Rowena Piers

Thesis title: Investigating socioeconomic inequalities in digital mental health among children and young people

Background

Having grown up in the Netherlands and Switzerland, I moved to Scotland in 2014 for university. In 2018, I graduated with a first class BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Glasgow. During my undergraduate studies, I was awarded a study abroad scholarship which enabled me to participate in a 12-month international exchange programme at the National University of Singapore. After which, I completed an Erasmus+ work placement at Humboldt University in Berlin where I worked as a research assistant in an EEG lab in the biological psychology department. In 2019, I graduated with an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology with distinction, from the University of Strathclyde, where I also worked as a research assistant in the Widening Access department. Later the same year, I started my PhD in Clinical Psychology here at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on digital mental health interventions for adolescents. My PhD is funded by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award scholarship. Alongside my PhD, I have also been working as a Postgraduate Tutor in the School of Health in Social Science, and I was awarded the Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy at the beginning of 2022.

Qualifications

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) (2022), Advance HE

PhD in Clinical Psychology (2019 - present), University of Edinburgh

MSc Research Methods in Psychology (Distinction) (2018 - 2019), University of Strathclyde 

BSc Psychology (First Class Honours) (2014 - 2018), University of Glasgow

Research summary

My PhD investigates social inequalities within digital mental health interventions and digital help-seeking, with a focus on child and adolescent mental health. Drawing from interdisciplinary research into intersectionality, health equity and digital inequalities, my research takes a mixed-methods approach, framing mental health equity as a matter of social justice.

 

Latest publication:

Piers, Williams & Sharpe (2022). "Can digital mental health interventions bridge the 'digital divide' for socioeconomically and digitally marginalised youth? A systematic review" published in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12620

Current research interests

Digital mental health, developmental psychology, health equity, socioeconomic disadvantage, mental health literacy, intersectionality, social justice, coproduction

Past research interests

Widening access (widening participation), human rights, altruism, student mental health, climate change

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

Digital Wellbeing Project: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/digital/

ConveRACEions: https://www.ed.ac.uk/health/events/converaceions

 

Conference details

MindTech Symposium 2021 (Online, December 2021) - Poster Presentation

  • Presentation: "Investigating digital inequalities and mental health help-seeking approaches among young people in the UK in the digital age of COVID-19: An ongoing mixed-methods research project"

DigiFest Digital Health & Care Scotland 2021 (Online, December 2021) - Poster Presentation

  • Presentation: "Investigating digital inequalities and mental health help-seeking approaches among young people in the UK in the digital age of COVID-19: An ongoing mixed-methods research project"

Social & Digital Change Symposium 2021: Living in Between: Digital Technology and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Online, University of Glasgow, September 2021) - Conference Paper Oral Presentation

  • Presentation: "Exploring the 'digital divide' in a pandemic that relies on digital research tools"

Moving the Centre 2021 (Online, August 2021) - Conference Paper Oral Presentation & Workshop

  • Presentation: "Hard-to-reach or easy-to-ignore? Why the language we use matters when working with marginalised communities"
  • Workshop: "ConveRACEions: Reflections on making space for conversations about racial (in)equality & social justice in academia"

University of Edinburgh School Health in Social Science Annual PGR Conference: Changing Times, Changing Minds (Online, May 2021) - Organiser & Presenter

  •  Conference Organiser & Presenter of the HiSS Annual Postgraduate Research Conference 2021, University of Edinburgh
  • "Digital Mental Health Interventions for socioeconomically marginalised youth: Reflections, misconceptions & future directions"

DigiFest Digital Health & Care Scotland 2020 (Online, December 2020) - Poster Presentation

  • "Is there an app for that? A systematic review of digital mental health interventions for socioeconomically marginalised youth"

MindTech Symposium 2020 (Online, December 2020) - Poster Presentation

  • "Is there an app for that? A systematic review of digital mental health interventions for socioeconomically marginalised youth"

NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Mental Health Annual Scientific Meeting (Online, November 2020) - Poster Presentation

  • "Is there an app for that? A systematic review of digital mental health interventions for socio-economically marginalised youth"

UoE School of Health in Social Science Annual Virtual PGR Conference (Online, September 2020) - Conference Paper Oral Presentation

  • "Is there an app for that? A systematic review of digital mental health interventions for socio-economically marginalised youth"

HELOA National Conference (Stratford-upon-Avon, January 2020) - Invited Speaker

  • Oral presentation and workshop: "Widening access to postgraduate study"

PsyPAG x ECPPF Workshop: Building Effective Research Dissemination Strategies (Glasgow, February 2019) - Organiser

  • Led the funding bid, organised and ran a full-day workshop and panel discussion on research dissemination strategies, as  co-chair of the ECPPF and in collaboration with PsyPAG and the University of Strathclyde.

BPS Scottish Undergraduate Conference (Glasgow, May 2018) - Conference Paper Oral Presentation

  • "Is altruism irrational? Attempts to answer the question rationally"

Invited speaker

HELOA National Conference (Stratford-upon-Avon, January 2020) - Invited Speaker

  • Oral presentation and workshop: "Widening access to postgraduate study"

Organiser

University of Edinburgh School Health in Social Science Annual PGR Conference: Changing Times, Changing Minds (Online, May 2021) - Organiser

  •  Conference Organiser & Presenter of the HiSS Annual Postgraduate Research Conference 2021, University of Edinburgh