Health Protection and Improvement

Research Group Leader

Professor Paul Flowers
Professor of Sexual Health Psychology

Tel: +44(0)141 331 8617/3119
Email: p.flowers@gcu.ac.uk

Professor Flowers completed his PhD at the University of Sheffield, and subsequently worked at the Medical Research Council’s Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, and at Glasgow Caledonian University. Throughout his career he has maintained a clear interest in both academic research and its applied value, through influencing policy development and through his charity work.

Deputy Research Group Leader

Dr Susan Kerr
Reader in Public Health

Tel: +44 (0)141 331 8374
Email: s.m.kerr@gcu.ac.uk

Dr Susan Kerr is a public health nurse.  Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of complex healthcare interventions designed to improve the health and wellbeing of people experiencing health inequalities.  Particular areas of focus include smoking/smoking cessation, hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption, parenting and secondary prevention of stroke. Susan has published extensively and has secured external funding from a variety of sources including the National Prevention Research Initiative (a consortium of funders including the MRC, ESRC, DoH, Cancer Research UK), the Chief Scientist Office, the World Health Organisation and a number of charitable bodies. She works collaboratively with colleagues in other HEIs and Health Boards across Scotland.
 
Susan is the current Chair of the Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance (STCA) Research Group, she is a member of the Research and Evaluation Sub-group of the Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control and she is a member of the Training and Development Advisory Group of Partnership Action on Tobacco and Health (PATH). She is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Nursing Council on Alcohol.  In 2009 Susan’s leadership role in enhancing the research capacity and capability of nurses and allied health professionals was acknowledged when she received a UK Award for Allied Health Professionals and Healthcare Scientists (funded by the Department of Health, the Scottish Government and others).

Research Scope

This Group brings together expertise in the areas of health protection and health improvement.  Members are drawn from the health professions, psychology, sociology, ethics, biological science, statistics and engineering.  We aim to deliver impact relating to health and wellbeing through excellent research which is multi-disciplinary, theoretically/policy driven and methodologically innovative.  Much of our work focuses on the development and evaluation of complex healthcare interventions (from exploratory, formative research to definitive trials and implementation science).  The reduction of health inequalities is a core concern.  Methods employed are pluralistic and include critical assessments of policy, qualitative research, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, surveys and action research.

Current programmatic activity is focused in the following areas:

• Sexual health

• Healthcare associated infections

• Parenting and family support

• Substance use and misuse (alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco)

• Self-management of long term conditions (stroke, heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

• Effects of music on health and wellbeing

The Group works collaboratively with colleagues both nationally and internationally.  Nationally we benefit from strong links with the National Health Service (NHS), local authorities and third sector organisations.  These links include joint appointments with the NHS and memberships and trusteeships  of key charities.  Members of the group contribute regularly to the development of Government policy and advice, guidance and standards through membership of committees/advisory groups at NHS Health Scotland,  the Scottish Government, the Scottish Intercollegiate Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health  and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the Health Protection Network and Healthcare Improvement Scotland.  Members also review regularly for funding bodies including the UK Research Councils, the National Institute for Health Research Programmes, the Chief Scientist Office and major charities. Internationally we have strong collaborative working relationships with researchers across Europe, in North and South America and in Australia.