NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration Aberdeen

26/01/2026

FREE Webinar on Economic Evaluation 💸

Economic evaluation is an methodological approach for assessing the wider financial costs and benefits of an intervention - something professionals and practitioners from any sector would really benefit from. Especially given the current financial climate.

Delivered by Prof Paul McNamee from the Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen and hosted by HDRC Aberdeen

Wed 11 Feb
14:00 - 15:30
Online on MS Teams

Register here:

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

08/12/2025

Some Council Officers, Academics, and Public Health Practitioners walk into a Beach Ballroom.

This isn't a joke, but it was a fun and insightful event that sought to build collaborative research projects to have meaningful impact on Aberdeen's health inequalities.

Read more in our Sandpit Report below 👇

The Building Blocks of Health: Co-designing Research to Reduce Health Inequalities in Aberdeen City using a Sandpit Approach

04/12/2025

All are welcome to our next HDRC Seminar, this time with our very own Dr Clair Woods-Brown presenting her work and findings on using Co-Pilot (a widely-used AI tool) to analyse qualitative data.

A very useful and practical session for anyone looking to get a bit more savvy with AI tools and/or ways to analyse qualitative data

Tue 9th Dec, 14:00 - 15:30
Online on MS Teams

Register here:

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

06/11/2025

We're excited to share our work on the Health and Social Care Needs of Asylum Seekers in high-income countries

Areas of focus include:
💜 Discrimination
🗣️ Communication barriers
👨‍⚕️ Training of Health Professionals
🏠 Living conditions

There is still a need for more research in this area, particularly across a large number of countries. However, this review attempts to pull together a range of papers to give a clearer picture of of health and social care needs of asylum seekers

13/10/2025

Roll up! Roll up! For the next HDRC seminar on Evidence Synthesis!

All are welcome to attend this informative session, in which Dr Sarah McGarrol and Prof Miriam Brazzelli will walk you through academic approaches to synthesising relevant evidence.

You may have many sources of relevant evidence - including research papers, national and local datasets, lived experience, etc. - but how do you bring them together and understand what they are telling you in relation to your problem or issue?

📅 Tue, 28 Oct
⌚ 14:00 - 15:30 GMT
🛜 Online

Register here 👉

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

08/10/2025

📑 Evidence Briefing on Food Insecurity 📑

The Health Determinants Research Collaboration Aberdeen has produced an evidence briefing on food insecurity. The review includes the range of work on food insecurity undertaken by the HDRCA during 2023 – 2024 and covers local interventions to address food insecurity in Aberdeen and the wider policy context in Scotland. It also contains a review of the evidence base on infant food insecurity.

In addition to the full evidence briefing, which is detailed below, we have produced:

📃 short one-page summary of the briefing.
ℹ️ infographic highlighting key points from the briefing.
🎥 short video focusing on food insecurity in Aberdeen and highlighting the response to food insecurity in the city.

Links to the above files are in the comments 👇

Many thanks to the authors Dr Sarah McGarrol, Kusum Singal, Miriam Brazzelli, Flora Douglas, Martin Murchie, Helen Cannings, Leonard Ho, Phil Mackie, Shantini Paranjothy

20/03/2025

Calling all good folk of Aberdeen! What's your vision for a better Aberdeen? This city-wide consultation launches on Monday (24th March) and it'll help to set the priorities for Community Planning Aberdeen and its partners for the next 10 years 💖

People of Aberdeen are being encouraged to take part in a new engagement on multiple strategies that together aim to shape the future of the city.

The “Your Place, Your Plans, Your Future” engagement, is being launched next Monday (24 March) and follows on from the “Your Place; Your Plans” engagement in 2023, it will support future setting of priorities for Community Planning Aberdeen partners.

Read more here: https://orlo.uk/xrha6

10/01/2025

Calling all non-academics! Want to tighten up your research skills? Our fortnightly bite-sized Lunch and Learn sessions in collaboration with the wonderful folk at University of Aberdeen and Research Awareness NHS Grampian might be just what you need.

All sessions delivered on Microsoft Teams. More sessions to be announced shortly.

🗓️1pm Wednesday, 15th January: Flexing your critical thinking muscles by Dr Kathryn R Martin
🗓️12pm Thursday, 30th January: Introduction to Health Data Science by Dr Katie Wilde
🗓️1pm Thursday, 13th February: Tips and tricks on how to evaluate a research proposal by Dr Jenny Gregory
🗓️12pm Tuesday, 25th February: How to find and read a journal article by Lisa Duncan

Register here to be sent the joining link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=rRkrjJxf1EmQdz7Dz8UrP2CATFcV5tBMoRYB-X5QsvVUNldKWUNHQkc4WjExWUxXT0ZDQlNVRkcwRS4u

09/12/2024

🚀 Workshop Recap: Building Bridges with LEGO! 🚀

We had an amazing time at our recent workshop with Katie Wilde, diving into the world of data linkage and reproducibility. 🧩💡

Participants teamed up to build LEGO vehicles and documented their process, sparking insightful discussions on data clarity, metadata practices, and the real-world challenges of data sharing. 🛠️📊

We also brainstormed the data sets that would be game-changers for our roles and explored what we could share with each other. 🤝📂

Next steps? We're excited to delve into these shared metadata systems to boost collaboration and better target public services and interventions. 🌟📈

Stay tuned for more updates and let's keep building together! 🏗️✨

02/12/2024

Lessons from Prof. Smith’s Keynote

(Watch at the link below)

Professor Kat Smith’s keynote challenged us to rethink how we collaborate and communicate to improve public health. She emphasised an asset-based approach, urging us to focus on strengths rather than deficits, and highlighted the importance of working with people we genuinely like, as strong relationships drive better outcomes.

Prof. Smith identified key barriers, including siloed policymaking, deep poverty, restrictive political environments, and resistance to evidence-based solutions on issues like climate change and diet. She called for actionable solutions, better storytelling, and engaging communities through their lived experiences.

Her critique of rigid governance frameworks stressed the need for flexible, inclusive methods. She also underscored the value of qualitative research, noting that marginalised groups often hold deep insights into health inequalities.

The takeaway? Break silos, embrace collaboration, and take bold action. Reflect on how you can foster partnerships and challenge outdated systems—real change starts with us.

Why stories are important