Dr Heather May Morgan

LLB (Hons), CertHE, MRes, FHEA, PhD, FRSA

Lecturer

Postgraduate Education Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences

1.077 Polwarth Building, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD

School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

Biography

I am a multidisciplinary social scientist whose formal training spans law, French language, forensic medicine, philosophy, gender studies, social research, sociology, criminology and health services research. I was appointed as a Lecturer (Scholarship) within the University of Aberdeen’s Postgraduate Education Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences on 01 October 2017. I previously worked at the Chief Scientist Office-funded Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, from February 2012 to September 2017. I led several multidisciplinary collaborations before transitioning into health services research in 2012. I have external experience in the independent monitoring of prisons (Scottish Government, 2010-2013).

To date, I have individually or jointly secured research funding totalling more than £1.6m. I am lead author or co-author of over thirty peer-reviewed papers and two edited collections. I review for a number of high impact journals/publishers and have assessed grant applications for several national governments as well as major UK funders. I am co-creator of Aberdeen’s original, free-to-play, location-based, augmented reality game for iOS devices: [m]apping.

I have substantive research interests in digital health, methodological expertise in designing, leading and delivering qualitative and mixed methods studies in applied health sciences and a pedagogical research focus on authentic assessment, postgraduate training and employment, within and beyond universities. I welcome enquiries from potential PhD and project students who wish to work with me on any of these areas. I work closely with a range of community, government and industry partners to undertake and apply my research and facilitate student work placements.

Qualifications

LLB (Hons) Law with Options in French Language and Forensic Medicine
2005 - University of Aberdeen
CertHE Gender Studies and Philosophy
2006 - University of Aberdeen
MRes Social Research
2007 - University of Aberdeen
FHEA Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2011 - Advance HE/HEA
FRSA Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
2018 - Royal Society of Arts
PhD Sociology
2013 - University of Aberdeen

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

Employability and Skills Champion I sit on the University Education Committee's Employment and Entrepreneurship Committee as a representative for the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition.

I am a member of the Institute of Applied Health Sciences Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team.

External Memberships

I am:

Founder and administrator of the Digital Health mailing list <DIGITAL-HEALTH@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
Member of the Board: Open Data Institute, Aberdeen Node
Member of the CERQual (DECIDE) Working Group
Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Telecare, telemedicine and teleconsulting’ group
Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Bio-technical and adaptive devices’ group
Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Use of social media’ group
Member Digital Health and Care Institute
Member of the EPSRC-funded BALANCE ‘Ways of Being in a Digital Age’/Digital Economies Network
Member of Our Voice Citizens' Panel
Member of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society
Member of the Surveillance Studies Network
Member of the UK Participatory Research Network (UKPRN)
Reviewer for BMC Research Involvement and Engagement
Reviewer for British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Reviewer for British Medical Journal Open
Reviewer for Field Methods
Reviewer for Health Sociology Review
Reviewer for Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Reviewer for International Journal of Drug Policy
Reviewer for the Higher Education Academy
Reviewer for Journal of Contemporary Poetics
Reviewer for Philosophy and Technology
Reviewer for SAGE Research Methods Cases
Reviewer for Sociology
Reviewer for Surveillance & Society
Reviewer for Trials
STEM Ambassador

