Professor Wendy Wills (Professor of Food and Public Health at University of Hertfordshire)

Real World Behavioural Science

Professor Wendy Wills is the Professor of Food and Public Health and Director of the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care at the School of Health and Social Work at the University of Hertfordshire. She works at the interface of social sciences and public health across food and eating practices, food safety, malnutrition, weight and obesity and health inequalities.

Our conversation covers some real world examples of putting research into practice. We discuss Wendy's passion for using emergent ways of working, such as a whole systems approach, due to the importance of understanding the real complexities (and messiness!) of peoples lives. This work is often laborious, and we talk about how it can require a lot of bravery to take on. She uses examples of her work understanding food shopping, and how giving a space for young people to explore how they felt in their local area helped to better understand the influences on their health behaviours. You can read more on her UH portal page: http://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/wendy-wills(4a9fafa2-1abf-49c3-a84c-4d5b47ffb3e7).html

The BSPHN Annual Conference is on the 12th February and there are still tickets available: https://www.bsphn.org.uk/428/Annual-Conference-2020

Now we are back in the swing of the new year you can expect the next Podcast with Kim Roberts, Chief Executive of HENRY, up in the first week of February.