About Dr Floor Christie-de Jong
After several years of clinical practice in adult mental health and smoking cessation in the National Health Service in the UK, I moved into academia and gained experience in teaching and research. I initially worked in the field of tobacco control and then focused on cancer screening.
I was awarded an MA in Public Health from the University of Liverpool, MSc in Clinical Psychology from the University of Groningen, and PhD in Public Health by Lancaster University.
I have managed several online and face-to-face postgraduate courses and line-managed and supported small and large teams of people.
I have national and international research and teaching experience and previously worked for Newcastle University, the online MPH at the University of Liverpool, the University of Calgary-Qatar, and Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
I am Associate Director for Sunderland for FUSE, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, a member of the Mixed Methods International Research Association, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health.
Teaching and supervision
I'm an Associate Director in Public Health for Medicine and Vice-Chancellor Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow. I act as the Public Health Lead throughout Phase 1 of the undergraduate MBChB Medicine.
I've been teaching in higher education for more than 15 years. I've taught multiple courses in public health prior to this role.
I've supervised many international and national students in their public health research at BSc, MSc, and PhD levels. I've always enjoyed supervising students and find it a privilege to be part of their learning journey.
Interests
My research interests are cancer screening, ethnicity, culture and health, migrant health, health inequalities and health literacy.
Public health is so broad and I feel passionate about many public health topics. I have supervised students with many different topics ranging from cancer screening, HPV vaccination, healthcare access for migrants, exclusive breastfeeding, perspectives on management of Diabetes Type 2, sexual and reproductive health, healthy eating, and many more.
I am always happy to discuss potential PhD projects, however I have limited capacity and therefore particularly welcome applications from PhD students in the area of health inequalities and cancer screening.
Research
My research includes:
- Chief investigator with co-lead Prof Judith Eberhardt, Teesside University, for a study funded by NIHR: EQUITy in Black Adult health (EQUITA)- a randomised feasibility trial of a co-produced and faith-placed intervention to increase uptake of breast, cervical, bowel, and AAA screening in the north-east of England, Leeds and Scotland. £618,053.53 (2025–2027).
- Principal Investigator with co-Lead Professor Katie Robb, University of Glasgow, for a study funded by Cancer Research UK titled: 'Improving uptake of breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening among Muslim women: a non-randomised feasibility study of a peer-led, faith-based intervention'. £337,485.40 (2023–2026).
- Principal Investigator for a study funded by Prostate Cancer Research titled 'A co-designed and culturally appropriate intervention to tackle barriers to early diagnosis of prostate cancer for Black men in Scotland and the North-East of England: a community-centred participatory approach'. £157,688 (2022–2024).
- Co-Lead Health Literacy projects in collaboration with the Health Literacy team at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (2023–2024).
- Principal Investigator for a study funded by The Scottish Government titled 'A Faith-based intervention for Muslim women in Scotland to encourage uptake of breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening: A community-based participatory approach'.£53,999.20 (2021).
- Principal Investigator for an NIHR ARC-funded study titled 'The impact of an interactive film-based intervention on resilience, mental wellbeing and help-seeking attitudes in young people (14–18) at school settings in Cumbria and the North East of England: a mixed methods cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial'. £58,034.00 (2021–2023).
My experience includes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research in international settings. This includes qualitative research regarding vitamin D deficiency conducted in Saudi Arabia. I was part of a large mixed methods study regarding barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening study for Arab women in Qatar, and for my PhD I conducted a mixed methods study into barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening for Filipino migrant women.
Areas of expertise
- Health inequalities
- Cancer screening
- Culture
- Ethnicity
- Migrant health
- Mixed methods research