SSM ECRs featuring…

SSM ECRs featuring… Becky Howell!

Becky Howell is a Research Assistant at University of Stirling.

Becky Howell University of Stirling Research Assistant SSM member since: 2022 SSM participation: ECR Local Officer Topics of interest:  Health inequalities, alcohol and tobacco harm reduction

What inspired you to pursue a career in public health?
During my MA in Psychology I was lucky enough to complete my placement module with the Institute for Social Marketing and Health (ISMH) at the University of Stirling. Public health research hadn’t been a sector I knew anything about before this opportunity, seeing the impact of the department’s work and the positive influence the sector has was incredibly inspiring. Being able to develop my qualitative research skills, especially looking at human behaviour, and seeing the real-world impact of the work we do is very motivating.

What excites you about working in research now?
I’m excited about the developments in patient and participant involvement, I think looking beyond the academic community is key to doing meaningful research. PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) can help all aspects of a project from the research design to making sure dissemination is comprehensive and inclusive. I work remotely from Newcastle and I think the world we live in now is better set up for communicating with more people in a wider range of ways. Being able to hold focus groups and interviews with people in the comfort of their own home opens up more opportunities for collaboration.

What area of social medicine/public health are you interested in?
I work mainly in alcohol and tobacco studies, and am interested in how this research can tackle health inequalities from looking at potential interventions that help harm reduction, to recommendations for policy change.

Can you tell us a bit about a project you’re working on now?
I presented at last year’s SSM conference about a pilot study we completed looking at the use of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) to create smoke-free homes. We have now received funding to do a larger pilot study with participants receiving their NRT through the post. I think there’s great value to a project like this because it offers flexibility for participants who may not be ready to quit smoking but who are looking at reducing tobacco related harms for themselves and those living with them.

What do you hope this will lead to?
If it’s successful, I would love to see the initiative rolled out more widely. From our initial pilot study and similar studies we’ve seen that flexibility in current cessation programmes could lead to more people reducing the amount they smoke, especially indoors, and the associated harms this causes.

Bonus question from ECR sub-committee: Ahead of the SSM conference in Newcastle, what are your top tips for ECRs attending conferences?
When I started going to conferences I thought I needed to find and talk to the people doing work similar to myself, but I now talk to anyone and everyone because finding out about topics and methods you don’t know about is so interesting. I think the SSM conference is the perfect place to chat to people, everyone is very approachable, and this year it’s in the friendliest city in the world so it’ll be even easier!

To keep up to date with Becky’s work, you can get in touch via email.

SSM ECR features is a blog series that celebrates early career researchers. Each month we meet a member we admire, learn more about their work and find out what and who inspires them. To find out more visit socsocmed.org.uk/blog or email ecr.ssm@gmail.com.