Lisa Huddlestone
Research Fellow
Profile
Biography
Lisa Huddlestone is a Research Fellow in the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group (MHARG). Lisa currently holds a Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award from the NIHR to explore the application of immersive technologies to mental health promotion.
Lisa’s research focuses on improving physical and mental health in groups that experience disadvantage, including those with care experience or mental illness. Methodologically, her focus is on intervention development and evaluation, including qualitative and mixed-methods evidence synthesis.
Up until November 2024, Lisa managed the NIHR-funded SCEPTRE research programme, which aimed to promote smoking cessation and prevent relapse in people with mental illness after a smoke free mental health inpatient stay. Before joining the University of York in 2020, Lisa worked in the SAPPHIRE (Social science APPlied Healthcare and Improvement REsearch) research group at the University of Leicester as a post-doctoral research associate, using qualitative and ethnographic methods to conduct a process evaluation of the implementation of an intervention to increase uptake of structured self-management education for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary care. Lisa obtained her PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2018, where she developed a theory- and evidence-based intervention to address tobacco use in residential settings for children-in-out of home care.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Psychology & Criminology
- MA Philosophy
- PhD Epidemiology & Public Health (Thesis: Tobacco use and looked-after children: developing a complex intervention to address smoking in residential care)
Research
Overview
Lisa is interested in research that uses digital technologies to improve the mental health of populations that experience disadvantage. Her current research focuses on how the mental health and well-being of children and young people in out-of-home care can be improved by applying emerging technologies, such as extended reality (XR). Lisa is also keen to explore ways to promote the inclusion of children and young people in out-of-home care in research. She works closely with patients, service users, carers, and health and social care professionals to develop and refine her work. Lisa’s other research interests include the intended and unintended effects of interventions in healthcare and creative participatory methods.
Projects
NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement award (2024)
During her DSE award, Lisa is partnering with the Institute of Mental Health Research at York (IMRY), the York Trials Unit (YTU), the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre for Mental Health (MindTech), and the Virtual and Immersive Production Studio at the University of Nottingham.