Dr Fiona Gillison
Research funding
External consultancy
- Evaluation of local health promotion initiatives within Bath and North East Somerset Primary Care Trust (September 2007 – present)
- South West Regional Public Health Group - Audit & Mapping of south west NHS stop smoking services (July – October 2008)
- Assessor for the Health Development Agency accreditation standards for Smoking Cessation training courses (2004)
Profile
- Lecturer, Exercise & Health Psychology (2007 – present)
- Chartered Health Psychologist, British Psychological Society (awarded 2004)
- Research Health Psychologist, Tobacco Dependence Research and Treatment Centre, Bart’s & the London Medical School (2000–2004)
- PhD, University of Bath (2007)
My primary research interest is in investigating how we can support people to improve their health behaviours to prevent and reduce obesity. This is an important and highly topical area given that more than half of the UK’s adult population are now classified as overweight or obese; the social, financial and human costs of which are well documented. In practice this involves conducting research to establish the most effective strategies for promoting behaviour change in relation to different health behaviours, and importantly ensuring that interventions are built using only such evidence-based components. Many current public health interventions are not based on any such systematic research evidence, so conducting and effectively disseminating this research is of clear importance (as identified by NICE guidelines, 2009). Thus, my research aims to enable commissioners, clinicians and exercise professionals to answer the question; “What exactly can I/we do to help this particular person change this particular health behaviour?”
Research interests
- Psychology of behaviour change
Current projects
- Coping with lifestyle changes
- Translating success from the smoking to obesity context
- Waste the Waist
- Evaluating the “Passport to Health” exercise referral scheme in Bath & North East Somerset
Teaching
- HL10036 Introduction to Sport & Exercise Psychology
- HL20042 Psychological dynamics of sport
- HL30155 Applying psychology to phsical activity and health (unit convener)
- HL30110 Research Project
Publications
Book Sections
Standage, M., Gillison, F. and Treasure, D. C., 2007. Self-determination and motivation in physical education. In: Hagger, M. S. and Chatzisarantis, N. L. D., eds. Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, pp. 71-85.
Articles
Sebire, S. J., Standage, M., Gillison, F. B. and Vansteenkiste, M., 2013. “Coveting thy neighbour’s legs” : a qualitative study of exercisers’ experiences of intrinsic and extrinsic goal pursuit. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35 (3), pp. 308-321.
Gillison, F. B., Standage, M. and Skevington, S. M., 2013. The effects of manipulating goal content and autonomy support climate on outcomes of a PE fitness class. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14 (3), pp. 342-352.
Skevington, S. M., Sovetkina, E. C. and Gillison, F. B., 2013. A systematic review to quantitatively evaluate 'stepping stones': a participatory community-based HIV/AIDS prevention intervention. AIDS and Behavior, 17 (3), pp. 1025-1039.
Standage, M., Cumming, S. P. and Gillison, F., 2013. A cluster randomized controlled trial of the ‘Be the Best You Can Be’ programme: Effects on the psychological and physical well-being of school children. BMC Public Health, 13, 666.
Brown, J., Hajek, P., McRobbie, H., Locker, J., Gillison, F., McEwen, A., Beard, E. and West, R., 2013. Forthcoming. Cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms during temporary abstinence and the effect of nicotine gum. Psychopharmacology
Emm, L., Gillison, F. and Juszczyk, D., 2013. Forthcoming. Support for obesity-related policy and its association with motivation for weight control. Psychology, Public Policy and Law
Whale, K., Gillison, F. and Smith, P. C., 2013. Forthcoming. “Are you still on that stupid diet?” Women’s experiences of societal pressure and support regarding weight loss, and attitudes towards health policy intervention. Journal of Health Psychology
Gillison, F., Sebire, S. and Standage, M., 2012. What motivates girls to take up exercise during adolescence? Learning from those who succeed. British Journal of Health Psychology, 17 (3), pp. 536-550.
Gillison, F. B., Greaves, C., Stathi, A., Ramsay, R., Bennett, P., Taylor, G., Francis, M. and Chandler, R., 2012. ‘Waste the waist’: the development of an intervention to promote changes in diet and physical activity for people with high cardiovascular risk. British Journal of Health Psychology, 17 (2), pp. 327-345.
Cumming, S. P., Sherar, L. B., Hunter Smart, J. E., Machado Rodrigues, A. M., Standage, M., Gillison, F. B. and Malina, R. M., 2012. Physical Activity, Physical Self-Concept, and Health-Related Quality of Life of Extreme Early and Late Maturing Adolescent Girls. Journal of Early Adolescence, 32 (2), pp. 269-292.
Standage, M., Gillison, F. B., Ntoumanis, N. and Treasure, D. C., 2012. Predicting students' physical activity and health-related well-being: a prospective cross-domain investigation of motivation across school physical education and exercise settings. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34 (1), pp. 37-60.
Cumming, S. P., Gillison, F. and Sherar, L., 2011. Biological maturation as a confounding factor in the relation between chronological age and health-related quality of life in adolescent females. Quality of Life Research, 20 (2), pp. 237-242.
