Dr Sarah Dean

Senior Lecturer

Health, Education, Policing and Sciences

I was delighted to join Staffordshire University in 2011 after completing my PhD at Keele University. I am a Chartered Health Psychologist with an interest in participatory action research. I have expertise in quantitative research methods and more recently have moved towards using qualitative and creative methods in my research. My current research explores people's experiences of attending an OutSwimming cancer support group. This is a piece of participatory action research using creative data collection techniques. In this research I enjoyed working with a team of community researchers to understand the importance of the OutSwim group for them and to help the group develop in positive ways. I am also part of a team using creative methods in research to explore topics such as women's experiences of breastfeeding and diabetes stigma. My PhD research investigated the effect that writing about stressful experiences has on adolescents’ health and well-being. I have previously worked as a research assistant on a project to develop a measure of humour styles in children and I have been involved in conducting systematic reviews on a range of topics, specifically on interventions to increase adherence to patching therapy for children with amblyopia, on measures of ageing self-stereotypes, and on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions to reduce stress in health care professionals. I am keen to supervise students who want to use PAR approaches or creative methods in their research and am always on the look out for placement opportunities for students on the MSc Health Psychology.

Professional memberships and activities

Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS)

Member of BPS Division of Health Psychology and Midlands Health Psychology Network

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

HCPC registered

Academic qualifications

Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, Staffordshire University, 2018”

Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Keele University, 2011.

PhD Psychology “The effect of written emotional disclosure on the health and psychosocial functioning of early adolescents” Keele, 2010

MSc Health Psychology. Staffordshire University, 2005

BSc Psychology and Criminology. Keele University 2004

Research interests

My current research was funded through the Staffordshire University PAR programme. This gave me access to training in PAR and creative methods and funding to conduct community based research to explore people's experiences of attending the OutSwimming Cancer support group. I plan to continue researching the experiences of people affected by cancer and their involvement in exercise based support groups.

Teaching

The majority of my teaching is on the MSc Health Psychology and Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. I also teach across a range of undergraduate modules and supervise students at levels 6, 7 and 8.

Publications

Burton, A.E., Owen, A., Taylor, J., Dean, S.E. & Povey, R. (2024). A world café approach to exploring perspectives on diabetes stigma in the United Kingdom. Health Expectations. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70023

Burton, A.E., Owen, A.L., Taylor, J., Dean, S.E., Cartlidge, E., Wright, E. & Gallagher, N. (2024). Evaluation of environmental features that support breastfeeding: A photovoice study. Appetite (199) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107397

Thurgood, S.L., Clark-Carter, D. & Dean, S.E. (2022). An online questionnaire study investigating the impact of psychosocial factors on the duration of breastfeeding. Midwifery (109). DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2022.103314

Burton, A, Taylor, J., Owen, A., Renshaw, J., Williams, L & Dean, S (2022). A photo-elicitation exploration of UK mothers' experiences of extended breastfeeding, Appetite. https://doi.org/10.1016

Burton, A. E., Taylor, J., Swain, S., Heyes, J., Cust, F. & Dean, S. (2021). A qualitative exploration of mixed feeding intentions in first-time mothers. The British Journal of Midwifery. 30, 1. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2022.30.1.20

Burton, A.E., Dean, S.E., Demeyin, W. & Reeves, J. (2020). Questionnaire measures of self-directed ageing stereotype in older adults: a systematic review of measurement properties. European Journal of Ageing, (18) 117-144. DOI: 10.1007/s10433-020-00574-7

Field, L.H., Edwards, S.D., Edwards D.J., & Dean, S.E. (2018). Influence of HeartMath Training Programme on Physiological and Psychological Variables. Global Journal of Health Sciences, 10,2, 126-133. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v10n2p126

Burton, A. E., Burgess, C., Dean, S., Koutsopoulou, G., & Hugh-Jones, S. (2017). How effective are mindfulness-based interventions for reducing stress among healthcare professionals? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress and Health, 33, 1, 3-13. DOI: 10.1002/smi.2673

Dean, S.E., Povey. R., & Reeves, J. (2016). Assessing interventions to increase compliance to patching treatment in children with amblyopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 100, 159-165. DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2015-307340

Fox, C.L., Dean, S., and Lyford, K (2013) Development of a humour styles questionnaire for children and young people. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 26 (2). 295-319 https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2013-0018

s.dean@staffs.ac.uk

External profiles

ORCID