Welcome to our SCPHRP monthly update – March 2017 
DIGGING INTO THE PERCEIVED HEALTH BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY GARDENING
A Secondary Qualitative Analysis by Christina Katan In collaboration with Trellis
A community garden is a piece of land that is cultivated by members of a community. These gardens are gaining popularity in the UK, especially in areas of deprivation. With recent publications on the evidence of gardens and improved health in the UK, community gardening is gaining momentum as a feasible option to improve the health on a population level. With the rising prevalence of chronic disease, complex interventions like community gardening can holistically improve both physical and mental health. Recent evidence suggests that, while we understand that community gardens are good for one’s health for a number of reasons, the mechanisms that create change for these health impacts are poorly understood. Poor understanding of these links makes both the development and evaluation of community gardening difficult for researchers, service providers, and policy makers. Read more
20mph PROJECT
Ruth Jepson from SCPRHP has recently been awarded a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 
grant to evaluate the 20mph speed limits in Edinburgh and Belfast. The grant is undertaken in collaboration with colleagues from Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) here in the University of Edinburgh, along with colleagues from Queen’s University Belfast, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Sustrans. More information about the study can be found here http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN10200526
As part of the study we are recruiting a post doctoral research fellow for 3.5 years. More details here http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AYB723/research-fellow/ – we would be grateful if you could circulate this job advert to your networks.
PhD STUDENTSHIP
In partnership with Paths for All, Dr Ailsa Niven and SCPHRP’s Ruth Jepson were successful in securing an ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences Collaborative PhD Studentship.The project will undertake a realist review of the Paths for All Workplace Step Count Challenge, and will build on an on-going collaborative relationship with Paths for All. Feedback from the panel reported that ‘This is an excellent proposal with a very strong supervisory team and collaborating partner fit’. The studentship will be advertised in due course with an expected start date in October 2017.
RCPE Symposium: PUBLIC HEALTH IN A CHANGING WORLD
Wednesday 31 May 2017 at Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 9 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JQ
This symposium features top international speakers with an exciting programme on:
International public health: what can we learn from recent global epidemics and how do we prepare for the next? / European public health: what are the impacts of political destabilisation, economic instability and migration? / Scottish public health: why do we have excess mortality in the West of Scotland? What should Scotland do to become the healthiest nation in Europe/ How we can effect change: via social media, leadership and other tools
To book or find out more about the event please contact Margaret Farquhar at m.farquhar@rcpe.ac.uk
Opportunity: SCPHRP VISITING EXPERT
We are currently accepting applications from local stakeholders in the Third Sector and community groups, professional public health positions, and public sector health policy fields, for the non-remunerated position of SCPHRP Visiting Expert. This is a part-time position (perhaps one-half to one-day monthly), the function of which is to work with SCPHRP staff and Fellows on applied research, and/or knowledge-exchange project(s) of mutual interest, bringing diverse “real-world” expertise relevant to our mandate. The post-holder will gain experience working at the interface between policy, research and practice, and will contribute to a project in their field of interest. For further information on the role and application process, please visit: http://www.scphrp.ac.uk/opportunity-scphrp-visiting-expert
SCPHRP Development Awards
We are currently accepting applications to our funding scheme for third sector and policy/practice Working Group members. This is part of our ongoing commitment to enhance the capacity of the Scottish public health workforce to contribute to, and utilise research, via appropriate career development opportunities. Applicants can seek funding for a number of career development activities, including:
- Attendance at a relevant conference, including registration, travel and accommodation costs.
- Attendance at a relevant seminar/workshop, including registration, travel and accommodation costs.
- Further education opportunities, including relevant modules/courses.
- Travel to meet with a key figure in a related field, where such a meeting is likely to benefit your work.
Applications will be accepted throughout the year, until all available monies (£5,000 per working group) have been allocated. To register as a member of any of the working groups, please visit: http://www.scphrp.ac.uk/join-a-working-group/ and contact the relevant Working Group Fellow for further information.
SCPHRP’s vision is to develop Scotland as a leader in public-health intervention research for equitable health improvement through catalysing strong researcher/research-user collaborations that ensure timely, robust, policy relevant research that is created with – and used by – key decision-makers.
If you would like to join our mailing list – go to www.scphrp.ac.uk
