Nisreen A Alwan
Biographic Data
| ID | 1727016 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nisreen A Alwan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nisreen A |
| FAMILY NAME | Alwan |
| SIGNATURE | ALWAN N A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4134-8463 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Stigma of self-report in health research
Co‐Creating Publicly Available Resources to Increase Awareness of and Support for Long Covid Among Ethnic Minority Communities
INTRODUCTION: Stigma and discrimination make healthcare challenging for people living with Long Covid, especially those from ethnic minority groups. Since their experiences are under-researched and may differ from other groups, it is crucial that healthcare guidance is informed by the lived experiences of diverse groups. METHODS: Findings from underpinning research (hearing from the unheard: Impact of Long Covid in Black and minority ethnic group…
How do Mental Health Service Users and Staff Think the Cost-of-living Crisis Has Impacted Mental Health in England? A Qualitative Analysis
Economic variables such as debt can impact mental health. This study explored the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on mental health services users and staff, and aimed to identify potential support. Mental health service users and mental health service staff took part in interviews exploring the relationship between the cost of living and mental health, which were analysed thematically. Findings suggest that finances and mental health can be i…
Socioeconomic, educational, family, perinatal and developmental early life domains as predictors of obesity and hypertension comorbidity
Early life experiences can interact with each other and shape long-term health outcomes. To inform prevention strategies, we grouped early life risk factors into conceptual domains and investigated how exposures across five predefined early life domains predict the development of obesity and hypertension comorbidity in adulthood. This paper builds on a previously published conceptual framework which views early-life influences as multidimensional…
Co-creating a social science research agenda for Long Covid
Introduction: Our objective was to understand how social scientific research could best address the needs and concerns of patients, families, carers, healthcare professionals, academics, private and public sector professionals, and volunteers from Long Covid charities and support groups and people with lived experience of Long Covid. We worked with different stakeholders to develop a list of research priorities that particularly focused on social…
A Co‐Produced Stakeholder Workshop to Identify Key Time Points and Targets for Life‐Course Prevention of Multiple Long‐Term Conditions
INTRODUCTION: The MELD-B project is a multidisciplinary research consortium with one of its aims focused on identifying childhood targets for the prevention of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs). Drawing upon the expertise of policy and practice stakeholders can inform research questions, data analysis, and contribute to meaningful and practical outputs. In pursuit of this collaborative approach, a stakeholder workshop, co-designed with people…
Exploring Long Covid Prevalence and Patient Uncertainty by Sociodemographic Characteristics Using GP Patient Survey Data
BACKGROUND: The high global burden of Long Covid (LC) has significant implications for population well-being, health care, social care and national economies. AIM: To explore associations between patient sociodemographic and health characteristics with two outcomes: having LC and expressing uncertainty about having LC, as described by general practice (GP) survey respondents. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of GP Patient Survey (England), a random s…
A mixed methods study exploring food insecurity and diet quality in households accessing food clubs in England
This study is the first in the UK to explore potential diet, food security and wellbeing impacts of food clubs. Ongoing impact evaluation will enable optimisation of interventions for the populations they serve, such as inviting other organisations/groups to attend/be available for members
Systematic review of fruit and vegetable voucher interventions for pregnant women and families with young children
Objective: This systematic review aimed to explore the impact of food voucher schemes during pregnancy and early life on fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and explore experiences of schemes. Design: Six electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched. Interventional, observational, qualitative and mixed methods studies published from January 2000 to April 2024 in English were included. Setting: Food voucher interventions target…
Professional Competence in Designing Differentiated Instruction among Biology Teachers from the Perspective of Subject Matter Supervisors
This study aimed to reveal the level of professional competence among biology teachers in designing differentiated instruction from the perspective of subject matter supervisors. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, where a tool was developed to measure the dimensions of professional competence, including planning, implementation, evaluation, use of educational resources, and consideration of individual differences. The tool was a…
