Staff Profile

I am the Supporting Children and Families (SCF) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Fellow, based in the Population Health Sciences Institute. My current research includes exploring the barriers for pregnant women to accessing healthcare, evaluating maternal healthcare services, tobacco dependence services and vaping. My research background is in public health, health sociology and health inequalities, specifically food insecurity. My PhD, from University of Sunderland, explored the neoliberal discourses present within the food aid social world, while determining the reported effects both these discourses and food aid use has on the wellbeing of food aid users. I am a registered physiotherapist who has previously worked clinically in the North East of England.

Qualifications

2016 - BSc Physiotherapy, Northumbria University

2018 - MSc Public Health, University of Sunderland

2022 - PhD Public Health, University of Sunderland. Titled: Are 'they' needy or greedy? An exploration into the influences of neoliberal discourses within the food aid social world, and the perceived impacts of food insecurity on the wellbeing of food aid users.

Previous Positions

2020-2022 - Physiotherapy Academic Tutor, University of Sunderland

My research interests include:

• Access to healthcare for pregnant women, children and families
• Evaluation of healthcare interventions
• Health inequalities
• Food insecurity
• Tobacco Cessation Services
• Qualitative research methods

• Articles

  • Wearn A, Brennan-Tovey K, Adams EA, Alderson H, Baariu J, Cheetham M, Bartle V, Palfreyman L, Rooke V, Shenton F, Ramsay SE, Kaner E. Evaluating Process and Outcomes of Public Involvement in Applied Health and Social Care Research: A Rapid Systematic Review. Health Expectations 2025, 28(1), e70160.
  • Aquino MRJ, Brennan-Tovey K, Fong M, Wearn A, Bigirumurame T, Robinson T, Trevor M, Feeney J, Rutter A, Sharrock R, West J, Bridges S, Attwood AS, Jolly K, Damery S, Flanagan S, Armitage C, Russell S, Strong S, Ramsay SE, Kaner EFS. Implementation and impact of NHS-funded tobacco dependence services in England: a mixed-method evaluation protocol. BMJ Open 2024, 14(12), e089630.
  • Brennan-Tovey K, Board E, Fulton J. Counteracting Stigma-Power: An Ethnographic Case Study of an Independent Community Food Hub. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 2023, 52(6), 778-798.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Wade, S, Brennan-Tovey, K, Aquino, MRJ, Aveyard, P, Kaner, E, Ramsay, SE. P64 Understanding the implementation context for NHS-funded tobacco dependence services in England using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) framework. In: SSM Annual Scientific Meeting. 2023. In Preparation.
  • Adams EA, Aquino MRJ, Bartle V, Brennan-Tovey K, Kennedy J, Koehne S, McGrath J, Ogden M, Parker J, Thirkle S, Kaner E, Ramsay SE. International evidence on lived experiences of trauma during homelessness and effects on mental health including substance use: a co-produced qualitative systematic review. In: Public Health Science: A National Conference Dedicated to New Research in UK Public Health. 2023, London: The Lancet Publishing Group.
  • Brennan-Tovey K, Aquino MRJ, Flanagan S, Kaner E, Wearn A, Bigirumurame T, Fong M, Todd A, Aveyard P, Jolly K, Damery S, Attwood A, Robson D, West J, Bridges S, Armitage CJ, Russell S, Strong S, Ramsay SE. Implementation of the NHS-funded tobacco dependence services in England: a qualitative study to understand the contexts of implementation. In: Public Health Science 2021. 2021, Online: The Lancet Publishing Group.

• Review

  • Adams EA, Brennan-Tovey K, McGrath J, Thirkle S, Jain N, Aquino MRJ, Bartle V, Kennedy J, Ogden M, Parker J, Koehne S, Kaner E, Ramsay SE. A Co-produced International Qualitative Systematic Review on Lived Experiences of Trauma During Homelessness in Adulthood and Impacts on Mental Health. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse 2024, epub ahead of print.