Dr Debbie Cooke
Biography
Following completion of my Health Psychology MSc in 1997, I worked in three different research groups at University College London (UCL) until 2012 before moving to the University of Surrey. During my employment at UCL, I also worked in the Policy Research Programme at the Department of Health supporting the commissioning of research in a number of areas. I gained my PhD part-time whilst working as a Research Fellow at UCL. I evaluated the user acceptability, behavioural and glycaemic impact of continuous glucose monitoring devices for people with diabetes for my PhD.
All of the research projects I have worked on are related to the management of long-term conditions. I have carried out research in a number of disease areas but my focus in more recent years has been on diabetes.
In particular, I have been involved in NIHR-funded programmes of work to further develop and evaluate the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) structured education course for adults with type 1 diabetes which is part of routine care in the NHS. I am the research lead for a large programme of work implementing and evaluating the BEAT diabetes digital test-bed, an online supported self-management programme for adults with type 2 diabetes. I also work with colleagues, Dr Freda Mold, examining how virtual consultations for adults with learning disabilities can be improved; and with Dr Chrissie Jones developing an intervention directed at parents, to prevent disordered eating in children with type 1 diabetes.
Areas of specialism
University roles and responsibilities
- Postgraduate Research Director
My qualifications
Previous roles
Affiliations and memberships
Research
Research interests
- Self-management of long-term conditions
- Technological support for management of long-term conditions
- Diabetes
All of the research projects I have worked on are related to the management of long-term conditions.
Research projects
- implement the very latest technology to link the man to his care team without the need for expensive hospital based follow ups
- quickly and clearly identify who needs help, saving time and creating a more efficient care system.
This innovative partnership is one of seven successful projects across the UK to share a portion of £7 million from NHS England to tackle some of the biggest challenges in health and social care in the country.
BEAT Diabetes will use online, digital platforms, accessed through primary care, to encourage and support people with type 2 diabetes to make positive lifestyle changes. Online programmes and health coaches will support people to adopt a healthy diet, become more physically active and manage their well-being. This will help reduce people’s risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
This £175,000 Diabetes UK grant will help fund a two-year project where researchers will look to develop and assess the feasibility of a parenting intervention to prevent disordered eating in children and young people with type 1 diabetes.
To achieve this, researchers will ask 70 parents of children aged 11-14 years with T1D to attend a one-day group intervention. Half of these will go to a session in the immediate future and the other half will receive this three months later.
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Supervision
Completed postgraduate research projects I have supervised
Nouf Alkhamees, Health Sciences PhD, 2014
Harjinder Sehmi, Doctorate in Clinical Practice, 2015
Alison Callwood, Health Sciences PhD, 2015
Fiona Barker, Clinical & Experimental Medicine PhD, 2016
Hideo Kato, Health Sciences PhD, 2016
Lawrence Matini, Psychology PhD, 2017
Mona Aljuwair, Healthcare Management PhD, 2018
Johanna Groothuizen, Health Sciences PhD, 2019
Scott Munro, Health Sciences PhD, 2020
Inez Lane, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, 2021
My teaching
I contribute to a number of modules at both postgraduate (Management of Long-Term Conditions, MSc Dissertation) and undergraduate level (Research for Professional Practice) in Health Sciences and Nutritional Sciences.