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School of Psychological Sciences

Dr Debbie Smith PhD CPsychol MSc BSc

Photograph of Debbie Smith

Health Psychology Lecturer

The University of Manchester
School of Psychological Sciences
Room 1.17, Coupland 1 Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL

 

Role

Debbie is currently employed as a health psychology lecturer in The School of Psychological Sciences.

 

Debbie is the conference chair for the Division of Health Psychology (http://www.health-psychology.org.uk/dhp-conference/dhp-conference_home.cfm).

 

Memberships of Committees and Professional Bodies

  • The Health Professionals Council (HPC) - 2009
  • British Psychological Society (BPS) – Full Member, since Jan 2009
  • Division of Health Psychology

Research

Debbie's main research interests are sexual and reproductive health, the provision of maternity care for vulnerable groups (e.g., teenage parents and women with a BMI of 30 or more), the impact of socio-economic environment on peoples’ health decisions and behaviours and the application of behaviour change theory.

Debbie has worked at The University of Manchester since 2009, she was the project coordinator of a three-year programme of work in maternal obesity in the School of Midwifery, Nursing and Social Work (funded by the Department of Health and Department for Education in collaboration with Tommy’s). Debbie is still involved in this on-going programme of work which includes; a feasibility study of an antenatal lifestyle programme for pregnant women with a BMI of 30 or more (The Lifestyle Course - TLC), a pilot study of TLC, qualitative interviews with health professionals working with pregnant women with a BMI of 30 or more, a metasynthesis of the maternity experience of pregnant women with a BMI of 30 or more. 

Debbie has also conducted consultancy work for Tommy's to evaluate their pregnancy weight management guide for women with a BMI of 30 or more and has provided expert editorial advice for several of their resources for pregnant women.

Debbie has recently been involved in a project designing and testing an alternative search strategy tool for qualitative / mixed methods research; SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type).

Debbie is also interested in the provision of support for postgraduate students who teach psychology.  She was the National Coordinator of the Postgraduates who Teach (PGwT) network (support network offering training and support for psychology postgraduates) for the Higher Education Academy from 2008 till it's closure in 2011. 

Debbie’s PhD research used mixed-methods to investigate the influence of deprivation on young peoples’ sexual health and pregnancy decisions in four Local Authorities in London.

 

Methodological Knowledge

Qualitative research methods

Mixed methods

 

Teaching

Current teaching:

  • Health and Society (PSYC 60212) - MSc Clinical & Health Psychology

 

Debbie has contributed to MSc Health Psychology and BSc Psychology teaching at several Universities (including The University of Southampton and The University of New Hampshire, USA).

 

Qualifications

  • Health Psychologist - 2008
  • PhD (Affluence, deprivation and young parenthood – an exploration of pregnancy decisions in four Local Authorities in London) - 2007
  • MSc Health Psychology - 2003 
  • BSc Psychology - 2002 
 

Publications

2012

  • Cooke, A., Smith, D., & Booth, A. (2012). The benefits of a systematic search strategy when conducting qualitative evidence synthesis; the SPIDER tool. Qualitative Health Research, in press, eScholarID:133222
  • Smith, D.M., Ward, C., Forbes, S., Reynolds, R. M, & Dennison, F. C. (2012). Weight management resources for pregnant women with a body mass index (BMI)≥30kg/m2: A qualitative service evaluation of their use in maternity care. Health Education Journal, in press, eScholarID:156520

2011

  • Smith, D,M., Taylor, W., Gething, J., Chmiel, C., Whitworth, M., Sibley, C., & Lavender, T. (2011). Social Learning Theory as a tool for behaviour change with maternal obesity. Presented at 25th European Health Psychology Conference. Crete, Greece. eScholarID:133217
  • Smith, D., Taylor, W., Gething, J., Chmiel, C., Whitworth, M., Sibley, C., & Lavender, T. (2011). A community lifestyle programme for pregnant women with a body mass index of 30 or more; a feasibility study. Presented at The International Confederation of Midwives, 29th Triennial Congress. Durban, South Africa.. eScholarID:124501
  • Richens, Y., & Smith, D. M. (2011). (2011). Applied qualitative research in maternity care: a reflection of the barriers to data collection with ‘at-risk’ populations. Diversity in Health and Care, 8, 29-36. eScholarID:124497
  • Smith, D. & Roberts, R. (2011). Young parents; the role of housing in understanding social inequality. Journal of Family Health Care, 21(1), 20-22. eScholarID:124500
  • Smith, D. & Taylor, W. (2011). Advising on postnatal contraceptive methods, services and support. British Journal of Midwifery, 19(5), 290-294. eScholarID:124498
  • Smith, D. (2011). Decision-making in maternity care: How women influence decisions. British Journal of Midwifery, 19(5), 329-332. eScholarID:124499
  • Smith, D.M., & Lavender, T. (2011). The pregnancy experience for women with a body mass index >30kg/m2; a meta-synthesis. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 118, 779-789. eScholarID:124496 | DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.02924.x
  • Smith, D.M., & Roberts, R. (2011). ). Social inequality and young pregnancy; the causal attributions of young parents in London, UK. Health & Place, 17, 1054-1060. eScholarID:133221 | DOI:10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.06.009