Latest Publications

Developing strategies to address disparities in retention communication during the consent discussion: development of a behavioural intervention
2023 - Accepted/In press
Coffey, T., Duncan, E., Morgan, H., Gillies, K.
Trials
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07268-2
How European Fans in Training (EuroFIT), a lifestyle change program for men delivered in football clubs, achieved its effect: a mixed methods process evaluation embedded in a randomised controlled trial
2023 - Published
Bunn, C., Palmer, V., Chng, N. R., Andersen, E., Gray, C. M., Hunt, K., Jelsma, J. G., Morgan, H., Nijhuis-van der Sanden, M., Pereira, H. V., Philpott, M., Philpott, M., Roberts, G. C., Rooksby, J., Røynesdal, ?. B., Silva, M. N., Sørensen, M., Teixeira, P. J., van Achterberg, T., van de Glind, I., van Mechelen, W., Van Nassau, F., van der Ploeg, H. P., Wyke, S.
BMC Public Health, vol. 23, 526
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15419-y
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/20318/1/Bunn_etal_BMCPH_How_European_Fans_VoR.pdf
User Experiences of a Digital Intervention to Support Total-Skin-Self-Examination by Melanoma Survivors: Nested Qualitative Evaluation Embedded in a Randomized Controlled Trial
2023 - Published
Reilly, F., Wani, N., Hall, S., Morgan, H. M., Allan, J., Constable, L., Ntessalen, M., Murchie, P.
JMIR Dermatology, vol. 6, e39544
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/39544
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/20032/1/Reilly_etal_JMIRD_User_Experiences_In_VoR.pdf
Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries
2023 - E-pub ahead of print
Van Nassau, F., Huis, A., van de Glind, I., Andersen, E., Bunnag, C., Gray, C., Hunt, K., Jelsma, J. G., van Mechelen, W., Morgan, H., Røynesdal, ?., Pereira, H. V., van der Ploeg, H., Roberts, G., Silva, M., Sørensen, M., Wyke, S., Nijhuis-van der Sanden, R., van Achterberg, T.
Translational Behavioral Medicine, ibac100
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac100
A qualitative process evaluation within a clinical trial that used healthcare technologies for children with asthma: insights and implications
2023 - Published
Lawrie, L., Turner, S., Cotton, S., Wood, J., Morgan, H.
PloS ONE, vol. 18, no. 1, 0280086
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280086.s001
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/19821/1/Lawrie_etal_pone_qualitative_process_evaluation_VOR.pdf

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

I was named 'Most Accessible Lecturer (Champion for Students with Disabilities)' in the Aberdeen University Student's Association and University of Aberdeen Awards for Excellence in 2019 and nominated 'Most Inspiring' in 2019 and 'Funniest Lecturer' in 2020.

I am active in public engagement with research and a four-time Principal’s Prizes for Public Engagement with Research winner (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

I was selected as a participant of the prestigious Scottish Crucible leadership and development programme in 2015.

Research

Research Overview

I specialise in research into the use of (digital) technologies to generate, document, analyse and respond to information about human biomarkers and behaviours, by individuals and organisations. I research how the addition or integration of such technologies into everyday living is viewed and experienced, the ways in which they impact on social life at a number of levels (e.g. personal, public, political, economic) and their implications, including unintended consequences.

I primarily use qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis, often involving ethnographic, narrative and case study methods, in a range of settings. I also lead and/or contribute to mixed methods studies and have: undertaken systematic reviews (mixed methods and critical interpretive syntheses); utilised and developed behaviour change taxonomies; co-designed and co-analysed two large scale surveys and a discrete choice experiment; and managed feasibility and intervention (randomised controlled trial) studies.

My pedagogical research explores authentic assessment, postgraduate training, career development and employability.

I welcome enquiries from potential PhD or project student who wish to work with her me on any of these areas.

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Applied Health Sciences, Education.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Email Me

Anthropology

View Research Area

Applied Health Sciences

Supervising
Accepting PhDs

View Research Area

Education

Accepting PhDs

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

Higher Education
Health and Social Care
Higher Education Teaching
Management and Organisation of Education
Research Skills

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Current Research

My current substantive work explores people's uses, experiences and views of various health technologies within and independently of health and social care services (e.g. wristwatch ECGs, smartwatches for running; ambulance drones; AI in the NHS; GPS in elite football; apps for resistance training; nutrition tracking; medical education simulation; fertility tracking; sleep hygiene; athletes’ use of performance apps; apps/wearables for weight loss; video-delivery of exercise programmes in sheltered housing); electronic records in ambulances (ERA); post-intensive care rehabilitation: an evaluation of the scaling up of the InS:PIRE programme; RAACENO: the use of devices to inform prevention of childhood asthma attacks; and blockchain technology’s potential application for health services and research.

My pedagogical research considers authentic assessment in both University and work-based learning, assessment and feedback processes, postgraduate student support and mentoring and the development of graduate attributes through work-based placements at postgraduate level.

My previous work looked at: European Fans in Training (EuroFIT): working with professional football clubs to help men become more active and less sedentary; self-management of long-term health conditions (including using health self-monitoring technologies); surveillance interventions for healthy behaviours in pregnancy (particularly around smoking, including the use of home indoor air quality monitoring and financial incentives contingent on carbon monoxide exhalation monitoring); and gender/deviance in police CCTV operations.

Supervision

My current supervision areas are: Applied Health Sciences.

