Professor Simon Murphy

Health and Care Research Wales Faculty award:

Award: Health PhD Studentship Scheme (October 2016-October 2019)

Project title: Development of Methodological Guidance for the Coproduction of Health Interventions: Targeting wellbeing in secondary schools to prevent mental health issues 

Simon’s research interests focus on two main areas. The first on understanding and explaining young people's health and health related behaviours within their social context, drawing on socio-ecological frameworks. This work informs the development and piloting of sustainable complex interventions for health improvement that address influences on multiple risk outcomes and health inequalities. The second concerns the evaluation of theoretically driven complex public health improvement initiatives, with a particular concern for the social processes and contextual influences that impact on implementation and effectiveness.

Simon has undertaken a large number of pragmatic randomised controlled trials of complex interventions utilising mixed methodologies, including a number of national policy trials. He is particularly keen to develop the quality of public health improvement research and is Lead Investigator for the national Welsh Government funded Schools Health Research Network linking school communities, policy, practice and researchers to develop and conduct health improvement research in schools.