2010

  • Smith, D. & Lavender, T. (2010). The pregnancy experience: a qualitative study of women with a body mass index of 30 or more. Presented at First global conference of the Doctoral Midwifery Research Society. Ulster, Northern Ireland.. eScholarID:124503
  • Raine, R., Cartwright, M., Richens, Y., Mohammed, Z., Khan, T., & Smith. D. (2009). (2010). A qualitative study of women’s experiences of communication in antenatal care: pinpointing areas for action. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14, 590-599. eScholarID:91026 | DOI:10.1007/s10995-009-0489-7
  • Roberts, R., Sanders, T., Myers, E., & Smith D. (2010). Participation in sex work: students’ views. Sex Education, 10(2), 145-156. eScholarID:91025 | DOI:10.1080/14681811003666507
  • Smith, D. (2010). The influence of deprivation on young parents. British Journal of School Nursing, 5(7), 272-276. eScholarID:91722
  • Smith, D. (2010). The influence of deprivation on young parents’ pregnancy decisions; implications for midwifery practice. The British Journal of Midwifery, 18(6), 3-7. eScholarID:91723
  • Smith, D., Whitworth, M., Sibley, C., Taylor, W., Gething, J., & Lavender, T. (2010). Study Protocol: The design of a community lifestyle programme to improve the physical and psychological well-being of pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more. BMC Public Health, 10, 284. eScholarID:91022 | DOI:10.1186/1471-2458-10-284

2009

  • Ingham R, Smith DM. (2009). Vulnerability and sexual health. Effectiveness and Efficiency in Public Health: Systematic Approaches to Evidence and Practice. (pp. 79-96). London: Open University Press. eScholarID:3d323
  • Smith, D. & Roberts, R. (2009). Social acceptance; a possible mediator in the association between socio-economic deprivation and under-18 pregnancy rates? The Journal of Youth studies, 12(6), 669-683. eScholarID:76372 | DOI:10.1080/13676260902897418
  • Smith, D. & Roberts, R. (2009). Young parents’ perceptions of barriers to antenatal and postnatal care. The British Journal of Midwifery, 17(10), 620-627. eScholarID:91724
  • Smith, D., Reaney, M., & Speight, J. (2009). Conducting literature reviews to support the use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures in clinical trials – the benefits of a systematic search strategy. International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Connections, 15(4), 4-6. eScholarID:1d19866

2008

  • Smith, D. & Roberts, R. A. (2008). Influence of deprivation on young people's contraceptive and pregnancy decisions. Presented at International Society of Behavioral Medicine 10th Annual Congress. Tokyo, Japan.. eScholarID:124504
  • Lantz C, Smith DM, Branney P. (2008). Psychology postgraduates' perspectives of teaching related support and training. Psychology, Learning and Teaching, 7 (1), 37-45. eScholarID:1d19870
  • Smith DM, Gardner B, Michie S. (2008). National NHS Health Trainers Report 2007/2008. London: eScholarID:5d209

2007

  • Renz A, Ide M, Newton T, Robinson P G, Smith DM. (2007). Psychological interventions to improve adherence to oral hygiene instructions in adults with periodontal disease (Review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, eScholarID:1d19871

2006

  • Smith DM, Elander J. (2006). Effects of area and family deprivation on risk factors for teenage pregnancy amongst 13-15-year-old girls. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 11 (4), 399-410. eScholarID:1d19872

2005

  • Renz A, Smith DM, Ide M, Robinson P G, Newton T. (2005). Psychological interventions to improve adherence to oral hygiene instructions in adults with periodontal disease (Protocol). The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, eScholarID:1d19873

Research Projects

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