Health Behaviour
Theme leader: Professor Paul McNamee
The health behaviour of individuals – smoking, alcohol, poor diet, physical activity – are major contributors to development of health problems. Also, amongst individuals with existing health problems, behaviour in terms of self-management is an important determinant of long-term health and well-being. In both areas, behaviour is likely to be influenced by economic variables and individual preferences, as well as other factors, such as educational attainment.
The specific objectives are:
- To enhance understanding of health behaviour from an economics perspective.
- To strengthen the evidence base relating to the outcomes and value for money of health behaviour interventions.
In terms of behaviours, the focus is on dietary choice, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking and self-management of chronic conditions. In terms of economic concepts, current expertise lies within the areas of time and risk preference, identification of the causal determinants of health, and assessment of the cost-effectiveness of health behaviour interventions.
Current Projects
| Aberdeen Health Determinants Research Collaborative (AHDRC) |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: AHDRC website |
| BSR-PsA - British Society for Rheumatology Psoriatic Arthritis Register |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: BSR-PsA project site |
| Childhood obesity and academic performance |
| HERU Contact: Yu Aoki |
| The project aims to explore effective policies to tackle child obesity and to improve academic performance of children by empirically analysing the impact of child obesity on academic performance using a large British administrative dataset. |
| ConCIV - Consortium on Compensating Income Variation |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link - ConCIV website (University of Iceland) |
| Understanding public attitudes and preferences for healthy and sustainable diets |
| HERU contact: Patrícia Norwood |
| This five-year programme of work is funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) Strategic Research Programme and seeks to use social research methods to understand public attitudes and preferences for healthy and sustainable diets, looking particularly at the links with the socio-economic characteristics of consumers. |
| Food culture and dietary choice |
| HERU contact: Patrícia Norwood |
| The project has three components: using Q methodology, the impact of dietary information on different groups of consumers is examined; using secondary data, influences on children’s food choices are explored; the final component looks at how habitual behaviour may impact on responses to interventions to promote healthier diets. |
| Game of Stones randomised trial - effectiveness and cost effectiveness of text message and endowment incentives for weight management in men with obesity |
| HERU contact: Mary Kilonzo |
| Link: NIHR Award 129703 |
| Improving work participation in patients with physical long-term health conditions |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: NIHR Award 206514 |
| PACFIND - Patient-centred Care for Fibromyalgia: New pathway Design |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: Versus Arthritis project page |
| PAW Trial: feasibility and acceptability of the Pain-at-Work Toolkit |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: Nuffield Foundation project page |
| Promoting children's and adolescent's mental wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: NIHR Award 133712 |
| QUICK - QUantifying the Impact of Chronic pain on engagement in paid worK |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: QUICK project page |
Current PhD Projects
| Enhancing health and well-being: what are the gains from social prescribing? |
| PhD student: Georgie Rendall |
| Supervisors: Paul McNamee (HERU), Professor Louise Locock and Dr Zoë Skea (University of Aberdeen) |
| The value and costs of unpaid care for older people in China |
| PhD student: Huixuan Gao |
| Supervisors: Paul McNamee (HERU) and Attakrit Leckcivilize |
Recently Completed Projects
| ActWell - a randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of a lifestyle intervention in women attending NHS breast screening clinics |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: ISRCTN11057518 |
| Does Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol have unintended consequences for diet quality and health? A natural experiment comparing Scotland and England |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: CSO HIPS/19/01 |
| Economic modelling: reducing health harms of foods high in fat, sugar or salt |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| The research used existing data from Kantar World Panel and new primary data from discrete choice experiments on consumer preferences to inform future Scottish Government policy on the impact of restricting the promotion and marketing of discretionary foods high in fat, sugar and salt. A Scottish Government report and briefing were published. |
| Investigation of the COVID 19 pandemic on dietary behaviour in Scotland and accompanying health and well-being impacts |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| This one-year study was funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) Strategic Research Programme. The research aimed to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed diets in Scotland, and whether there have been marked impacts on health and well-being. |
| LIFT - Lessening the Impact of Fatigue, Therapies for inflammatory rheumatic diseases |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT03248518 |
| MAmMOTH - MAaintaining musculOskeleTal Health study |
| HERU contact: Paul McNamee |
| Link: Clinical Trials Identifier - NCT02668003 |
Recently Completed PhD Projects
| Using insights into time preference and present bias to develop an intervention to improve adherence to exercise |
| PhD Student: Uma Thomas |
| Supervisors: Marjon van der Pol (HERU); Julia Allan (Health Psychology, University of Aberdeen) |
| PhD Thesis available online from the University of Aberdeen Library |