Staff Member Biography
Shona Hilton
position: Programme Leader (Track)programme: Understandings and Uses of Public Health ResearchContact Details
phone: 0141 357 7537
Address
4 Lilybank Gardens
Glasgow
G12 8RZ
Biography and Interests
Shona started her career in the NHS as a nurse, then qualified and worked as a midwife. She obtained an M.Sc. in Health Education / Promotion at the University of Strathclyde, before gaining her Ph.D. in this Unit from the University of Glasgow. Her Ph.D. explored parents' perceptions of mass childhood immunisation, within the context of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) controversy, which led to an extension study examining the impact of the controversy on parents caring for children with autism. In 2007 Shona gained funding from MRC's Population Health Sciences Research Network to develop a project on ‘Communicating Health Information and Research into Practice and Policy’ (CHIRPP). The project aimed to explore the translation of research evidence to practitioners and the public using the MMR vaccine controversy and introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme as case studies.
In 2009 Shona joined the MRC Programme Leader Track Scheme to deliver on the research programme for 2010-2015: Understandings and Uses of Public Health Research. Shona’s main interests are in: how health research are presented, understood and used to translate scientific knowledge into public benefit and health policy; how health research is communicated through the written and broadcast media; and how people understand emerging health threats and engage with science more generally.
Publications
Hilton S, Patterson C, Teyhan A. Escalating coverage of obesity in UK newspapers: the evolution and framing of the ‘obesity epidemic’ from 1996 to 2010 [Epub ahead of print]. Obesity 2012.
pubmed open accessMacCalman L, Semple S, Galea KS, Van Tongeren M, Dempsey S, Hilton S, Gee I, Ayres J. The relationship between workers’ self-reported changes in health and their attitudes towards a workplace intervention: lessons from smoke-free legislation across the UK hospitality industry. BMC Public Health 2012;12:324.
pubmed open accessHarding S, Maynard MJ, Adamson A, Anderson AA, Mutrie N, Petticrew M, Baker G, Rawlins E. Final Report: Obesity in ethnic minority children and adolescents: developing acceptable parent and child-based interventions in schools and places of worship – The MRC DiEt and Active Living (DEAL) study. London: The Public Health Research Consortium, 2011.
open accessHilton S, Hunt K, Bedford H, Petticrew M. School nurses' experiences of delivering the UK HPV vaccination programme in its first year. BMC Infectious Diseases 2011; 11:226.
pubmed open accessHilton S, Hunt K. UK newspapers representations of the 2009-2010 outbreak of swine flu: one health scare not over-hyped by the media?. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2011; 65:941-6.
pubmed open accessHilton S, Smith E. "I thought cancer was one of those random things. I didn't know cancer could be caught…": adolescent girls' understandings and experiences of the HPV programme in the UK. Vaccine 2011; 29:4409-15.
pubmed open accessHilton S, Hunt K, Langan M, Petticrew M. Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005-2008). Social Science & Medicine 2010 ; 70:942-50.
Hilton S, Hunt K. Coverage of Jade Goody's cervical cancer in UK newspapers: a missed opportunity for health promotion? BMC Public Health 2010; 10:368.
pubmed open accessHilton S, Smith E. Public views of the UK media and government reaction to the 2009 swine flu pandemic. BMC Public Health 2010; 10:697.
pubmed open accessHilton S, Hunt K, Langan M, Hamilton V, Petticrew M. Reporting of MMR evidence in professional publications:1988-2007. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2009; 94:831-3.
Ayres J, Semple S, MacCalman L, Dempsey S, Hilton S, Hurley J, Miller BG, Naji A, Petticrew M. Bar workers' health and environmental tobacco smoke exposure (BHETSE): Symptomatic improvement in bar staff following smoke-free legislation in Scotland. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2009; 66:339-46.
Hilton S, Bedford H, Calnan M, Hunt K. Competency, confidence and conflicting evidence: key issues affecting health visitors’ use of research evidence in practice. BMC Nursing 2009; 8:4.
Hilton S, Emslie C, Hunt K, Chapple A, Ziebland S. Disclosing a cancer diagnosis to friends and family: a gendered analysis of young men and women’s experiences. Qualitative Health Research 2009; 19:744-54.
Hilton S, Cameron J, Maclean A, Petticrew M. Observations from behind the bar: changing patrons' behaviours in response to smoke-free legislation in Scotland. BMC Public Health 2008; 8:238.
pubmed open access
Hilton S, Hunt K, Emslie C, Salinas M, Ziebland S. Have men been overlooked? A comparison of young men and women's experiences of chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Psycho-Oncology 2008; 17:577-83.
pubmed
Hilton S, Hunt K, Petticrew M. Gaps in parental understandings and experiences of vaccine-preventable diseases. A qualitative study. Child: Care, Health & Development 2007; 33:170-179.
pubmed
Hilton S, Hunt K, Petticrew M. MMR: marginalised, misrepresented and rejected? Autism: a focus group study. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2007; 92:322-327.
pubmedHilton S, Petticrew M, Hunt K. Parents' champions vs. vested interests: who do parents believe about MMR? A qualitative study. BMC Public Health 2007; 7:42.
open access
Hilton S, Semple S, Miller BG, Maccalman L, Petticrew M, Dempsey S, Naji A, Ayres JG. Expectations and changing attitudes of bar workers before and after the implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland. BMC Public Health 2007; 7:206.
open access
Petticrew M, Semple S, Hilton S, Creely K, Eadie D, Ritchie D, Ferrell C, Christopher Y, Hurley F. Covert observation in practice: Lessons from the evaluation of the prohibition of smoking in public places in Scotland. BMC Public Health 2007; 7:204.
open access
Semple S, Maccalman L, Naji AA, Dempsey S, Hilton S, Miller B, Ayres JG. Bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke: The effect of Scottish smoke-free legislation on occupational exposure. Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2007; 51:571-580.
pubmed
Hilton S, Petticrew M, Hunt K. Combined vaccines are like a sudden onslaught to the body's immune system: Parental concerns about vaccine overload and immune-vulnerability. Vaccine 2006; 24:4321-4327.
pubmedHilton S. Parental perceptions of childhood immunisation in the context of the MMR controversy [PhD]. MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2005.
