I contribute to the MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care, lecturing on the Mixed Methods in Health Research module.

My research looks at the role of Social Prescribing and Link Workers in Primary Care.

Link workers, employed to help patients in primary care, have time to talk to patients about what matters to them in terms of their health and wellbeing. They offer support and can connect patients to social interventions.

These interventions, such as Walking for Health groups, Men’s Sheds and Exercise on Referral programmes, are often based in community settings and help to support people’s health and wellbeing.

My doctoral research focused on health, wellbeing and social impacts of Men's Sheds, amalgamating primary and secondary data to understand how and why these social interventions are revered by participants, their families and local communities. 

Before becoming an academic, I used to work as a Public Health Specialist in the NHS managing a programme of projects to improve community health and wellbeing. This past experience helps me to understand what social interventions are aiming to achieve, what their outcomes are and how results are achieved or not.

When researching or evaluating a project, I like to use an approach called ‘(Scientific) Realism’: to understand not only what works, but also for whom, in what circumstances, how and why.

Markham, S. and Booth, A. (forthcoming). Shedloads of evidence, but few answers: An assessment of methodological quality of research relating to men’s sheds.