Gillison, F. B., Standage, M. and Skevington, S. M., 2011. Motivation and body-related factors as discriminators of change in adolescents' exercise behavior profiles. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48 (1), pp. 44-51.
McGrath, E. J., Lovell, C. R., Gillison, F., Darvay, A., Hickey, J. R. and Skevington, S. M., 2010. A prospective trial of the effects of isotretinoin on quality of life and depressive symptoms. British Journal of Dermatology, 163 (6), pp. 1323-1329.
Beck, F., Gillison, F. and Standage, M., 2010. A theoretical investigation of the development of physical activity habits in retirement. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15 (3), pp. 663-679.
Stathi, A., Gillison, F. and Riddoch, C., 2009. Opportunities and challenges in physical activity research in young people. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 12 (5), pp. 515-517.
Cumming, S. P., Standage, M., Gillison, F. B., Dompier, T. P. and Malina, R. M., 2009. Biological maturity status, body size, and exercise behaviour in British youth: A pilot study. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27 (7), pp. 677-686.
Gillison, F. B., Skevington, S., Sato, A., Standage, M. and Evangelidou, S., 2009. The effects of exercise interventions on quality of life in clinical and well populations: a meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 68 (9), pp. 1700-1710.
Gillison, F., Osborn, M., Skevington, S. and Standage, M., 2009. Exploring the experience of introjected regulation for exercise across gender in adolescence. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10 (3), pp. 309-319.
Gillison, F., Standage, M. and Skevington, S., 2008. Changes in quality of life and psychological need satisfaction following the transition to secondary school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, pp. 149-162.
Gillison, F., Skevington, S. and Standage, M., 2008. Exploring response shift in the quality of life of healthy adolescents over one year. Quality of Life Research, 17 (7), pp. 997-1008.
Cumming, S. P., Standage, M., Gillison, F. and Malina, R. M., 2008. Sex differences in exercise behavior during adolescence: is biological maturation a confounding factor? Journal of Adolescent Health, 42 (5), pp. 480-485.
Standage, M. and Gillison, F., 2007. Students' motivational responses toward school physical education and their relationship to general self-esteem and health-related quality of life. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8 (5), pp. 704-721.
Hajek, P., McRobbie, H. and Gillison, F., 2007. Dependence potential of nicotine replacement treatments: Effects of product type, patient characteristics, and cost to user. Preventive Medicine, 44 (3), pp. 230-234.
Skevington, S. and Gillison, F., 2006. Assessing children’s quality of life in health and social services: Meeting challenges and adding value. Journal of Children's Services, 1 (2), pp. 42-51.
Gillison, F. B., Standage, M. and Skevington, S. M., 2006. Relationships among adolescents' weight perceptions, exercise goals, exercise motivation, quality of life and leisure-time exercise behaviour: a self-determination theory approach. Health Education Research, 21 (6), pp. 836-847.
Standage, M. and Gillison, F., 2006. Students' motivational responses to school physical education and their relationship to general self-esteem and health-related quality of life. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28, S174-S174.
McRobbie, H., Hajek, P. and Gillison, F., 2004. The relationship between smoking cessation and mouth ulcers. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 6 (4), pp. 655-659.
Gillison, F., Hajek, P. and Ahmed, R., 2002. Randomized comparative study of nicotine sublingual tablet and nicotine chewing gum. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 4 (242-243).
Conference or Workshop Items
Juszczyk, D., Gillison, F. and Dean, S., 2013. Forthcoming. The effect of ‘supersize’ images on the receipt of health messages about being overweight. In: European Health Psychology Conference 2013, 2013-07-08, Bordeaux.
Emm, L., Standage, M. and Gillison, F., 2013. An opportunity for change? Motivational predictors of exercise and health-related well-being in adolescent school leavers. In: 5th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory, 2013-06-27 - 2013-06-30, Rochester.
Juszczyk, D. and Gillison, F., 2013. How are obesity policies received by individuals who find it difficult to control their weight? In: European Health Psychology Conference 2013, 2013-07-16 - 2013-07-20, Bordeaux.
Standage, M. and Gillison, F., 2013. The use of incentives in the formation of healthy lifestyle habits following the school to work transition. In: 5th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory, 2013-06-27 - 2013-06-30, Rochester.
Greaves, C., Stathi, A., Gillison, F. and Taylor, G., 2013. Waste the waist: A pilot trial of a theory based intervention to support lifestyle change for people with high cardiovascular risk. In: BPS Division of Health Psychology, 2013-09-11 - 2013-09-13, Brighton.
Gillison, F., Lewitt, J. and Beck, F., 2013. Why do parents object to feedback on their child's weight? In: South West Public Health Conference, 2013, 2013-02-07, Weston-Super-Mare.
Gillison, F., Juszczyk, D. and Emm, L., 2012. Support for obesity-related policy and its association with motivation for weight control. In: 8th Annual Scientific Meeting of the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine, 2012-12-10 - 2012-12-11, Manchester.
Thesis
Gillison, F. B., 2007. Maintaining adolescents’ involvement in exercise and quality of life: A Self Determination Theory approach. Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Bath.
