Academic Biography

Claire O’Malley is a research associate and is currently working on a number of public health related projects which aim to explore the obesogenic environment. Claire has a degree in Nutrition and Health Science, and an MSc in Health Science (Public Health) from Teesside University. Following on from this she went onto study for a PhD at Durham University titled “Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption in pre-school children”.   

Claire recently held an NIHR SPHR capacity building post and is now managing the day to day running of a project which investigates how health policy and choice facilitates planning decisions made in public health. She is also involved in several obesity-related systematic reviews and collaborates with colleagues on various public health related projects.

Summary of Research Interests

Claire’s research interests lie within the areas of: public health, behaviour change, obesogenic environments, health policy, health promotion, obesity and other health related behaviours. She is particularly keen on the use of systematic reviews and mixed methods to synthesise and evaluate evidence to improve health.

Research Projects and External Funding

NIHR SPHR Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Regulatory Mechanisms. Jan 2020 – Jan 2021. £85,000. Co-investigator

Recent Publications

O’Malley C, Lake A, Townshend T, Moore, H (2020) Exploring the fast food and planning appeals system in England and Wales: Decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) Perspectives in Public Health (In press)

Byrnes K, Hamilton S, McGeechan G, O’Malley C, Mankelow J, Giles E (2019) Attitudes and perceptions of people with a learning disability, family carers and paid care workers, towards cancer screening programmes in the United Kingdom: A qualitative systematic review and meta-aggregation. Psycho-Oncology, 29 (3): 574-484, DOI: 10.1002/pon.5311

Brown T, Moore THM, Hooper L, Gao Y, Zayegh A, Ijaz S, Elwenspoek M, Foxen SC, Magee L, O'Malley C, Waters E, Summerbell CD. Interventions for preventing obesity in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD001871. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001871.pub4.

Ells L, Watson P, Carlebach S, O’Malley C, Jones D, Machaira T, Whittaker V, Clements H, Walker P, Needham K, Summerbell C, Coulton, Araujo-Soares V. A mixed method evaluation of adult tier 2 lifestyle weight management service provision across a county in Northern England. Clinical Obesity 2018, 8 (3): 191-202. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12250