Health Behaviour

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