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Hannah Brinsden

Research Student

School of Health Sciences Division of Health Services Research and Management

Contact details

Address

Hannah Brinsden City, University of London
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

About

Overview

NGOs play an important role in advocating for food policies which support public health. However, while political theories attempts to explain policy change (or policy stability) in relation to the political process, a part of which includes advocacy, there is no good theoretical basis for advocacy itself, or a framework for measuring the impact and effectiveness of advocacy. Hannah's research aims to contribute to the knowledge base on advocacy with a specific focus on public health nutrition advocacy, as well as help guide civil society advocacy strategies to enable better protection of the public interest.

Through semi-structured interviews and document analysis Hannah will explore examples of public health advocacy taking place in the UK, by whom and with what impact. The research uses a series of case examples to underpin and explore these questions.

The research questions are:

What advocacy methods are being used by public health NGOs to address food and nutrition issues in the UK?
What conditions and factors support or hinder effective public health advocacy?
What are the measures of effectiveness of public health advocacy?

An overview of the context of this research and some the themes being explored can be found in the following publication of the Food Research Collaboration: Brinsden, H. and Lang, T., 2015, An introduction to public health advocacy: reflections on theory and practice. 12 October 2015. Food Research Collaboration Policy Brief.

Qualifications

  1. BSc, The University of Reading, United Kingdom, Sep 2006 – Jul 2009

Employment

  1. Head of Policy & Advocacy, World Obesity Federation, Aug 2015 – present
  2. Policy & Advocacy Researcher, World Obesity Federation, Sep 2012 – Aug 2015
  3. Nutritionist, Consensus Action on Salt & Health, Jun 2009 – Sep 2012

Publications

Publications by category

Journal articles (12)

  1. Swinburn, B.A., Kraak, V.I., Allender, S., Atkins, V.J., Baker, P.I., Bogard, J.R. … Dietz, W.H. (2019). The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. The Lancet, 393(10173), pp. 791–846. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32822-8.
  2. Ralston, J., Brinsden, H., Buse, K., Candeias, V., Caterson, I., Hassell, T. … Woodward, E. (2018). Time for a new obesity narrative. The Lancet, 392(10156), pp. 1384–1386. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(18)32537-6.
  3. Lobstein, T., Brinsden, H., Gill, T., Kumanyika, S. and Swinburn, B. (2017). Comment: obesity as a disease - some implications for the World Obesity Federation's advocacy and public health activities. Obesity Reviews, 18(7), pp. 724–726. doi:10.1111/obr.12554.
  4. Kraak, V.I., Vandevijvere, S., Sacks, G., Brinsden, H., Hawkes, C., Barquera, S. … Swinburn, B.A. (2016). Progress achieved in restricting the marketing of high-fat, sugary and salty food and beverage products to children. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(7), pp. 540–548. doi:10.2471/BLT.15.158667.
  5. Brinsden, H. and Lang, T. (2015). Reflecting on ICN2: Was it a game changer? Archives of Public Health, 73(1). doi:10.1186/s13690-015-0091-y.
  6. Lobstein, T. and Brinsden, H. (2014). Symposium report: the prevention of obesity and NCDs: challenges and opportunities for governments. Obesity Reviews, 15(8), pp. 630–639. doi:10.1111/obr.12193.
  7. Schumann, N.L., Brinsden, H. and Lobstein, T. (2014). A review of national health policies and professional guidelines on maternal obesity and weight gain in pregnancy. Clinical Obesity. doi:10.1111/cob.12062.
  8. He, F.J., Brinsden, H.C. and MacGregor, G.A. (2014). Salt reduction in the United Kingdom: a successful experiment in public health. Journal of Human Hypertension, 28(6), pp. 345–352. doi:10.1038/jhh.2013.105.
  9. Brinsden, H., Lobstein, T., Landon, J., Kraak, V., Sacks, G., Kumanyika, S. … Walker, C. (2013). Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: Rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies. Obesity Reviews, 14(S1), pp. 13–23. doi:10.1111/obr.12072.
  10. Lobstein, T., Brinsden, H., Landon, J., Kraak, V., Musicus, A. and Macmullan, J. (2013). INFORMAS and advocacy for public health nutrition and obesity prevention. Obesity Reviews, 14, pp. 150–156. doi:10.1111/obr.12083.
  11. Brinsden, H. and Lobstein, T. (2013). Comparison of nutrient profiling schemes for restricting the marketing of food and drink to children. Pediatric Obesity, 8(4), pp. 325–337. doi:10.1111/j.2047-6310.2013.00167.x.
  12. Brinsden, H.C., He, F.J., Jenner, K.H. and MacGregor, G.A. (2013). Surveys of the salt content in UK bread: progress made and further reductions possible. BMJ Open, 3(6). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002936.