Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
Kathryn Higgins is the Director of the cross Faculty Queen's Communities and Place Initiative and professor of Social Science and Health in the School of Social Science Education and Social Work Queen’s University Belfast. Kathryn is an experienced research leader having previously led the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation and the Institute for Child Care Research. Kathryn has an established research reputation in the areas of substance use and addictive behavior and also has been active in the field of programme evaluation/implementation science. She continues to lead the now 18-year longitudinal study, known as the Belfast Youth Development Study, which has acted as a focal point for collaborations with external partners and for new, policy led research. She has developed a cadre of work over the past ten+ years on Public Engagement Programme evaluation & implementation Science, evaluating interventions designed to improve child and adolescent development. These include RCTs of school- and community-based interventions. Her research programmes, publications and international conference contributions have examined the policy and evidence base for interventions including substance misuse, mental health, alcohol prevention and the mechanisms for implementing evidence based practice and policy more generally. She has attracted funding from prestigious sources such as the National Institute for Health Research, MRC and ESRC. Kathryn teaches on the MSc on Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1067SES: AHRC IAA Increasing the impact of community narrative
McGuigan, K. (PI) & Higgins, K. (CoI)
14/06/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R1683NBE: Maximising the value of the 2021 Northern Ireland Census: Adding Time to Place
Shuttleworth, I. (PI), Grounds, A. (CoI), Higgins, K. (CoI) & Lloyd, C. (CoI)
27/05/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R4186SES: BELFAST YOUTH DEVELOPMENT STUDY- CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF SUBSTANCE USE PATHWAYS - 10 YEARS ON
Higgins, K. (PI), Mulholland, C. (CoI) & Percy, A. (CoI)
31/01/2024 → …
Project: Research
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Mid-adulthood effects of adolescent substance use and adverse experiences: a scoping review
Morse, A. D., Higgins, K., Jordan, J. A. & McCartan, C., 02 Jan 2025Research output: Other contribution › Protocol › peer-review
Open Access -
‘Throw a stone, you hit one of your own’: a qualitative exploration of community cohesion in an inner-city Belfast community
Loudon, E., Robinson, G., Higgins, K., Kelly, G. & Duffy, G., 14 May 2025, In: Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. 35, 3, 11 p., e70102.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Downloads (Pure) -
A causeway to impact: a proposed new integrated framework for intergenerational community‐based participatory action research
Loudon, E., Neary, J., McAteer, B., Higgins, K. & Chapman, C., Sept 2024, In: Children & Society. 38, 5, p. 1493-1509 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile64 Downloads (Pure) -
Asking to thrive: structures supporting young men’s behavioural health in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Morse, A. & Higgins, K., 01 Nov 2024, In: European Journal of Public Health. 34, Supplement_3, p. 34 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Downloads (Pure) -
A survey of community-engaged research practices in Belfast: Open Science Framework [Registration]
Robinson, G., Morse, A. D., Maguire, S. & Higgins, K., 26 Sept 2024, Open Science Framework.Research output: Other contribution › Protocol
Open Access
Datasets
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Data Management Plan for Belfast Youth Development Study (BYDS): a Quantitative Prospective Cohort Study
Higgins, K. (Creator), Morse, A. (Creator), Percy, A. (Creator) & Mulholland, C. (Creator), Queen's University Belfast, 10 Jan 2025
DOI: 10.48321/D12565238C, https://dmphub.uc3prd.cdlib.net/dmps/10.48321/D12565238C
Dataset
Prizes
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Qstep teaching set competition
Higgins, K. (Recipient), 09 Jan 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Queen's University Belfast (Organisational unit)
Higgins, K. (Advisor)
28 Jan 2025 → 28 Jan 2028Activity: Membership types › Membership of board
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HSC Research & Development Northern Ireland (External organisation)
Higgins, K. (Board Member)
05 Jan 2025 → 03 Feb 2025Activity: Membership types › Membership of peer review panel or committee
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Maximising the value of the 2021 Northern Ireland Census: Adding Time to Place
Grounds, A. (Participant), Higgins, K. (Participant), Shuttleworth, I. (Participant) & Ferguson, S. (Participant)
Dec 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Maximising the value of the 2021 Northern Ireland Census: Adding Time to Place Engagement Workshop hosted by QCAP
Grounds, A. (Participant), Higgins, K. (Participant) & Shuttleworth, I. (Participant)
Dec 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Supporting the People and place review with QCAP data and evidence Test and Learn sites
Higgins, K. (Invited speaker)
28 Nov 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Press/Media
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QCASTS: Cost of Living Crisis in Schools
Robinson, G., Higgins, K. & Rafferty, E.
28/02/2023
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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QCASTS podcast Series 1-6 Constructed as the first QCAP podcast series where K Higgins Director interviewed community members on challenging issues that really matter to them QCAST 1. D Nugent Challenges of Addiction 16/2/23QCAST 2 Father Gary Donnegan Suicide among young people 22/2/23QCAST 3 Eimear Rafferty the contemporary crisis in schools caused by the cost of living Crisis 3/3/23QCAST 4 Community Wealth Building and its potential 9/3/23QCAST 5 Another World Belfast Equality Diversity and Inclusion 24/3/23 QCAST 6 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement What did Peace do for Communities 5/4/23
16/02/2023
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Podcast Best of Belfast Addiction Mini Series
02/02/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Tackling the harms of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) – We need to look at the bigger picture. Blog 1 NIHR 29th January 2020
29/01/2020
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Motives, experiences of young people using New Psychoactive Substance
21/08/2019
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
Thesis
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An exploration of a new heroin outbreak
Higgins, K. (Author), Kilpatrick, R. (Supervisor), Jul 2007Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy
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