Paul Watts

Dr Paul Watts

Lecturer in Public Health

Public Health; individual and environmental influences on health behaviours

Department of Allied and Public Health , School Of Health, Sport And Bioscience

I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Health in the Department of Health and Nursing. I currently lead epidemiology and research methods modules on the Public Health programmes.

My research interests are the social and environmental determinants of health and health behaviours, healthy ageing and quantitative research methods.

Qualifications

  • PhD

Areas Of Interest

  •  
  • Individual and environmental influences on health behaviours and various health outcomes
  • Social and environmental interventions acting on health and health behaviours
  • Frailty in older adults
  • The development of quantitative research methods
  •  
Paul Watts

OVERVIEW

I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Health in the Department of Health and Nursing. I currently lead epidemiology and research methods modules on the Public Health programmes. My research interests are the social and environmental determinants of health and health behaviours, healthy ageing and quantitative research methods.

CURRENT RESEARCH

My research has focused on individual and environmental influences on health behaviours and various health outcomes in some the most deprived neighbourhoods in London. My research interests extend to social and environmental interventions acting on health and health behaviours, frailty in older adults and the development of quantitative research methods.

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-reviewed publications

  • Watts, P., Rance, S., McGowan, V., Brown, H., Bambra, C., Findlay, G., & Harden, A. (2020). The long-term health and wellbeing impacts of Healthy New Towns (HNTs): protocol for a baseline and feasibility study of HNT demonstrator sites in England. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 6(1), 4.
  • Namuddu, J., & Watts, P. N. (2020). Choice of device to view video lectures: an analysis of two independent cohorts of first-year university students. Research in Learning Technology, 28.
  • Netuveli, G., & Watts, P. (2020). Pro-environmental behaviours and attitudes are associated with health, wellbeing and life satisfaction in multiple occupancy households in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Population and Environment, 1-25.
  • Watts, P., Blane D & Netuveli G (2019). Minimum income for healthy living and frailty in adults over 65 years old in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: a population-based cohort study. BMJ Open;0:e025334. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025334
  • Watts, P., Webb, E., & Netuveli, G. (2017). The role of sports clubs in helping older people to stay active and prevent frailty: a longitudinal mediation analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1), 95.
  • Watts, P., Hayee, M., Bertotti, M. & Tobi, P. (2017). Social, cognitive, behavioural and neighbourhood characteristics associated with sedentary time in men and women living in deprived neighbourhoods. European Journal of Sport Science. DOI:10.1080/17461391.2017.1323951
  • Frostick, C., Watts, P., Netuveli, G., Renton, A. & Moore, D. (2017) Well London: Results of a Community Engagement Approach to Improving Health among Adolescents from Areas of Deprivation in London. Journal of Community Practice, DOI:10.1080/10705422.2017.1309611
  • Watts, P., Buck, D., Netuveli, G., & Renton, A. (2016). Clustering of lifestyle risk behaviours among residents of forty deprived neighbourhoods in London: lessons for targeting public health interventions. Journal of Public Health, 38(2), 308-315.
  • Bertotti M, Watts P, Netuveli G, Yu G, Schmidt E, et al. (2013) Types of Social Capital and Mental Disorder in Deprived Urban Areas: A Multilevel Study of 40 Disadvantaged London Neighbourhoods. PLoS ONE 8(12): e80127.
  • Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G. & Renton, A. (2013). Physical Activity in Deprived Communities in London: Examining Individual and Neighbourhood-Level Factors. PloS ONE, 8(7), e69472.
  • Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Harden, A. & Renton, A. (2011). The influence of environmental factors on the generalisability of public health research evidence: physical activity as a worked example. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 8:128
  • Yu, G., Renton, A., Schmidt, E., Tobi, P., Bertotti, M., Watts, P & Lais, S. (2011). A multilevel analysis of the association between social networks and support on leisure time physical activity: Evidence from 40 disadvantaged areas in London. Health and Place, 17(5), 1023–1029

Peer-reviewed conference presentations

  • Paul Watts, Elizabeth Webb, Gopalakrishnan Netuveli (2015). Maintaining the Olympics legacy: how sports clubs can help older people stay active and prevent obesity. Policies and Environments Special Interest Group - ISBNPA Conference – Edinburgh.
  • Paul Watts, Gemma Phillips, Mark Petticrew, Richard Hayes, Christian Bottomley, Ge Yu, Elena Schmidt, Derek Moore, Caroline Frostick, Karen Lock, Adrian Renton (September, 2012) The relationship between greenspace and physical activity in deprived communities in London. WHO Health Enhancing Physical Activity Conference (Cardiff)
  • Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Renton, A., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G., Schmidt, E., Moore, D., Frostick., C & Locke, K. (September 2011 - Oral presentation) "Determinants of physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining the effects of individual and neighbourhood characteristics” Annual meeting of the Society for Social Medicine (Warwick).
  • Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Renton, A., Hayes, R., Bottomley, C., Yu, G., Schmidt, E., Moore, D., Frostick., C & Locke, K. (September 2011 – Poster presentation) "Determinants of physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining the effects of individual and neighbourhood characteristics" Health and Wellbeing - The 21st Century Agenda – Journal of the Royal Society for Public Health (London).
  • Watts, P., Phillips, G., Petticrew, M., Harden, A. & Renton, A. (September, 2011 - Poster Presentation). "The influence of environmental factors on the generalisability of public health research evidence: physical activity as a worked example." Health and Wellbeing - The 21st Century Agenda – Journal of the Royal Society for Public Health (London).
  • Watts, P., (October, 2009 - Oral Presentation). "Theoretical approaches to researching environmental influences on physical activity". Environment and Healthy Lifestyles Conference - University of Staffordshire (Stoke-on-Trent).

Invited presentations

  • Paul Watts, Elizabeth Webb, Gopalakrishnan Netuveli (2016). The role of sports clubs in helping older people to stay active and prevent frailty: a longitudinal mediation analysis. The International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health Seminar (UCL), 15 November, 2016. 
  • Bertotti, M and Watts P "Types of social capital and mental disorder in deprived urban areas: a multilevel study of 40 disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods", AUHE seminar, 25 June 2013, University of Leeds, Leeds.

TEACHING

BSc (Hons) Public Health

A public health degree will give you skills and knowledge to improve and protect public health and the well-being of individuals, communities and populations.

Study BSc Public Health

MODULES

  • HS4103 - Introduction to Research Methods
  • HS5105 - Practical Epidemiology

Publications

The last four years of publications can be viewed below. 

Full publications list

Visit the research repository to view a full list of publications

Research repository