معرفی
Dr. Sara Long is a Research Fellow at DECIPHer within Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences. Her work focuses on improving health, wellbeing, and education outcomes for children and young people through interdisciplinary research integrating public health, social sciences, education, and psychology. She leads major projects addressing school health policies, adverse childhood experiences, and systemic determinants of health inequities. Long holds a PhD in Psychology and Nutrition from Cardiff University (2013), with over 15 years of teaching experience across Welsh universities in public health, social sciences, and medicine. Her research emphasizes a complex systems approach to understand health determinants across economic, political, institutional, social, and individual levels.
Key contributions include leading implementation evaluations of policy initiatives linking school food/nutrition with psychological factors, and co-authoring influential studies on substance use in youth, secure accommodation outcomes, and dating violence. She has secured £1.5m+ in grants, including major ESRC and Welsh Government-funded projects. Her teaching spans modules on child welfare policy, mixed-methods research, and public health at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Recent work explores how Wales' education reforms impact school health practices and disparities. Over 30 peer-reviewed publications and multiple reports highlight her expertise in translating research into policy and practice through collaborations with government bodies and social care organizations.
