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Dr Paul Watts

Senior Lecturer in Public Health

Health, Sport and Bioscience, Health

I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Health in the Health Studies Subject Area and I am currently the programme leader for BSc Public Health programme. I currently lead epidemiology and research methods modules on the BSc public health programmes. My research interests are the social and environmental determinants of health and health behaviours, health ageing and quantitative research methods.  

    My research has focussed on individual and environmental influences on health behaviours and various health outcomes in some the most deprived neighbourhoods in London.  My research interests extend to social and environmental interventions acting on health and health behaviours and the development of quantitative research methods.  My research has predominantly been undertaken with the Institute of Health and Human Development at UEL.  I have extensive experience analysing primary and secondary quantitative data including cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses and evaluations of interventions.  I am an advanced Stata and Mplus user with experience using an extensive range of data analysis techniques..


    Research

    PEER - REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
    Watts, P., Webb, E., & Netuveli, G. (2017). The role of sports clubs in helping older people to stay active and prevent frailty: a longitudinal mediation analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1), 95.
    Watts, P., Hayee, M., Bertotti, M. & Tobi, P. (2017).  Social, cognitive, behavioural and neighbourhood characteristics associated with sedentary time in men and women living in deprived neighbourhoods.  European Journal of Sport Science. DOI:10.1080/17461391.2017.1323951
    Frostick, C., Watts, P., Netuveli, G., Renton, A. & Moore, D. (2017) Well London: Results of a Community Engagement Approach to Improving Health among Adolescents from Areas of Deprivation in London.  Journal of Community Practice, DOI:10.1080/10705422.2017.1309611
    Watts, P., Buck, D., Netuveli, G., & Renton, A. (2016). Clustering of lifestyle risk behaviours among residents of forty deprived neighbourhoods in London: lessons for targeting public health interventions. Journal of Public Health, 38(2), 308-315.
    Bertotti M, Watts P, Netuveli G, Yu G, Schmidt E, et al. (2013) Types of Social Capital and Mental Disorder in Deprived Urban Areas: A Multilevel Study of 40 Disadvantaged London Neighbourhoods. PLoS ONE 8(12): e80127. 
    Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G. & Renton, A. (2013). Physical Activity in Deprived Communities in London: Examining Individual and Neighbourhood-Level Factors. PloS ONE, 8(7), e69472. 
    Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Harden, A. & Renton, A. (2011). The influence of environmental factors on the generalisability of public health research evidence: physical activity as a worked example. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 8:128 
    Yu, G., Renton, A., Schmidt, E., Tobi, P., Bertotti, M., Watts, P & Lais, S. (2011).  A multilevel analysis of the association between social networks and support on leisure time physical activity: Evidence from 40 disadvantaged areas in London. Health and Place, 17(5), 1023–1029
    PEER-REVIEWED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
    Paul Watts, Elizabeth Webb, Gopalakrishnan Netuveli (2015).  Maintaining the Olympics legacy: how sports clubs can help older people stay active and prevent obesity. Policies and Environments Special Interest Group - ISBNPA Conference – Edinburgh.
    Paul Watts, Gemma Phillips, Mark Petticrew, Richard Hayes, Christian Bottomley, Ge Yu, Elena Schmidt, Derek Moore, Caroline Frostick, Karen Lock, Adrian Renton (September, 2012) The relationship between greenpace and physical activity  in deprived communities in London.  WHO Health Enhancing Physical Activity Conference (Cardiff)
    Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Renton, A., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G., Schmidt, E., Moore, D., Frostick., C & Locke, K. (September 2011 – Oral presentation) "Determinants of physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining the effects of individual and neighbourhood characteristics” Annual meeting of the Society for Social Medicine (Warwick). 
    Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Renton, A., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G., Schmidt, E., Moore, D., Frostick., C & Locke, K. (September 2011 – Poster presentation) "Determinants of physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining the effects of individual and neighbourhood characteristics" Health and Wellbeing - The 21st Century Agenda – Journal of the Royal Society for Public Health (London). 
    Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Harden, A. & Renton, A. (September, 2011 - Poster Presentation). “The influence of environmental factors on the generalisability of public health research evidence: physical activity as a worked example.” Health and Wellbeing - The 21st Century Agenda – Journal of the Royal Society for Public Health (London).
    Watts, P., (October, 2009 - Oral Presentation).  "Theoretical approaches to researching environmental influences on physical activity".  Environment and Healthy Lifestyles Conference - University of Staffordshire (Stoke-on-Trent).
    INVITED PRESENTATIONS
    Paul Watts, Elizabeth Webb, Gopalakrishnan Netuveli (2016).  The role of sports clubs in helping older people to stay active and prevent frailty: a longitudinal mediation analysis.  The International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health Seminar (UCL), 15th November, 2016. 
    Bertotti, M and Watts P “Types of social capital and mental disorder in deprived urban areas: a multilevel study of 40 disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods”, AUHE seminar, 25th June 2013, University of Leeds, Leeds.

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    Publications

    HS4103 - introduction to Research Methods

    HS5105 - Practical Epidemiology

    Teaching