David’s research interests focus on interventions that aim to improve physical health and psychological wellbeing in adults with long-term conditions and disabilities. He is currently module leader for several undergraduate modules, including Cognitive Psychology and Advanced Experimental Design and Analysis, is the Lead Academic Tutor for Psychology, and Butler Court Hall Warden.
David studied within the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, graduating in 2008 with a BSc in Applied Psychology. As part of his undergraduate degree, he completed a one-year professional placement at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL Institute of Child Health. David then went on to complete an MSc (2009) and PhD (2013) at Cardiff. His PhD, funded by the Economic & Social Research Council, explored how different modes of speech interact in verbal short-term memory.
David has also worked as a Research Associate (2012-15) at the MRC Institute of Hearing Research, and a Research Fellow (2015-18) within the Hearing Loss theme at the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre. David has been involved in the development and evaluation of digital interventions for hearing loss, underpinned by contemporary models of health behaviour change.
David is undertaking research in the development and evaluation of interventions that aim to improve health outcomes in adults with long-term conditions and disabilities. He is particularly interested in evaluating the impact of mobile-enabled healthcare (or mHealth) on individual’s physical and psychological wellbeing, as well as overall quality of life.
He is currently the primary supervisor of the following Doctoral Researchers:
- Adam Dickinson – An evaluation of British Wheelchair Basketball’s Inspire a Generation programme.
- James Haley – Developing an intervention to improve physical activity in adults with spinal cord injury.
- Katie Clarkson – Self-management support for workers with long-term conditions and disabilities.
- Lynsey Speirs – Exploring physical and psychological wellbeing in in older adults with spinal cord injury.
- Tia Xiao – Developing an accessible tai chi programme to improve physical activity and reduce fall risk factors in older adults.
David is also a secondary supervisor for:
- Amy Jennison-Boyle – Investigating the relationship between differences in sensory processing and paranormal experiences.
- Gussi Philippou – Can the use of textiles engagement interventions be used as an effective model of treatment for dementia?
- Manisha Jain – The role of physical activity and technology in dementia risk reduction.
- Rachel Raymond – Mental health and coping strategies in young adults with a focus on hip-hop.
David welcomes enquiries from potential doctoral students, including those looking to self-fund or seek funding for their own project ideas.
Completed supervisions:
- Dr Maria Goodwin – Assessing the associations between hearing, health, and physical activity across the adult lifespan
- Dr Eithne Heffernan – The development of a self-report outcome measure to assess social participation restrictions in adults with hearing loss
David’s research has been financially supported by:
- British Wheelchair Basketball
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
- Rosetrees Trust
- UKRI
David is a member of the following societies:
- British Academy of Audiology
- British Psychological Society – Chartered Member and Division of Health Psychology (DHP)
- British Society of Audiology – Core member of the Adult Rehabilitation and Vice-chair of the Cognition and Hearing Special Interest Groups
- Experimental Psychology Society (EPS)
- UK Society of Behavioural Medicine (UKSBM) – Co-chair of the Older Adult Special Interest Group.
David has been an active member of the following conference organising committees:
- British Academy of Audiology Annual Conference (2018-present).
- British Society of Audiology Annual Conference (2019) and e-Conference (2018, 2020)
- The Fourth International Meeting on Internet & Audiology (2019).
David has peer reviewed for the following academic journals: American Journal of Audiology, BioMedical Engineering Online, BMJ Open, Ear and Hearing, Health Research Policy and Systems, International Journal of Audiology, Journal of Health Psychology, Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease, and Trends in Hearing.