Co-supervisor: Taylor Coffey's PhD research on how theoretical/behavioural approaches can be used in the context of improvement to clinical trials, 2019-

Co-supervisor: Christopher Allen's PhD research, 2020-

Co-supervisor: Alan White's PhD research, 2021-

Funding and Grants

Dates	Award holder(s)	Funding body	Title	Value
2019- 2021	Co-applicant (PI: David Fitzpatrick, University of Stirling)	Chief Scientist Office HIPS/19/28	Creating safe handover systems for the pre-hospital environment	£269,963.00
2019- 2020	Co-applicant (PI: Marjorie Johnston, University of Aberdeen)	Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund Public Engagement Fund	Engaging with he Children of the 1950s study: telling the story of Aberdeen (talks, sound, food)	£9,002.00
2019	Personal Award	Aberdeen University Students’ Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence in Teaching Awards	Winner: Most Accessible Lecturer (Champion for Students with Disabilities)	£500.00 for activity
2019	Co-applicant (PI: Zoe Skea, University of Aberdeen)	NHS Grampian R&D Endowments Research Grant	Baby boxes and parental capabilities: developing a measure of social outcomes	£10,427.00
2019	Co-applicant (PI: Amudha Poobalan, University of Aberdeen)	Learning and Teaching Enhancement Programme, University of Aberdeen	Enhancing postgraduate learning and experience: Evaluation of the SUCCESS PLUS programme (SociocUltural Coaching for Careers and Employability to Support Success: Pathways for Life Underpinning Success)	£1,958.00
14 September 2018	Personal award	Principal's Prize, University of Aberdeen	Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2018, Winner: Senior Category.	£400.00 + £400.00 for activity
2017-2020	Co-applicant (PI: Steve Turner, University of Aberdeen)	NIHR/EME	Research study: Reducing asthma attacks in children using exhaled nitric oxide as a biomarker to inform treatment strategy – a randomised trial (RAACENO).	£1,534,562.32
2016-2018	Co-convenor (with Beverley Searle, University of Dundee)	Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES)	Funds to establish ‘Pollinating Wellbeing’ Forum.	£5,440.00
02 August 2017	Personal award	Principal’s Prize, University of Aberdeen	Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2017, Outstanding Achievement: Early Career Category.	£200.00
July 2017	Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)	Aberdeen Humanities Fund/Development Trust: Cities of Ghosts	For the [M]apping knowledge exchange and commercialisation project.	£740.00
June 2017	Lead applicant, group award	Marie Curie Alumni Association, Scotland Chapter	Funds to support HSRU public engagement activity in late 2017.	£198.80
May 2017	Lead applicant, group award	Public Engagement with Research Unit, University of Aberdeen – Enabling Award	Funds to support HSRU public engagement activity at May Festival 2017.	£424.60
May 2017	Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)	Sport Aberdeen/Aberdeen City Council using funds from The Heritage Lottery Fund	For the [M]apping knowledge exchange and commercialisation project. To work with Sport Aberdeen to co-create a version of our app for the March Stones initiative over summer 2017.	£1800.00
May 2017	Personal Award	Institute for Medical Education, University of Aberdeen	Funded summer intern position. To support exploration of digital health medical education in the UK.	£1500.00
February 2017	Personal award	Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen	Staff Development Budget. To attend and present at a conference.	£300.00
January 2017	Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)	sound festival	For the [m]apping knowledge exchange and commercialisation project in the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen to continue development of the [m]apping mobile application and link through to the Aberdeen soundsites project.	£2,219.00
February-July 2016	Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)	Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation award, University of Aberdeen	‘From GEOrge Washington Wilson to GEOtagging: Mapping and Apping the city.’ Award of funds to create a history, health, sonic, visual and tourism app, building on and combining our programme of recent public engagement with research activities: [m]apping.	£7,923.00
29 May 2016	Personal award	Principal’s Prize, University of Aberdeen	Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2016, Winner: Early Career Category.	£400.00 + £400.00 for activity
10-13 May 2016	Co-PI (with Becky Brown, University of Aberdeen and Luna Dolezal, University of Durham)	Fondation Brocher, Switzerland	Funds to host residential workshop entitled: ‘Vice and Virtue: the Rise of Self-Tracking Technologies and the Moralising of Health Behaviours’, Brocher Foundation, Hermance, Switzerland.	6,000.00 SWISS FRANCS
01 August 2015 – 31 January 2016	PI	Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund, Fellowship Development Award, University of Aberdeen	Research study: ‘Using self-administered health monitoring technologies to support self-management of long-term conditions: a qualitative evidence synthesis.’	£24,894.00
October 2015	Personal award	Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen	Staff Development Budget. To attend and present at a conference.	£200.00
31 May 2015	Personal award	Principal’s Prize, University of Aberdeen	Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2015, Outstanding Achievement: Early Career Category.	£200.00
30-31 May 2015	Personal award	Scottish Government	Funds to allow 'Take it right outside' equipment (pop up house, augmented reality kit and one staff member) to be brought to Aberdeen for May Festival event.	£669.00
June 2012	Co-PI (with Dr Suzanne Young of SCCJR)	The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) Capacity Building Grants Scheme	Funds to facilitate a workshop for academics and practitioners entitled: 'Investigating the Role of Gender in Police Decision Making.'	£804.00
2008, 2009, 2011	PI	Roberts Fund, University of Aberdeen	Funds to support College of Arts and Social Sciences Annual Postgraduate Conference, Moving Forward.	£1,750.00
2008, 2009, 2011	PI	College of Arts and Social Sciences and constituent Schools, University of Aberdeen	Funds to support College of Arts and Social Sciences Annual Postgraduate Conference, Moving Forward.	£12,400.00
March 2010	Personal award	ESRC/University of Durham.	Funds to attend 'Writing Across Boundaries' residential Researcher Development Workshop.	£500.00
October 2007 – September 2010	Personal award	College of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Aberdeen	Awarded a fees-only PhD studentship.	£10,800.00
July 2009	Personal award	Principal's Small Grants Fund, University of Aberdeen	Awarded funds to visit the Center for Gender Studies, University of Chicago, to present at their staff/student seminar series, and to visit the Chicago Police Department in order to carry out research fieldwork.	£1,455.88
July 2009	Co-PI (with Lindsay Milligan, University of Aberdeen)	Subject Centre for History, Classics and Archaeology, Higher Education Academy	Awarded a sum to provide several home and overseas travel bursaries for delegates of the College of Arts and Social Sciences Annual Postgraduate Conference, Moving Forward.	£550.00
July 2009	Co-PI (with Lindsay Milligan, University of Aberdeen)	Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, Higher Education Academy	Awarded a sum to provide several home and overseas travel bursaries for delegates of the College of Arts and Social Sciences Annual Postgraduate Conference, Moving Forward.	£550.00

