Dr Chris Cooper

Assistant Professor

School: Communities and Education

Chris Cooper is an Assistant Professor in community wellbeing and lead of the Inclusion and social justice expert group in the school of Communities and education. Chris leads research across the health and social care system focusing on improving health and reducing inequalities for marginalised and excluded populations.

Chris co-leads See Me North, a 3 year AHRC funded research programme exploring the mobilisation of community assets to support people with experience of homelessness. Seeking to better understand the impacts of trauma to improve trauma informed care, evaluating local and national models of creative health for people experiencing homelessness, developing a regional support hub for people in the Northeast and Cumbria, and challenging stigma through creativity this project seeks to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.

Applying realist methodologies, utilising qualitative and quantitative methods, Chris’s research goes beyond linear models of causality to explore what works, for who, in what circumstances, and why. Driven by in-depth explorations of individual, social, and environmental contexts and how these interact with and impact on the ways in which we engage with interventions or events, realist approaches enable exploration of the complexities of the social worlds in which we live, grow, and work.

Chris Cooper is Programme lead for the BSc Health and social care programme as well as leading on and teaching into a range of modules across the school of communities and education from levels 4 to 7. Chris is passionate about social justice and mobility, taking the lead on processes, interventions and programme developments to grow experiential learning and support student recruitment, experience, retention, and success for all students.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Chris’s research interests are centred around inclusion and social justice within the health and social care system. Seeking to reduce inequities and improve outcomes for the most marginalised in society. Underpinned by her background in clinical and health psychology, and drawing on theories from feminist, intersectional, and critical standpoints, Chris’s research explores the biopsychosocial determinants of health and wellbeing to better understand the interplay between factors within complex social systems.

Chris has particular interests in:

Homelessness
Multiple exclusion health/complex needs
Trauma and trauma informed care
Women’s experiences of the criminal justice system
Domestic violence
Community health approaches
Creative health
Inclusive education and social mobility
Informal care
Equity of access to healthcare

See ongoing projects for current research in these areas.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Adolescent health: from individual risk behaviours to wellbeing ecosystems: learning from the paradigm shift, Cooper, C., Lhussier, M. 28 Jan 2026, In: International Journal of Inclusive Education
Beyond ‘firefighting’ health inequalities in times of austerity: local authorities as ambidextrous organisations, Cooper, C., Lhussier, M. 15 Feb 2026, In: Perspectives in Public Health
Does Money Only Matter in Low-to-Middle Income Countries? Public Health Policymakers’ Assessments of Material Social Determinants in Different Development Contexts, Johnson, E., Cooper, C., Fearnley, H., Hart, C., Thew, A., Johnson, S., Croft, E., Chrisp, J., Mathur, V., Howard, N., Stark, G., Reed, H., Nettle, D., Johnson, M. 25 Feb 2026, In: Basic Income Studies
'Do You Know What I Mean?’: Rhizomatic Biographies and Unbelievable Stories in Trauma Narratives, Astley, T., Lhussier, M., Bilby, C., Cooper, C., Kirton, A., Riley, F. 4 Jun 2026, In: International Review of Qualitative Research
Exploring the impact of stigma on the health of inclusion health groups: a qualitative scoping review and critical analysis, Price, T., McGowan, V., Cooper, C., Scott, S. 3 Jan 2026, In: BMC Public Health
What drives support for largescale housing reform? Mixed-methods survey data from the UK indicates importance of socioeconomic status over demographic characteristics, Cooper, C., Stark, G., Brandon, T., Reed, H., Johnson, M., Johnson, E. 20 Feb 2026, In: International Journal of Housing Policy
Co-Producing Personalised Discharge Planning: Developing a Toolkit to Improve Caregiver Involvement in Hospital Transitions, McEwan, K., Sanders, T., Carr, S., Van der Graaf, P., Jones, S., Aquino, M., Hogg, M., Hameed, R., Lai, F., Cooper, C., Potthoff, S. 1 Dec 2025, In: Health Expectations : an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy
Realist review of informal carer involvement in the transition of medicines-related care for patients moving from hospital to home, Richardson, C., Cooper, M., Atkinson, O., Black, D., Lindsey, L., Cooper, C., Nazar, H., Wong, G., Hughes, C. 13 Nov 2025, In: BMJ Open
Understanding trauma-impaired executive function and its impacts on homeless adults in the UK: a realist evaluative synthesis protocol, Cooper, C., Lhussier, M. 20 Jun 2025, In: BMJ Open
Accredited Research Education with People with Lived Experience of Mental Health Distress, Gibbs, C., Brandon, T., Cooper, C., Hill, M. 5 Feb 2024, Developing and Implementing Teaching in Sensitive Subject and Topic Areas, Leeds, United Kingdom, Emerald Publishing

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Study of the utilisation of Clinical skills Of dental nurses/hygienists/therapists working in Primary dental care: realism and Economic evaluation, Cooper, C. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/10/25 - 30/09/28, £16,308.00
Co-creating safe spaces and belongings with marginalised communities in contact with support services using an intersectional lens, Cooper, C. (Principal Investigator), School for Public Health Research, 01/10/24 - 30/09/26, £3,371.00
Making every community asset count: improving health and reducing inequalities for people experiencing homelessness, Cooper, C. (Principal Investigator), Arts & Humanities Research Council, 01/02/24 - 31/01/27, £1,255,235.00
Carer involvement in the transfer of medicines-related care for patients moving from hospital to home: a realist review, Cooper, C. (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 12/09/23 - 07/01/27, £4,436.00
Public Involvement and Co-production in Research Suite of modules, Brandon, T. (Principal Investigator), Cooper, C. (Co Investigator), Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, 01/06/23 - 31/05/24, £100,000.00
Building and Evidencing Community Asset Partnerships in Housing and Health to address Health Disparities in North East North Cumbria, Lhussier, M. (Principal Investigator), Cooper, C. (Co Investigator), UK Research and Innovation, 01/11/22 - 31/07/23, £195,356.00

PGR Supervision

Kelly Grimshaw Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Social Work Support for Mothers Experiencing Domestic Abuse in North East England Start Date: 01/10/2025
Lydia Shrimpton Exploring women's experiences of housing and home after prison Start Date: 01/05/2025
Robin Hyde ??Exploring an Advanced Practice programme for children and young people’s healthcare delivery: a realist evaluation Start Date: 10/10/2025 End Date: 01/06/2026
Natalie Collins What if women subjected to abuse were seen as badass instead of broken? Start Date: 01/10/2025