Rhiannon Evans

Professor Rhiannon Evans is a Professor in Social Science and Health at Cardiff University, based at the DECIPHer Centre within the School of Social Sciences. She serves as Deputy Director of DECIPHer and academic lead for the 'Health Inequalities' research programme (2025-2030). She holds leadership roles in multiple large-scale research initiatives, including Deputy Director of the NIHR PHR Reviews Team (2024-2028) and Academic Programme Lead for the Rhondda Cynon Taf Health Determinants Research Collaboration (2024-2029). Her research focuses on mental health and wellbeing, prevention of self-harm/suicide, and health inequities in underserved populations, particularly care-experienced youth. Methodologically, she specializes in complex-systems informed reviews, intervention adaptation, and qualitative methods.

Her work spans systematic reviews, process evaluations, and intervention development, with notable contributions to understanding mental health support in schools and adapting interventions for diverse contexts. She leads collaborations such as the National Suicide and Self-harm Research Centre and has contributed to policy-relevant studies on domestic violence responses and school-based mental health programs like the WISE project.

Research interests include: mental health interventions for vulnerable groups, health equity, intervention adaptation, and the role of schools in youth wellbeing. Her articles highlight trends in evaluating intervention effectiveness, addressing inequities, and leveraging co-production frameworks. Grants and collaborations emphasize translational research to inform policy and practice.