Medical ambivalence and Long Covid
Structural violence - related to 'isms' like racism, sexism, and ableism - pertains to the ways in which social institutions harm certain groups. Such violence is critical to institutional indifference to the plight of ethnic minority people living with long-term health conditions. With only emergent literature on the lived experiences of ethnic minorities with Long Covid, we sought to investigate experiences around the interplay of illness and s…
A critical analysis of UK media characterisations of Long Covid in children and young people
Long Covid is the continuation or development of symptoms related to a SARSCoV2 infection. Those with Long Covid may face epistemic injustice, where they are unjustifiably viewed as unreliable evaluators of their own illness experiences. Media articles both reflect and influence perception and subsequently how people regard children and young people (CYP) with Long Covid, and may contribute to epistemic injustice. We aimed to explore how the UK m…
Risk factors for ill health
If you work in public health or epidemiology, you will be familiar with the term 'modifiable risk factors'. Searching PubMed in December 2023 for titles that included the term 'modifiable risk' returned 1222 results. Expanding this search to include both titles and abstracts returned 13,958 results. The term often refers to health behaviours such as smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, and diet. However, there does not seem to be a specific definit…
Misaligned or misheard? Physical activity and healthy eating messaging to ethnic minority communities during the Covid-19 pandemic
This mixed-methods study identified physical activity (PA) and healthy eating messages produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored how they were received by UK ethnic minority communities. A scoping review of research and grey literature identified categories of PA and healthy eating messaging targeted at ethnic minorities. Individual and group interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic ana…
Barriers to healthcare access and experiences of stigma
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Long Covid is often stigmatised, particularly in people who are disadvantaged within society. This may prevent them from seeking help and could lead to widening health inequalities. This coproduced study with a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of people with Long Covid aimed to understand healthcare and wider barriers and stigma experienced by people with probable Long Covid. METHODS: An active case finding approach was employed…
Long Covid and Health Inequalities
INTRODUCTION: Organised by the 'Qualitative Long Covid Network', a workshop for qualitative Long COVID (LC) researchers, LC charity representatives and people with LC took place in June 2023, where research on the intersectional inequalities affecting LC prevalence, recognition and care was shared and discussed. METHODS: Five key themes were drawn up from presentations, discussions and reflections during the workshop, which are presented in this …
What Does ‘Preconception Health’ Mean to People? A Public Consultation on Awareness and Use of Language
INTRODUCTION: There is growing scientific and policy recognition that optimising health before a potential pregnancy (preconception health) improves reproductive outcomes and the lifelong health of future children. However, public awareness on this topic is low. We conducted a public consultation to develop language recommendations and identify and prioritise approaches to inform research and improve public awareness of preconception health. METH…
The impact of living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) on everyday life – a qualitative evidence synthesis
The impact of living with MLTCs was experienced as a multifaceted and complex workload involving multiple types of work, many of which are reciprocally linked. Much of this work, and the associated impact on people, may not be apparent to healthcare staff, and current health systems and policies are poorly equipped to meet the needs of this growing population. There was a paucity of data from LMICs and insufficient information on how patient char…
The impact of food aid interventions on food insecurity, diet quality and mental health in households with children in high-income countries
Objective: Households with children accessing food aid in high-income countries are often food insecure. We aimed to review the evidence on food aid interventions in households with children and impact on food insecurity, diet quality and mental health. Design: A systematic search was conducted using Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Articles published from January 2008 to July 2022 including cross-sectional, cohort and interventional…
Educational Gradient of Multi-partner Fertility
Recent demographic changes in Western countries have resulted in higher rates of partnership dissolution and serial partnering, and an increase in childbearing across multiple partnerships. This has given rise to more complex family dynamics including multi-partner fertility (MPF), defined as having biological children with two or more partners. Yet estimates of MPF in the UK have not previously been available. This paper describes an ‘indirect a…
Mixed methods feasibility and usability testing of a childhood obesity risk estimation tool
SLOPE CORE could potentially be useful in clinical practice. It may support targeting limited resources towards families most at risk of childhood obesity. Further research is needed to explore how the tool might be efficiently incorporated into practice, and to evaluate the impact of the tool, and any subsequent interventions, on preventing childhood obesity
Childhood overweight and obesity at the start of primary school
Tackling the childhood obesity epidemic can potentially be facilitated by risk-stratifying families at an early-stage to receive prevention interventions and extra support. Using data from the Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort, this analysis aimed to externally validate prediction models for childhood overweight and obesity developed as part of the Studying Lifecourse Obesity PrEdictors (SLOPE) study in Hampshire. BiB is a longitudinal multi-ethnic b…
Maternal alcohol intake prior to and during pregnancy and risk of adverse birth outcomes
BACKGROUND: Evidence is conflicting regarding the relationship between low maternal alcohol consumption and birth outcomes. This paper aimed to investigate the association between alcohol intake before and during pregnancy with birth weight and gestational age and to examine the effect of timing of exposure. METHODS: A prospective cohort in Leeds, UK, of 1303 pregnant women aged 18-45 years. Questionnaires assessed alcohol consumption before preg…
Does Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy Play a Role in the Association Found Between Maternal Caffeine Intake and Fetal Growth Restriction
OP61 Is Maternal Iron Status Associated with offspring’s Blood Pressure and Adiposity? A Mendelian Randomization Study
Background Iron deficiency during pregnancy is a common problem. Experimental animal studies suggest that mothers deficient in iron during pregnancy are more likely to have offspring who become obese and have higher blood pressure. The use of random assortment of genes from parents to offspring can provide a method for assessing the causal impact of nutritional exposures, which is less likely to be influenced by confounding and reverse causality.…
Maternal alcohol intake prior to and during pregnancy and risk of adverse birth outcomes
BACKGROUND: Evidence is conflicting regarding the relationship between low maternal alcohol consumption and birth outcomes. This paper aimed to investigate the association between alcohol intake before and during pregnancy with birth weight and gestational age and to examine the effect of timing of exposure. METHODS: A prospective cohort in Leeds, UK, of 1303 pregnant women aged 18-45 years. Questionnaires assessed alcohol consumption before preg…
Childrenâs exposure to second-hand smoke in the home
Exposure of children to second-hand smoke (SHS) leads to increased risk of health and social problems and uptake of smoking in the future. We aimed to assess the prevalence of children's exposure to SHS in their homes, in a deprived area in the North of England and identify what people thought would help them achieve a smoke-free home (SFH). We performed a cross-sectional survey of 318 households with at least one child aged under 16 years in Bee…
P1-74 Is iron intake during early pregnancy associated with size at birth? Insights revealed through structural equation modelling
Introduction Iron deficiency during early pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes. Results of studies investigating the relationship between dietary iron intake during pregnancy and birth size are conflicting. Methods We aimed to investigate the association between iron intake during pregnancy and birth size in a prospective cohort of 1274 pregnant women (18–45 years) in Leeds, UK, where iron supplements are not routinely recommended …
Does Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy Play a Role in the Association Found Between Maternal Caffeine Intake and Fetal Growth Restriction
OP61 Is Maternal Iron Status Associated with offspring’s Blood Pressure and Adiposity? A Mendelian Randomization Study
Background Iron deficiency during pregnancy is a common problem. Experimental animal studies suggest that mothers deficient in iron during pregnancy are more likely to have offspring who become obese and have higher blood pressure. The use of random assortment of genes from parents to offspring can provide a method for assessing the causal impact of nutritional exposures, which is less likely to be influenced by confounding and reverse causality.…
Maternal alcohol intake prior to and during pregnancy and risk of adverse birth outcomes
BACKGROUND: Evidence is conflicting regarding the relationship between low maternal alcohol consumption and birth outcomes. This paper aimed to investigate the association between alcohol intake before and during pregnancy with birth weight and gestational age and to examine the effect of timing of exposure. METHODS: A prospective cohort in Leeds, UK, of 1303 pregnant women aged 18-45 years. Questionnaires assessed alcohol consumption before preg…
Childhood overweight and obesity at the start of primary school
Tackling the childhood obesity epidemic can potentially be facilitated by risk-stratifying families at an early-stage to receive prevention interventions and extra support. Using data from the Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort, this analysis aimed to externally validate prediction models for childhood overweight and obesity developed as part of the Studying Lifecourse Obesity PrEdictors (SLOPE) study in Hampshire. BiB is a longitudinal multi-ethnic b…
Mixed methods feasibility and usability testing of a childhood obesity risk estimation tool
SLOPE CORE could potentially be useful in clinical practice. It may support targeting limited resources towards families most at risk of childhood obesity. Further research is needed to explore how the tool might be efficiently incorporated into practice, and to evaluate the impact of the tool, and any subsequent interventions, on preventing childhood obesity
A critical analysis of UK media characterisations of Long Covid in children and young people
Long Covid is the continuation or development of symptoms related to a SARSCoV2 infection. Those with Long Covid may face epistemic injustice, where they are unjustifiably viewed as unreliable evaluators of their own illness experiences. Media articles both reflect and influence perception and subsequently how people regard children and young people (CYP) with Long Covid, and may contribute to epistemic injustice. We aimed to explore how the UK m…
Risk factors for ill health
If you work in public health or epidemiology, you will be familiar with the term 'modifiable risk factors'. Searching PubMed in December 2023 for titles that included the term 'modifiable risk' returned 1222 results. Expanding this search to include both titles and abstracts returned 13,958 results. The term often refers to health behaviours such as smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, and diet. However, there does not seem to be a specific definit…
Misaligned or misheard? Physical activity and healthy eating messaging to ethnic minority communities during the Covid-19 pandemic
This mixed-methods study identified physical activity (PA) and healthy eating messages produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored how they were received by UK ethnic minority communities. A scoping review of research and grey literature identified categories of PA and healthy eating messaging targeted at ethnic minorities. Individual and group interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic ana…
Barriers to healthcare access and experiences of stigma
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Long Covid is often stigmatised, particularly in people who are disadvantaged within society. This may prevent them from seeking help and could lead to widening health inequalities. This coproduced study with a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of people with Long Covid aimed to understand healthcare and wider barriers and stigma experienced by people with probable Long Covid. METHODS: An active case finding approach was employed…
Long Covid and Health Inequalities
INTRODUCTION: Organised by the 'Qualitative Long Covid Network', a workshop for qualitative Long COVID (LC) researchers, LC charity representatives and people with LC took place in June 2023, where research on the intersectional inequalities affecting LC prevalence, recognition and care was shared and discussed. METHODS: Five key themes were drawn up from presentations, discussions and reflections during the workshop, which are presented in this …
What Does ‘Preconception Health’ Mean to People? A Public Consultation on Awareness and Use of Language
INTRODUCTION: There is growing scientific and policy recognition that optimising health before a potential pregnancy (preconception health) improves reproductive outcomes and the lifelong health of future children. However, public awareness on this topic is low. We conducted a public consultation to develop language recommendations and identify and prioritise approaches to inform research and improve public awareness of preconception health. METH…
The impact of living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) on everyday life – a qualitative evidence synthesis
The impact of living with MLTCs was experienced as a multifaceted and complex workload involving multiple types of work, many of which are reciprocally linked. Much of this work, and the associated impact on people, may not be apparent to healthcare staff, and current health systems and policies are poorly equipped to meet the needs of this growing population. There was a paucity of data from LMICs and insufficient information on how patient char…
The impact of food aid interventions on food insecurity, diet quality and mental health in households with children in high-income countries
Objective: Households with children accessing food aid in high-income countries are often food insecure. We aimed to review the evidence on food aid interventions in households with children and impact on food insecurity, diet quality and mental health. Design: A systematic search was conducted using Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Articles published from January 2008 to July 2022 including cross-sectional, cohort and interventional…
