Specialization
Application of complex systems approaches to understand emergent health behaviour and health inequalities. The use of a variety of systems methodologies: Group Model Building, Causal Loop Diagrams, Systems Dynamic Models.
Determinants of social and ethnic inequalities in diet and health.
Operationalisation of diet and dietary patterns in ethnically diverse populations.
Focus of research
I am interested in understanding ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in health and health behaviour with an aim to informing (policy) interventions to address said inequalities. Alongside traditional epidemiological and qualitative research methods, I have increasingly been involved in studies that make use of complex systems approaches.
Determinants of health behaviour, specifically dietary patterns: I am particularly interested in factors such as culture, cultural change and socio-economic position.
A current project asks: How can we transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary patterns while accounting for diverse sociocultural perspectives so that no-one in society is left behind? How do individual and contextual factors interact to drive behaviour and health?
Systems Approach: I am intrigued by the interaction between determinants of health behaviour at the individual level with the broader physical and social environment. Health behaviour is an outcome of interdependent factors that interact with each other at multiple levels. For example, social processes are likely to shape the behaviours of individuals (try saying no to birthday cake!); the physical environment may have different effects on the diet quality of some individuals, depending on their knowledge, financial situation etc. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these interactions is key to understanding the social patterning of health behaviour and, ultimately, chronic disease risk.
Questions that I’m currently engaging with include: How can we best apply complex system methodologies to understand the emergence of inequalities in health behaviour and health in diverse populations? How can we harness the insights offered by this approach to realise change at deeper system levels?