Professor Katie Haighton

Head Of School

School: Communities and Education

I am an experienced chartered psychologist and applied health and social care researcher, specialising in public health. I am committed to translational research and work closely with policy and practice partners in the NHS, local and regional government, and other public and voluntary organisations to facilitate evidence-informed practice and policy. My research on alcohol screening and brief intervention is nationally and internationally recognised and I have significant methodological expertise in the development through evidence synthesis and evaluation of complex interventions, using natural experiments, feasibility studies, pilot and full trials. I am also a member of: Fuse, the centre for translational research in public health; the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria; the NIHR School for Public Health Research; the Making Every Contact Count Research Group; the JBI Evidence Synthesis Taxonomy Initiative Advisory Group and I am the evidence synthesis methodology group lead for IDEAS-NET, the interdisciplinary evaluation of complex innovations in health and social care NIHR National Evaluation Team. I have published over 95 papers in peer-reviewed journals and secured over £11.5 million in grant income. I am also experienced in teaching and supervision at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research focusses on the development and evaluation of complex public health interventions using a variety of methods including systematic reviews, natural experiments, feasibility studies, pilot and full trials as well as qualitative methods. My research has examined interventions for making every contact count, alcohol, smoking, exercise, diet, welfare, and sleep.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
“Everything I Had, I Lost”: Survivors’ Lived Experiences of Late Radiotherapy Side Effects Following Head and Neck Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative Study, Sellstrom, D., Patterson, J., Haighton, C., O'Hara, J., Finch, T. 14 Jan 2026, In: Cancer Nursing
Exploring the ‘train the trainer’ model for delivering Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training at scale: A qualitative study, Yee Tang, M., Nichol, B., Rodrigues, A., Haste, A., Haighton, C., Audsley, S., Harland, J., Robson, C. 11 Apr 2026, In: British Journal of Health Psychology
Health related economic inactivity in young people in the UK: Support programmes should be expanded to cover common mental health disorders, Haighton, C., Wilkie, R., Gray, J., Walker, L., Crawshaw, P. 12 Mar 2026, In: British Medical Journal
Mixed Methods Evaluation of the “Train the Trainer” Model for Delivering Core “Making Every Contact Count” (MECC) Training, Nichol, B., Rodrigues, A., Yee Tang, M., Haste, A., Audsley, S., Robson, C., Harland, J., Haighton, C. 1 Apr 2026, In: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Parental attitudes to randomised controlled trials in primary dental care: A qualitative study, Coventry, H., Maguire, A., McColl, E., Haighton, C. 12 Mar 2026, In: PLoS One
A critical commentary of the paradoxical ‘success’ of Making Every Contact Count (MECC), Nichol, B., Wilson, R., Rodrigues, A., Haighton, C. 31 Dec 2025, In: Critical Public Health
A Qualitative Exploration of Service Users’ Experiences of Weight Management Conversations in a Mental Health Setting, Kemp, E., Haighton, C., Faulkner, S., McBride, K., Aquino, M., Wilson, R., Vasiljevic, M., Robson, C., Loraine, M., Harland, J., Rodrigues, A. 1 Jun 2025, In: PEC Innovation
Assessing healthcare professionals' experiences of delivering opportunistic, weight-related conversations in a mental health setting: a mixed methods study, Rodrigues, A., Kemp, E., Faulkner, S., McBride, K., Aquino, M., Wilson, R., Vasiljevic, M., Robson, C., Harland, J., Loraine, M., Haighton, C. 17 Dec 2025
Assessment and management of late radiation-associated dysphagia after treatment for head and neck cancer: A scoping review and survey of UK speech and language therapists, Sellstrom, D., Haighton, C., Finch, T., O'Hara, J., Patterson, J. Jan 2025, In: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders
Balancing individual rights and risks: A systematic review of qualitative studies of perspectives on older adults' alcohol use in residential care settings, Nichol, B., Charlton, C., Scott, J., Steer, M., Sattar, Z., Haighton, C. 1 Dec 2025, In: Ageing & Society

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Police involvement in interagency crisis mental health first response pathways in England: A realist and cost consequence analysis (PIONEER-MH), Clibbens, N. (Principal Investigator), Haighton, K. (Co Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/04/25 - 30/11/27, £781,508.00
Developing an NIHR Health and Social care Delivery Research (HSDR) national evaluation team: InterDisciplinary Evaluation of complex innovations in heAlth and Social care (IDEAS) Centre, Bate, A. (Principal Investigator), Haighton, K. (Co Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/02/25 - 31/01/30, £3,028,752.00

PGR Supervision

Sandra Moran A cross-cultural investigation exploring university students pre-drinking experiences and behaviour through a socioecological lens. Start Date: 31/07/2024 End Date: 08/04/2026