Educational Gradient of Multi-partner Fertility
Recent demographic changes in Western countries have resulted in higher rates of partnership dissolution and serial partnering, and an increase in childbearing across multiple partnerships. This has given rise to more complex family dynamics including multi-partner fertility (MPF), defined as having biological children with two or more partners. Yet estimates of MPF in the UK have not previously been available. This paper describes an ‘indirect a…
Co-creating a social science research agenda for Long Covid
Introduction: Our objective was to understand how social scientific research could best address the needs and concerns of patients, families, carers, healthcare professionals, academics, private and public sector professionals, and volunteers from Long Covid charities and support groups and people with lived experience of Long Covid. We worked with different stakeholders to develop a list of research priorities that particularly focused on social…
A Co‐Produced Stakeholder Workshop to Identify Key Time Points and Targets for Life‐Course Prevention of Multiple Long‐Term Conditions
INTRODUCTION: The MELD-B project is a multidisciplinary research consortium with one of its aims focused on identifying childhood targets for the prevention of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs). Drawing upon the expertise of policy and practice stakeholders can inform research questions, data analysis, and contribute to meaningful and practical outputs. In pursuit of this collaborative approach, a stakeholder workshop, co-designed with people…
Exploring Long Covid Prevalence and Patient Uncertainty by Sociodemographic Characteristics Using GP Patient Survey Data
BACKGROUND: The high global burden of Long Covid (LC) has significant implications for population well-being, health care, social care and national economies. AIM: To explore associations between patient sociodemographic and health characteristics with two outcomes: having LC and expressing uncertainty about having LC, as described by general practice (GP) survey respondents. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of GP Patient Survey (England), a random s…
A mixed methods study exploring food insecurity and diet quality in households accessing food clubs in England
This study is the first in the UK to explore potential diet, food security and wellbeing impacts of food clubs. Ongoing impact evaluation will enable optimisation of interventions for the populations they serve, such as inviting other organisations/groups to attend/be available for members
Systematic review of fruit and vegetable voucher interventions for pregnant women and families with young children
Objective: This systematic review aimed to explore the impact of food voucher schemes during pregnancy and early life on fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and explore experiences of schemes. Design: Six electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched. Interventional, observational, qualitative and mixed methods studies published from January 2000 to April 2024 in English were included. Setting: Food voucher interventions target…
Professional Competence in Designing Differentiated Instruction among Biology Teachers from the Perspective of Subject Matter Supervisors
This study aimed to reveal the level of professional competence among biology teachers in designing differentiated instruction from the perspective of subject matter supervisors. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, where a tool was developed to measure the dimensions of professional competence, including planning, implementation, evaluation, use of educational resources, and consideration of individual differences. The tool was a…
Medical ambivalence and Long Covid
Structural violence - related to 'isms' like racism, sexism, and ableism - pertains to the ways in which social institutions harm certain groups. Such violence is critical to institutional indifference to the plight of ethnic minority people living with long-term health conditions. With only emergent literature on the lived experiences of ethnic minorities with Long Covid, we sought to investigate experiences around the interplay of illness and s…
The Stigma of self-report in health research
Co‐Creating Publicly Available Resources to Increase Awareness of and Support for Long Covid Among Ethnic Minority Communities
INTRODUCTION: Stigma and discrimination make healthcare challenging for people living with Long Covid, especially those from ethnic minority groups. Since their experiences are under-researched and may differ from other groups, it is crucial that healthcare guidance is informed by the lived experiences of diverse groups. METHODS: Findings from underpinning research (hearing from the unheard: Impact of Long Covid in Black and minority ethnic group…
Medicine (18 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Public health (9 works) · Environmental health (8 works) · Nursing (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Ethnic group (6 works) · Internal Medicine (6 works) · Cohort (5 works) · Demography (5 works)