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Staff Profile

Dr Vic McGowan

Senior Research Fellow

  • Email: victoria.mcgowan@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: 0191 208 8251
  • Address: Population Health Sciences Institute
    5th Floor, Ridley 1
    Newcastle University
    Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    NE1 7RU.


Background

Vic McGowan is a Medical Anthropologist whose research interests focus on the social determinants of health, health equity, and community-based participatory research. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist with expertise across applied public health, anthropology, and health geography. Her mixed methods research focuses on understanding and reducing inequalities in health. 

Vic developed the Equal England Public Network which aims to increase public involvement and engagement with health inequalities research. Members of this network have supported various health inequalities projects from inception to interpretation of findings and dissemination at a local, regional, and national level. 

Methodologically she is a highly experienced qualitative researcher with particular expertise in advanced qualitative skills in longitudinal methods, co-produced data collection and analysis, participatory research, and ethnography. She is also experienced in using quantitative methods to analyse large health and lifestyle datasets. Vic is also experienced in using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) techniques to examine how multiple complex factors can influence health outcomes. 

Vic is a member of the Editorial Board for the journals Health & Place and BMC Public Health. She is also an associate member of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research and previously involved in several NIHR SPHR research programmes (Communities in Control; Places and Communities; Equal England). She previously led the evaluation of Darlington Healthy New Towns; an NHS England initiative which aimed to shape the health of communities by working with housing developers to rethink how health and care services can be delivered. 

She is currently leading two qualitative work packages examining the North South Health Divide (Principle Investigator Professor Clare Bambra) funded by the Wellcome Trust.

This work will use QCA methods to explore differences in place-based characteristics of areas in the North and South and establish potential pathways to better or worse health outcomes. As well as undertaking qualitative interviews, ethnographical and participatory research methods to explore lay perceptions of the 'north south health divide' and regional health inequalities. 





Research

Research:

  • Co-I: COVID-19 mortality and deprivation: pandemic, syndemic and endemic health inequalities. Supported by NIHR SPHR.
  • Co-I: 'Lockdown Life NE': Exploring young people's experiences of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative diary-based study using digital and mobile technologies £15,470. Funder: NE Youth/Newcastle University Research Fund/Tilly Hale Fund 2020-2021.
  • Co-I: Marginalisation and health-related stigma: a qualitative systematic review and meta-ethnography. Supported by: NIHR SPHR 2020-2022.
  • Co-I: COVID-19 Health Inequalities Impact Assessment for the North East. In partnership with PHE, VONNE, NIHR NENC ARC. Supported by NIHR SPHR.
  • Co-I: Strengthening the equity focus of public health research in and beyond SPHR £132,179. Funder: NIHR SPHR 2019-2022
  • Co-I: Examining the effectiveness of place-based approaches to improving public health and reducing inequalities during austerity £451,811. Funder: NIHR SPHR 2019-2022
  • Co-I: Equal England: The SPHR Health Inequalities Knowledge Exchange Network £472,951. Funder: NIHR SPHR 2019-2022.
  • Co-I: The long-term health and wellbeing impacts of Healthy New Towns (HNT): a six-month baseline and feasibility study of HNT demonstrator sites in England £40,169. Funder: NIHR PHR 2018-19.
  • PI: Evaluating the impact of the Healthy New Towns Programme in Darlington £38,739. Funder: Darlington Healthy New Towns 2018-19.
  • PI: Designing an evaluation approach for Darlington Healthy New Towns £10,000. Funder: Darlington Healthy New Towns 2017.
  • ESRC Case PhD Studentship: Policy in Perspective: Assessing the impact of school meal legislation on children malnourishment £93,160.




Teaching

PhD Supervision:

  • Dominika Dmitzrak (start date: 2024) The effects of internal migration on regional inequalities and spatial stratification in England.
  • Tim Price (start date: 2021) "The industry died... the towns went right down": Structural Violence and Deaths of Despair in North East England.


MPhil Supervision:

  • Alison Jane: A year in the life of Universal Credit claimants and support staff: insights into experiences, health and wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (passed 2023)


PhD Examination:

  • Lucie Nield (2024): Addressing the weight management needs of underserved populations: a systems perspective (Sheffield Hallam University, external examiner).



Publications