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Staff Profile

Dr Morven Brown

Senior Research Associate

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 2282
  • Address: Population Health Sciences Institute
    Ridley Building 1
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Newcastle University
    Queen Victoria Road
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
    UK
Background

I am member of the Population Health Sciences Institute and work within the Applied Cancer Therapeutics and Outcomes research theme. I am also part of Newcastle University's Centre for Cancer. I am researcher and a Chartered Health Psychologist (registered with the British Psychological Society and the Health and Care Professions Council)  with a particular interest in improving the health of survivors of childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer.

Qualifications

2019-2025 Staff PhD by Publication (Exploring and developing interventions to promote, improve and sustain self-management and positive health behaviours in childhood cancer survivors)

2017 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (Stage 2 training)

2008 MSc Health Psychology (Stage 1 training - Distinction) 

2005 BSc (Hons) Psychology (First class)

2000 M.A. Applied Social Sciences (management, economics, history, economic & social history) 


Memberships

Chartered member of the British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology (www.bps.org.uk)

Registered Health Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (www.hcpc-uk.co.uk)

Member of the Pan-European Network for Care of Survivors after Childhood and Adolescent Cancer (PanCare: http://www.pancare.eu/en/)

Associate member of the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG: http://www.cclg.org.uk/)

Ambassador for Youth Cancer Europe (http://www.youthcancereurope.org/)









Research

Main research interests

  • Health behaviours and health behaviour change in cancer survivors
  • The identification of psychological and behavioural factors which contribute to physical illness
  • Psycho-oncology
  • Perceptions and experiences of health, illness and treatment
  • Qualitative methods

I have experience of qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods research and systematic reviews.


Current research projects

  • PURE-EX: EXpanding into communities to imProve lifestyle sUpport foR womEn after breast cancer. Funded by Breast Cancer Now


  • ALL+ Health: Cardiovascular late-effects after treatment for childhood cancer: the risk perceptions and health beliefs of survivors. Funded by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Charity.


  • PRISM: Formative research to inform the development of a smoking cessation intervention for childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Funded by NIHR RfPB.


  • BEACON Using qualitative and co-design methods to inform the development of an evidence-based and theory-informed intervention for the promotion of physical activity in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors. Funded by Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group. 


  • PanCareFollowUp: Contributing to the development of a lifestyle intervention for a large EU project which is looking at how to best deliver survivorship care for childhood and adolescent cancer survivors in Europe. Funded by Horizon 2020. 


Past projects

  • Facilitators and barriers to self-management in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors: a qualitative study (2017-2018).
  • PanCare childhood and adolescent cancer survivor care and follow-up studies (2012-2017).
  • Psychosocial health outcomes after childhood cancer (2014-2016).
  • Quality of life, socio-economic status, relationships and risk perceptions in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer (2012-2013).
  • Women's perceptions of future risk following pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia (2011-2012).
  • Cardiovascular disease risk in women with pre-eclampsia: systematic review and meta-analysis (2010-2012). 
  • European bone tumour outcome study: overview of health-related quality of life in 700 European bone tumour survivors (2009-2010).

 


Successful research grants

  • NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (co-PI): Formative research to inform the development of a smoking cessation intervention for childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (2021); £149, 805
  • Newcastle Healthcare Charity (co-I): Cardiovascular late-effects after treatment for childhood cancer: the risk perceptions and health beliefs of survivors of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (2021); £31, 983
  • Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (co-I): Promoting physical activity in childhood cancer survivors: using qualitative and co-design methods to inform the development of an evidence-based intervention (2018); £73,923
  • Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Innovation Grant (co-I): "The Waiting Games" (2017); £20,000
  • North East Children’s Cancer Research Fund (co-I): "Epidemiological and Health Services Research in Childhood Cancer and Leukaemia" (2017); £406,817
  • Newcastle Healthcare Charity (co-I): "Facilitators and barriers to self-management in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors: a qualitative study" (2016); £42,570
  • Children with Cancer (co-I): "Psychosocial health outcomes after childhood cancer - pathways from initial survival to long-term survivorship" (2013); £43,523
  • Newcastle Healthcare Charity (co-I): "Quality of life, socio-economic status, relationships and risk perceptions in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: a pilot study" (2011); £38,434


