

  • Pallan M, Murphy M, Morrison B, Sitch A, Adamson A, Bartington S, Dobell A, Duff R, Frew E, Griffin T, Hurley K, Lancashire E, McLeman L, Passmore S, Pokhilenko I, Rowland M, Ravaghi V, Spence S, Adab P. National school food standards in England: a cross-sectional study to explore compliance in secondary schools and impact on pupil nutritional intake. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2024, 21, 123.
  • Schliemann D, Spence S, O'Kane N, Chiang CC, Olgacher D, McKinley MC, Woodside JV. Identifying the top 10 research priorities for the school food system in the UK: A priority setting exercise. BMJ Open 2024, 14(3), e081400.
  • Spence S, McSweeney L, Woodside JV, Schliemann D. An online survey capturing the views of stakeholders on primary school food systems across the four UK nations. BMC Public Health 2024, 24, 719.
  • Bryant M, Burton W, O'Kane N, Woodside JV, Ahern S, Garnett P, Spence S, Sharif A, Rutter H, Baker T, Evans CEL. Understanding school food systems to support the development and implementation of food based policies and interventions. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2023, 20, 29.
  • O'Malley C, Lake A, Moore H, Gray N, Bradford C, Petrokofsky C, Papadaki A, Spence S, Lloyd S, Chang M, Townshend T. Regulatory mechanisms to create healthier environments: planning appeals and hot food takeaways in England. Perspectives in Public Health 2023, 143(6), 313-323.
  • Spence S, Matthews JNS, McSweeney L, Adamson AJ, Bradley Jennifer. The Effect of a Product Placement Intervention on Pupil’s Food and Drink Purchases in Two Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Study. Nutrients 2022, 14(13), 2626.
  • McIntyre RL, Adamson AJ, Nelson M, Woodside J, Beattie S, Spence S. Changes and differences in school food standards (2010-2021) and free school meal provision during COVID-19 across the UK: potential implications for children's diets. Nutrition Bulletin 2022, 47(2), 230-245.
  • Richardson S, McSweeney L, Spence S. Availability of Healthy Food and Beverages in Hospital Outlets and Interventions in the UK and USA to Improve the Hospital Food Environment: A Systematic Narrative Literature Review. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1566.
  • Woodside J, Adamson A, Spence S, Baker T, McKinley MC. Opportunities for intervention and innovation in school food within UK schools. Public Health Nutrition 2021, 24(8), 2313-2317.
  • Spence S, Matthews JNS, McSweeney L, Rowland MK, Orango P, Adamson AJ. Implementation of Universal Infant Free School Meals: A pilot study in NE England exploring the impact on Key Stage 1 pupil's dietary intake. Public Health Nutrition 2021, 24(10), 3167-3175.
  • Bradley J, Rowland M, Matthews J, Adamson AJ, Spence S. A comparison of food portion size estimation methods among 11-12 year olds: 3D food models vs an online tool using food portion photos (Intake24). BMC Nutrition 2021, 7(10).
  • Murphy M, Pallan M, Lancashire E, Duff R, Adamson AJ, Bartington S, Frew E, Griffin T, Hurley KL, Parry J, Passmore S, Ravaghi V, Sitch AJ, Spence S, Rowland MK, Wheeldon S, Adab P. The Food provision, cUlture and Environment in secondary schooLs (FUEL) study: protocol of a mixed methods evaluation of national School Food Standards implementation in secondary schools and their impact on pupils' dietary intake and dental health. BMJ Open 2020, 10(10), e042931.
  • McSweeney L, Bradley J, Adamson AJ, Spence S. The 'Voice' of Key Stakeholders in a School Food and Drink Intervention in Two Secondary Schools in NE England: Findings from a Feasibility Study. Nutrients 2019, 11(11), 2746.
  • McSweeney L, Spence S, Anderson J, Wrieden W, Haighton C. Parental perceptions of onsite hospital food outlets in a large hospital in the North East of England: A qualitative interview study. PLOS ONE 2018, 13(11), E0205416.
  • Spence S, White M, Adamson AJ, Matthews JNS. Does the use of passive or active consent affect consent or completion rates, or dietary data quality? Repeat cross-sectional survey among school children aged 11–12 years. BMJ Open 2015, 5, e006457.
  • Spence S, Delve J, Stamp E, Matthews JNS, White M, Adamson AJ. Did School Food and Nutrient-Based Standards in England Impact on 11–12Y Olds Nutrient Intake at Lunchtime and in Total Diet? Repeat Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS ONE 2014, 9(11), e112648.
  • Spence S, Matthews JNS, White M, Adamson AJ. A repeat cross-sectional study examining the equitable impact of nutritional standards for school lunches in England in 2008 on the diets of 4-7y olds across the socio-economic spectrum. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2014, 11, 128.
  • Spence S, Delve J, Stamp E, Matthews JNS, White M, Adamson AJ. The Impact of Food and Nutrient-Based Standards on Primary School Children's Lunch and Total Dietary Intake: A Natural Experimental Evaluation of Government Policy in England. PLoS One 2013, 8(10), e78298.
  • Adamson A, Spence S, Reed L, Conway R, Palmer A, Stewart E, McBratney J, Carter L, Beattie S, Nelson M. School food standards in the UK: implementation and evaluation. Public Health Nutrition 2013, 16(6), 968-981.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • McSweeney L, Bradley J, Adamson A, Spence S. Exploring pupil and staff perceptions of school food and drinks: Findings from a feasibility study. In: 6th UK Congress on Obesity 2019. 2019, Leeds: Association for the Study of Obesity.
  • Spence S, Matthews JNS, McSweeney L, Rowland M, Orango P, Adamson AJ. A natural experimental evaluation of the effect of universal infant free school meals on key stage 1 pupil’s dietary intake in northeast England: a pilot study. In: Public Health Science. 2019, London: The Lancet Publishing Group.
  • McSweeney L, Spence S, Anderson J, Wrieden W, Haighton C. Parental perceptions of on-site hospital food outlets: A qualitative interview study. In: 5th UK Congress on Obesity 2018. 2018, Newcastle: Nature Publishing Group.
  • Spence S, Matthews JNS, White M, Adamson AJ. Did legislation to regulate school meals in England widen dietary inequalities in children aged 4-7 years? A repeat cross-sectional study. In: Public Health Science: a national conference dedicated to new research in public health. 2013, London, UK: The Lancet Publishing Group.
  • Spence S, Shen J, Delve J, White M, Vale L, Adamson AJ. An evaluation of the effect of the New School Food Policy on children's nutritional intake and socio-economic consequences in North East England. In: 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Social Medicine. 2012, London: BMJ Group.

• Review

  • Woodside JV, O'Kane N, Pallan M, Evans CEL, Defeyter G, Brownlee I, Murphy M, Parnham JC, Lalli GS, Bryant M, McKinley MC, Gallagher AM, Schliemann D, McConnell C, Olgacher D, Spence S. The Generating Excellent Nutrition in UK Schools (GENIUS) network: working towards a more health-promoting food and nutrition system in UK schools. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2024, Epub ahead of print.