Dr Sam Redgate

Assistant Professor

School: Communities and Education

Sam Redgate is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communities and Education. Her research expertise lies in the evaluation of complex interventions and the application of realist methodological approaches. She also serves as a Research Methodologist for the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Hub, delivered by Newcastle University and Partners.

Sam’s research is grounded in her earlier professional experience within UK Local Authority public health and social care commissioning, which informs her applied approach to service design, implementation, delivery, and evaluation research. Her work is collaborative, interdisciplinary, and oriented toward producing findings with practical relevance and explanatory depth.

Sam uses realist methodological approaches to strengthen the theoretical and practical dimensions of her research. She has extensive experience applying realist principles across diverse fields, including public health, social care, criminology and education, contributing to a nuanced understanding of how and why interventions work in specific contexts.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Mechanisms to support interventions involving the police when responding to persons experiencing a mental health crisis: A realist review, Redgate, S., Clibbens, N., Haighton, C., Dalkin, S., Bate, A., Girling, M., McCarthy, S., Eagles, T., Gray, J., McKinnon, I. 10 May 2025, In: Health & Social Care in the Community
Reading for wellbeing: a realist review of evidence, Sirisena, M., Redgate, S., Kaner, E., Wearn, A., Hackett, S., Wojciechowska, A., Lhussier, M. 1 Dec 2025, In: Perspectives in Public Health
Implementing England’s Care Act 2014: was the Act a success and when will we know?, Burn, E., Redgate, S., Needham, C., Peckham, S. 1 Feb 2024, In: International Journal of Care and Caring
Innovative local authority public health interventions to support the mental health of children and young people, Spencer, L., Redgate, S., Hardy , C., Adams, E., Arnott, B., Brown, H., Christie, A., Harrison, H., Kaner, E., Mawson, C., McGovern, W., Rankin, J., McGovern, R. 30 Oct 2024, In: Journal of Children's Services
Mechanisms That Promote and Support Family Preservation for Children at the Edge of Care: A Realist Synthesis, Redgate, S., Smart, D., Barrett, S., Barron, C., Burns, S., Frost, H., McGovern, W., Peart, V., Adams, E., Alderson, H., Kaner, E., McGovern, R. 16 Jun 2024, In: SAGE Open
Realist Economic Evaluation - A plain English graphic summary and guidance, Dalkin, S., Bate, A., Fletcher, A., Anderson, R., Baker, R., Donaldson, C., Fenocchi, L., Hibberd, V., Kumar, M., Redgate, S., Shenton, F., Westhorp, G., Wong, G., Wright, J. 19 Feb 2024
‘The book’s a conversation starter’: a realist exploration of the salutogenic potential of reading for pleasure, Sirisena, M., Lhussier, M., Kaner, E., Wearn, A., Gray, J., James, R., Redgate, S. 23 Sep 2024, In: Medical Humanities
The Realist Topic Guide, Redgate, S., Dalkin, S. 29 Nov 2024, Realist Evaluation, Routledge
A realist approach to understanding alliancing within Local Government public health and social care service provision, Redgate, S., Spencer, L., Adams, E., Arnott, B., Brown, H., Christie, A., Hardy, C., Harrison, H., Kaner, E., Mawson, C., McGovern, W., Phillips, P., Rankin, J., McGovern, R. 3 Feb 2023, In: European Journal of Public Health
‘What I really want is academics who want to partner and who care about the outcome’: findings from a mixed-methods study of evidence use in local government in England, Cheetham, M., Redgate, S., Van der Graaf, P., Humble, C., Hunter, D., Adamson, A. 1 Feb 2023, In: Evidence and Policy

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), Redgate, S. (Co Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/04/25 - 30/11/27, £781,508.00