Dr Pamela Louise Graham

Assistant Professor

School: Communities and Education

Pam is an Assistant Professor in Community Wellbeing with particular interests in child and adolescent development; inequalities; and wellbeing. Her research focuses broadly on factors that influence health and wellbeing in educational and community settings, with recent projects focusing on school attendance; school exclusion; community perspectives on local health and wellbeing; and substance use support for military veterans.

Pam has expertise in a range of quantitative and qualitative research approaches including surveys, observational methods, focus groups and interviews. She also has an interest in public involvement and engagement. She is currently Public Involvement and Engagement lead for Fuse: The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health and is co-chair for the Fuse Public Involvement and Engagement Group.

Across the School of Communities and Education, Pam supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research students in Health & Social Care; Guidance and Counselling; Social Work; and Public Health. She also leads Dissertation Project (level 6), Inequalities and Social Justice (level 4) and Learning at University (level 4) modules, and teaches quantitative research methods in Health and Social Care, Guidance and Counselling, and Social Work. Additionally, Pam is a member of the University’s Ethics College of Reviewers.

Pam is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of Advance HE.

Prior to her PhD, Pam spent time working within primary and secondary education taking on Learning Support and Social Inclusion roles. She also spent time as a children’s mentor in the voluntary sector.

Email Pamela Louise

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Inequalities

Child and Adolescent Development

Health and Wellbeing

Food Insecurity

Poverty

School Attendance, Absence and Exclusion

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Exploratory analysis of inter-connected factors related to secondary school absenteeism: Caregivers’ perspectives, Carrick, A., Chen, R., Littlefair, D., Friedman, S., Mulholland, K., Hudson, K., Graham, P., Graham, P., Davies, C., Barker, L., Cordier, R. 1 Jan 2026, In: International Journal of Educational Research
Food insecurity and alleviating hunger, Graham, P., McInnes, A., Mugyisha, A. 25 Aug 2025, The Routledge International Handbook of Glocal Social Work, London, Taylor & Francis
Let's Hear It from the Girls: Shining a Light on the Value of PICE in Alternative Educational Provision, Graham, P., Fothergill, M. 10 Nov 2025, Public Involvement and Community Engagement in Applied Health and Social Care Research, Leeds
Substance use support for military veterans in Newcastle upon Tyne: Learning from veterans, family members and professionals, Graham, P., Mason, C., McGovern, W., Watson, P. Mar 2025
‘This unusual lifestyle is full of highs and lows’: exploring social harms with kinship carers in North East England, Hall, K., Grimshaw, L., Graham, P. 11 Apr 2025, In: Families, Relationships and Societies
Pathways to a Brighter Hartlepool: What Really Matters to People?, Bestford, T., Dalton, C., Garlick, R., Graham, P., Guy, C., Hackett, K., Hall-Jones, B., Herrington, T., Lee, R., McCluskey, S., Penton, J., Simons, J. Feb 2024
Practitioner perspectives on child feeding in Uganda: community engagement through the Global Agenda, McBride, A., Graham, P., Mugyisha, A., McInnes, A. 14 Mar 2024, In: Practice
School Meals from the Perspectives of Children Aged 9-11 in Cardiff, Wales, Dalton, C., Graham, P., Lee, R. 17 Jan 2024, Interdisciplinary Research Themes Showcase 2024
Staff reflections on supporting students experiencing financial hardship, Graham, P., Hayman, R., Shotton, L., Goodall, A. 5 Jun 2024, NU EDI Conference 2024
‘Teachers Need to Understand the Position that They Have’: Discussing Poverty in Diverse Classes, Graham, P., Fisher, N., Dalton, C., Lee, R. 5 Feb 2024, Developing and Implementing Teaching in Sensitive Subject and Topic Areas , Leeds, Emerald

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Community Perspectives on Climate Action in Hartlepool, Graham, P. (Principal Investigator), Hartlepower, 01/04/24 - 26/06/24, £2,949.00
Community Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing in Hartlepool, Graham, P. (Principal Investigator), Additional Research England QR Allocation - internal funding, 01/01/23 - 01/07/23, £5,757.00
Girls' experiences in alternative education, Graham, P. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/07/21 - 31/03/22, £11,598.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: “Trying to juggle study and work”: University staff reflections on supporting students experiencing financial hardship 2024
Invited talk: The challenges of poverty and food insecurity in school and community settings in the UK 2023
Oral presentation: Food security and adolescent mental health 2022
Oral presentation: Mental Health Support for Girls in Alternative Education 2022
Oral presentation: Food insecurity and poor food habits amongst college students in the North East of England 2020
Publication Peer-review: Journal of Public Health (Journal) 2020
Publication Peer-review: Appetite (Journal) 2019
Oral presentation: "Because we are coming here, it's making my life easier" Children's views on what difference holiday clubs make to them 2018
Invited talk: School's Out, What Now? The importance of holiday clubs for children and families in the UK 2018
Invited talk: School Food Standards: Not Just for Lunch 2017

PGR Supervision

Diego Melo Understanding Persistent School Absenteeism Through Students’, Parents’, and Educators’ Lived Experiences. Start Date: 01/10/2023
Connie Dalton Free School Meals, Social Exclusion, and the Devolved Nations: Exploring Policies, Discourse, and Lived Experiences Across the United Kingdom Start Date: 01/10/2021
Diego Melo Understanding Persistent School Absenteeism Through Students’, Parents’, and Educators’ Lived Experiences. Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 15/04/2025