Dea Nielsen
Research Fellow
Profile
Biography
Dea is a Research Fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York. Currently, she is a member of the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub (BSBIH), a partnership between Born in Bradford and Better Start Bradford. The BSBIH provides a centre of evaluation for Better Start Bradford’s portfolio of interventions aimed at improving the life chances of pregnant women and children 0-3 years within parts of Bradford. Dea works on effectiveness evaluations of a subset of these interventions focusing on healthy eating behaviours and breastfeeding.
Prior to starting this role, Dea worked as a Research Fellow within the Education Department at the University of York, on a project considering the impact of Covid-19 and school disruptions on children starting school. She has also held posts as a Associate Lecturer and University Teacher at both the University of York and the University of Sheffield, and has teaching and supervisory experience in child development and disorders, approaches to intervention, and research methods.
Qualifications
- BSc in Psychology (hons) – University of York
- MRes in Psychology – University of York
- PhD in Human Communication Sciences – University of Sheffield
Research
Overview
Dea's research interests focus on child development, including children’s linguistic and behavioural development, social and emotional wellbeing, and health outcomes. Within this, she has an interest in the methodologies of intervention design and evaluation, with a particular interest in implementation evaluations and quasi-experimental and RCT approaches to effectiveness evaluation.
Dea has experience of a range of project designs and methodologies include feasibility randomised control trials, process evaluations, focus groups and interviews, survey methods, longitudinal designs, and systematic reviews.