Oral presentations

International:
  • A systematic review of the perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity in childhood cancer survivors at the 22nd World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, virtual conference (2021).
  • What are the barriers and facilitators to physical activity participation among childhood cancer survivors? Findings from qualitative interviews at the 22nd World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, virtual conference (2021).
  • Parental views of the barriers and facilitators too physical activity in childhood cancer survivors: a qualitative interview study at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, virtual conference (2021).
  • Identifying strategies that childhood cancer survivors use to self-manage their health and wellbeing at the European Health Psychology Society conference, Dubrovnik (2019).
  • Social outcomes in young adult survivors of childhood cancer at the 19th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, Berlin (2017).
  • Lifestyle behaviours in young adult survivors of childhood cancer at the 19th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, Berlin (2017).
  • Exploring psychological, social and behavioural outcomes in young adult survivors of cancer at the 19th PanCare meeting, Lund (2017).
  • Developing and piloting questionnaires to facilitate holistic psychosocial assessment of childhood cancer survivors attending long-term follow-up at the 15th PanCare meeting, Dublin (2015).
  • Update in the guidelines work in PanCareSurFup (Invited Speaker) at the European Symposium on Late Complications after Childhood Cancer, Edinburgh (2014).
  • Long-term psychosocial outcomes after childhood cancer at the 12th PanCare meeting, Amsterdam (2013).
  • Survey of Guidelines for Long-Term Follow-Up of Survivors of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer in Europe at the 11th PanCare meeting, Genoa (2013).

 

National:
  • The barriers and facilitators to self-management among survivors of childhood cancer at British Psychosocial Oncology Society conference, online (2022)
  • The long-term psychosocial impact of cancer - the views of young adult survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer at the British Psychosocial Oncology Society conference, Leeds (2015).
  • European bone tumour outcome Study (EBTOS): overview of health related quality of life in study cohort at the British Sarcoma Group conference, Gateshead (2011).

 

Poster presentations

  • How can we help childhood cancer survivors to be more physically active? Findings from the BEACON study at the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group Annual Meeting, Nottingham (2023).
  • The barriers and facilitators to physical activity in childhood cancer survivors: a qualitative interview study with parents at the British Psychosocial Oncology Society conference, online (2022)
  • Developing and piloting a questionnaire to investigate important psychosocial outcomes in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer at the British Psychosocial Oncology Society conference, Leeds (2015)
  • The long-term psychosocial impact of cancer - the views of young adult survivors of childhood cancer at the European Symposium on Late Complications after Childhood Cancer, Edinburgh (2014)
  • Psychosocial functioning of childhood cancer survivors attending a long-term follow-up clinic at the European Symposium on Late Complications after Childhood Cancer, Edinburgh (2014)
  • The long-term psychosocial impact of cancer - the views of young adult survivors of childhood cancer at the Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference, York (2014)
  • Survey of Guidelines for Long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer in Europe at the 13th International Conference on Long-Term Complications of Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer, Memphis (2013)
  • Development of a clinical tool to assess psychosocial functioning of childhood cancer survivors at long-term follow-up at the NHS Therapies conference, Newcastle (2013)
  • European Bone Tumour Outcome Study (EBTOS): overview of health related quality of life (QOL) in study cohort at the IEA World Congress of Epidemiology, Edinburgh (2011)
Teaching

Supervision

  • Co-supervise Cancer MRes dissertations of intercalating MBBS students
  • Co-supervise Epidemiology MRes dissertations
  • Co-supervise Public Health MSc dissertations
  • Co-supervise Psychology MSc dissertations
  • Co-supervise Psychology BSc dissertations
  • Supervise Research Apprentice module in Foundations in Clinical Psychology MSc

Teaching

  • BSc Sports and Exercise Science, Physical Activity, Exercise and Disease module (Lecture: Behaviour change in clinical populations)
  • MSc Public Health, Chronic Disease Epidemiology module (Lecture: Psychosocial determinants of health & disease)




Publications