Dr Deirdre Harrington

Senior Lecturer

Physical Activity and Health

Contact

Personal statement

I am an experienced academic with a demonstrated history of working in multi-disciplinary teams in higher education in Ireland, the US and England.

I play a key academic role in achieving the goals of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) and contribute to its success within the University of Strathclyde.

I oversee the development and delivery of research and teaching within the School of Psychological Sciences and Health. I am responsible for securing external research funding, teaching at Undergraduate level, supervision of PhD students and the delivery of meaningful knowledge exchange and community engagement/involvement.

I am increasingly concerned about health inequalities and how my research does, or does not, address or impact them. I am trying to be reflexive about issues related to my assumptions and preconceptions as a researcher.

Currently:

  • New staff member (since Jan 2021) at University of Strathclyde, energised by delving straight into undergrad teaching and supervision and developing new research and stakeholder links in Scotland.
  • Media friendly. As heard monthly on BBC Radio Leicester Table Talk and seen on ITV Central and BBC East Midlands.

Former:

  • Academic lead of the Cities Changing Diabetes global programme in Leicester. I developed the work in collaboration with academic, local government, community and industry stakeholders and partners.
  • Chair of Ireland's Report Card for Physical Activity in Children and Youth 2013, member of the working group for 2015 and 2021 Report Cards.

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Publications

Child opinions related to a core outcome set for school-based healthy lifestyle behavior interventions : the COCOS study
Altenburg Teatske M, de Vries Lotte W, Barbeau Kheana, Button Alyssa, Cox Ashley, de Lannoy Louise, MacDonald Mhairi, Naidoo Rowena, Staiano Amanda E, Tremblay Mark S, Harrington Deirdre M
Frontiers in Public Health Vol 13 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1519467
From the Rhins to the Rhine : Cycling Connections on the Kirkpatrick C2C to EuroVelo Route 15…
Bonner James, Harrington Deirdre, Drakopoulou Dodd Sarah, Gibbs Juliette
(2025)
(Two) wheels on the bus : road user perceptions of a bike bus and how this links to addressing global health challenges
Harrington Deirdre M, Bardid Farid, Cory Katherine, Dixon James, Dodd Sarah, Ferguson Neil, Roberts Jennifer J, Bonner James
Journal of Physical Activity and Health Vol 21, pp. 1382-1390 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2024-0219
Towards cycling engagement by mapping design interventions to observed barriers : an example from Glasgow's bike share programme
Shepherd Mia, Shealy Tripp, Urquhart Lewis, Harrington Deirdre, Maier Anja
Proceedings of the Design Society Vol 4, pp. 1065-1074 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2024.109
A nonrandomized pilot implementation trial of the CLASS PAL (Physically Active Learning) project
Routen Ash C, Cale Lorraine, Chalkley Anna E, Clemes Stacy, Edwardson Charlotte L, Glazebrook Cris, Harrington Deirdre M, Khunti Kamlesh, Pearson Natalie, Salmon Jo, Sherar Lauren B
Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine Vol 9 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1249/tjx.0000000000000261
Physical activity levels during school recess in a nationally representative sample of 10-11-year-olds
Wong Lan Sum, Reilly John J, McCrorie Paul, Harrington Deirdre M
Pediatric Exercise Science Vol 36, pp. 37-43 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.2022-0144

More publications

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Teaching

Currently teaching at undergraduate level on the B.Sc. in Sport and Physical Activity.

I taught at Masters level (M.Sc. in Diabetes Medicine, University of Leicester).

I have also delivered practical professional development sessions to healthcare professionals.

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Research Interests

I have worked on the global research platform for 15 years. My research interests have evolved over this time and can be summarised into three themes:

  • Prevention of ill-health in the clinical and public health areas of physical activity, obesity, type 2 diabetes.
  • Design, evaluation and implementation of school, family and community-based programmes.
  • Uniting stakeholders including public health, local authority and key community groups and organisations (e.g. professional sports clubs, faith centres) with academics in tackling prevalent health challenges.

Current topics I am moving forward with include:

  • Physical activity and related health behaviour (sleep, screen time, obesity) interventions in pre-schoolers and their families.
  • Transport behaviours - sustainable transport (walk, cycle, public transport) and private car use in COVID times. Changes in behaviours, attitudes, benefits for the individual and cities, the future for walking/cycling as transport.
  • The outsourcing of PE, physical activity and health promotion to professional sports clubs in schools and the community.
  • The future of school-based physical activity research in the COVID-19 recovery. How have PhD students and early career researchers been affected by school closures?

Do get in touch if you are interested in collaborating on these topics.

Professional Activities

Bike Bus Global Summit 2025
Participant
10/4/2025
Bici/Bike Bus Strathclyde
Recipient
10/4/2025
Glasgow delegation to attend World Bike Bus Summit 2025
Recipient
9/4/2025
Research Integrity and Culture Week 2025
Participant
11/3/2025
Research Integrity and Culture Week 2025
Participant
10/3/2025
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Visiting researcher
24/2/2025

More professional activities

Projects

Evaluation of Scottish Cycling Rock up and Ride programme
Harrington, Deirdre (Principal Investigator)
19-Jan-2024 - 18-Jan-2025
Understanding the potential of a resident-led street closure programme – Play Streets in Inverness
Harrington, Deirdre (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2024 - 01-Jan-2025
Intervention effects on health-related physical fitness in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Weston, Kathryn (Principal Investigator) Harrington, Deirdre (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2024
From Bike Bus to Bike Use
Harrington, Deirdre (Principal Investigator)
04-Jan-2023 - 06-Jan-2024
From Bike Bus to Bike Use – translating academic research on active mobility practices to benefit cities
Harrington, Deirdre (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2028
£12,000K - Scottish Funding Council - Interface Innovation Voucher - Nutrition Scotland
Harrington, Deirdre (Principal Investigator) Kirk, Alison (Principal Investigator) Mavroeidi, Alexandra (Co-investigator) Russell, Eilidh (Researcher)
Knowledge exchange/consultancy with Nutrition Scotland (£4,919) to develop novel prevention products for carers of those at risk of type 2 diabetes
31-Jan-2022 - 30-Jan-2022

More projects

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Contact

Dr Deirdre Harrington
Senior Lecturer
Physical Activity and Health

Email: deirdre.harrington@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted