Position: Professor of Community and Family Health
Telephone: +44 (0) 208 223 2167
Fax: +44 (0)20 8223 4282
Email: a.harden@uel.ac.uk
Contact Address:
IHHD, UH250
Stratford Campus
University of East London
Water Lane
London
E15 4LZ
Angela Harden is a Professor of Community and Family Health. She is a social scientist with expertise in public health and evidence-informed policy and practice. She has conducted extensive research into the health of young people and the communities in which they live. Key themes in her research include sexual and reproductive health, mental health, health inequalities, the wider determinants of health and the evaluation of complex interventions. Angela has a keen interest in research synthesis, transfer and exchange. She is widely known for her methodological work integrating qualitative research into systematic reviews. Motivated by a desire to learn from the views and experiences of those targeted by public health interventions, this work has received international acclaim.
Before joining UEL Angela held research and teaching positions in a number of universities including the Institute of Education at the University of London, Kings College, and Middlesex University. In 2003 she was awarded a four year senior research fellowship by the Department of Health on the promotion of young people's health. Her most recent post was as Associate Director of the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre at the Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Here she ran a number of large research projects as well as contributing to the design and delivery of a new MSc in Evidence Informed Policy and Practice. Between 2005 and 2008 she co-directed the Methods for Research Synthesis Node of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods. Internationally, Angela is an active contributor to the Cochrane and Campbell collaborations. She is a co-convenor of the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Research Group and was a co-director of the Cochrane Health Promotion and Public Health Field until it became the Cochrane Public Health Review Group in 2008. She now serves on the methodological advisory board for this new research group.
As a newly appointed Professor of Community and Family Health, Angela's remit is to develop a programme of research linked to improving the health of Newham. Working closely with colleagues in UEL, Newham University Hospital Trust and relevant external partners, she will focus on research with local relevance for improving health and reducing inequalities. Please click here for more details on this research programme.
Angela is interested in the way health and well-being are shaped by social and cultural factors as well as individual experiences and behaviour. This includes an interest in studying the effects and appropriateness of health and social programmes delivered in educational, health and community-based settings. Her work has a strong applied focus and she strives to engage with potential users of her research in order to inform her research agenda, design, methods and dissemination. She also has a long-standing interest in research methodology, exploring questions such as 'how can qualitative and quantitative research be better integrated?', 'in what ways does the quality of our research influence our findings?' and 'how are our research methods and findings shaped by social as well as scientific processes?'.
Shepherd J, Kavanagh J, Picot J, Cooper K, Harden A, Barnett-Page E, Jones J, Clegg A, Hartwell D, Frampton G, Price A (in press) The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural interventions for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections in young people aged 13 to 19: a systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technol Assess Monographs http://www.ncchta.org/project/1666.asp
Harden A, Brunton G, Fletcher A, Oakley A (in press) Teenage pregnancy and social disadvantage: a systematic review integrating trials and qualitative studies. British Medical Journal
Kavanagh J, Oliver S, Lorenc T, Caird J, Tucker H, Greaves A, Oliver K, Harden A et al. (2009) School-based cognitive behavioural interventions: a systematic review of effects and inequalities. Health Sociology Review 18:61-78. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=8&sid=8c549679-e2e6-43a3-989e-8f349785458f%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=42317072
Oliver S, Kavanagh J, Caird J, Lorenc T, Oliver K, Harden A, Thomas J, Greaves A and Oakley A (2008) Health promotion, inequalities and young people’s health: a systematic review of research. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=2410&language=en-US
Lorenc T, Harden A, Brunton G, Oakley A (2008) Including diverse groups of children and young people in health promotion and public health research: a review of methodology and practice. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=2398&language=en-US
Woodman J, Lorenc T, Harden A, Oakley A (2008) Social and environmental interventions to reduce childhood obesity: a systematic map of reviews. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=2395&language=en-US
Thomas J, Harden A (2008) Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews BMC Medical Research Methodology 8:45 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/45
Waters E, Petticrew M, Priest N, Weightman A, Harden A, Doyle J (2008) Evidence synthesis, upstream determinants and health inequalities: the role of a proposed new Cochrane Public Health Review Group. European Journal of Public Health 18: 221-223. http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/18/3/221
Fletcher A, Harden A, Brunton G, Oakley A, Bonell C (2008) Interventions addressing the social determinants of teenage pregnancy. Health Education 108: 29-39 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=FF4E4C8C6FC1B40FFFC1345263411A4A?contentType=Article&contentId=1641873
Oliver S, Harden A, Rees R, Shepherd J, Brunton G, Oakley A (2008) Young people and mental health: novel methods for systematic review of barriers and facilitators. Health Education Research 23: 770-790. http://her.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/cym038
Harden A, Barnett-Page E, Shepherd J, Kavanagh J, Picot J (2009) Including process evaluations in systematic reviews: Reflection from a sexual health promotion review. Oral paper to be presented at the XV Cochrane Colloquium, Singapore, 15th to 19th October 2009
Harden, A (2009) Mixed methods systematic reviews: Integrating ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ findings. Invited oral presentation at NIDRR Knowledge Transfer Conference, Washington DC, July 29th to 30th 2009.
Harden, A (2008) Testing and building theory: mixed methods systematic reviews. Oral Paper presented at the NCRM Research Methods Festival 2008, 30th June - 3rd July 2008, St Catherine's College, Oxford http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/262/
Harden A (2008) Critical appraisal and qualitative research: exploring sensitivity analysis. Oral paper presented at the NCRM Research Methods Festival 2008, 30th June - 3rd July 2008, St Catherine's College, Oxford http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/395/
Harden, A (2008) Interpretive synthesis: Thematic synthesis. Oral Paper presented at the NCRM Research Methods Festival 2008, 30th June - 3rd July 2008, St Catherine's College, Oxford http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/396/
Harden A (2007) Young people’s perspectives in the evidence-base to promote health. Invited seminar presentation for University of Melbourne/Victorian Health Foundation, Melbourne, Australia, 5th December 2007.
Bonell C, Fletcher A, Harden A, Brunton G, Oakley A. (2007) Interventions addressing the wider determinants of teenage pregnancy. Invited oral presentation at Unhealthy Professional Boundaries? Working together in health and social care, 4th/5th December 2007, Goodenough College, London.
Harden A (2007) Reviewing diverse forms of evidence. Invited plenary presentation at the Joanna Briggs Institute International Convention Pebbles of Knowledge: Evidence for Excellence, Hyatt Regency, Adelaide, Australia, 24th November 2007.
Harden A (2007) Does study quality matter in systematic reviews that include qualitative research? Oral paper presented at the XV Cochrane Collaboration, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 23rd to 27th October.
Harden A (2007) Using mixed methods in research synthesis. A discussion forum presented at the Mixed Methods Conference, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK 8th to 11th July.
© 2010
Angela Harden will be sharing her expertise in mixed methods research synthesis for informing policy and practice with researchers in the US at a capacity building event in Washington DC on 29th and 30th July 2009.
The event is for researchers, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a Federal funding agency in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, US Department of Education.
Other topics covered at the event include ''collaboration with stakeholders and community in developing research knowledge and assistive technology products'', ''pragmatic trials'', ''social validity application in intervention research'' and ''test development with input from stakeholders.''
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