Teaching

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

I contribute to the training, supervision and assessment of BSc, MSc and PhD students across a range of disciplines’ programmes at the University of Aberdeen. I previously taught on University of Aberdeen undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Gender Studies, Sociology and Health Studies in the School of Social Science (2007-2012) and social aspects of health in the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition (since 2009), as well as on the interdisciplinary Sixth Century Course in Sustainable International Development (2011).

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

I have also taught on courses for staff through the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Academic Development and contribute teaching for Postgraduate Research students through the Graduate School's programme of workshops.

Publications

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Email

Dr Heather May Morgan

Biography

Qualifications

Memberships and Affiliations

Latest Publications

Developing strategies to address disparities in retention communication during the consent discussion: development of a behavioural intervention

How European Fans in Training (EuroFIT), a lifestyle change program for men delivered in football clubs, achieved its effect: a mixed methods process evaluation embedded in a randomised controlled trial

User Experiences of a Digital Intervention to Support Total-Skin-Self-Examination by Melanoma Survivors: Nested Qualitative Evaluation Embedded in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries

A qualitative process evaluation within a clinical trial that used healthcare technologies for children with asthma: insights and implications

Prizes and Awards

Research Overview

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

Anthropology

Applied Health Sciences

Education

Law

Nutrition and Health

Philosophy

Sociology

Research Specialisms

Current Research

Supervision

Funding and Grants

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Developing strategies to address disparities in retention communication during the consent discussion: development of a behavioural intervention

How European Fans in Training (EuroFIT), a lifestyle change program for men delivered in football clubs, achieved its effect: a mixed methods process evaluation embedded in a randomised controlled trial

User Experiences of a Digital Intervention to Support Total-Skin-Self-Examination by Melanoma Survivors: Nested Qualitative Evaluation Embedded in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries

A qualitative process evaluation within a clinical trial that used healthcare technologies for children with asthma: insights and implications

The Baby Box Scheme in Scotland: A Study of Public Attitudes and Social Value

What influences communication about retention in randomised trials: a multi-trial, theory-based analysis exploring trial staff perspectives

Developing research skills with weekly online seminars over the summer

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) education – a collaborative approach to FutureLearn Course Development for medics and multisector practitioners

Reducing asthma attacks in children using exhaled nitric oxide (RAACENO) as a biomarker to inform treatment strategy: a multicentre, parallel, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial

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