Staff profile

Sophie is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University, leading a Cochrane review on Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2-4 years. Prior to this Sophie completed her PhD in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University, funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research (NIHR SPHR) through Fuse the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health. During her PhD Sophie examined options for the measurement of movement behaviour (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep) of pre-school aged children at scale. Read more about Sophie's PhD research on her NIHR SPHR profile. Sophie has a MSc in Health Psychology from Staffordshire University and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Liverpool.

Follow Sophie on Twitter: @SophMPhillips

Research

Sophie’s research interests centre on the public health priority of improving child health early in life. Sophie’s research primarily focuses on movement behaviour (physical activity, play, sedentary behaviour, and sleep) in the early years, including examining the quality of measurement tools used to assess these behaviours and exploring the effectiveness of interventions for healthy growth and development, including through outdoor nature-based play. Sophie’s research has a consideration of health inequalities embedded throughout.

Teaching Areas

Sophie has taught on the following modules within the Department since 2018:

• Introduction to Physical Activity, Diet and Health
• Introduction to Sport and Exercise Industries 
• Contemporary Research Methods for Sport and Exercise Sciences

Sophie has also delivered Supported Progression and Sutton Trust residentials at the university and has worked at science outreach festivals.

• 2018:
  • British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology, Best MSc Health Psychology Research Project Prize
  :
  • British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology, Best MSc Health Psychology Research Project Prize

Journal Article

• Muir, C., Adams, E. A., Evans, V., Geijer-Simpson, E., Kaner, E., Phillips, S. M., …McGovern, R. (2023). A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies Exploring Lived Experiences, Perceived Impact, and Coping Strategies of Children and Young People Whose Parents Use Substances. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 24(5), 3629-3646. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221134297
• Phillips, S. M., Summerbell, C., Hesketh, K. R., Saxena, S., & Hillier-Brown, F. C. (2023). Co-design and content validity of the movement measurement in the early years (MoveMEY) tool for assessing movement behaviour of pre-school aged children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20, Article 95. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01486-2
• Moore, T. H., Phillips, S., Heslehurst, N., Hodder, R. K., Dawson, S., Gao, Y., …Summerbell, C. D. (2022). Interventions to prevent obesity in children under 2 years old. Cochrane Library, 2022(11), Article CD015324. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd015324
• Phillips, S. M., Summerbell, C., Hesketh, K. R., Saxena, S., & Hillier-Brown, F. C. (2022). Parental Views on the Acceptability and Feasibility of Measurement Tools Used to Assess Movement Behaviour of Pre-School Children: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), Article 3733. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063733
• Moore, T. H., Phillips, S., Hodder, R. K., O'Brien, K. M., Hillier-Brown, F., Dawson, S., …Summerbell, C. D. (2022). Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years old . Cochrane Library, 2022(9), Article CD015326. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd015326
• Moore, T. H., Tomlinson, E., Spiga, F., Higgins, J. P., Gao, Y., Caldwell, D. M., …Summerbell, C. D. (2022). Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 5 to 11 years old. Cochrane Library, 2022(7), https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd015328
• Moore, T. H., Tomlinson, E., Spiga, F., Higgins, J. P., Gao, Y., Caldwell, D. M., …Summerbell, C. D. (2022). Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 12 to 18 years old . Cochrane Library, 2022(7), https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd015330
• Phillips, S. M., Summerbell, C., Hobbs, M., Hesketh, K. R., Saxena, S., Muir, C., & Hillier-Brown, F. C. (2021). A systematic review of the validity, reliability, and feasibility of measurement tools used to assess the physical activity and sedentary behaviour of pre-school aged children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01132-9
• Phillips, S. M., Summerbell, C., Ball, H. L., Hesketh, K. R., Saxena, S., & Hillier-Brown, F. C. (2021). The Validity, Reliability, and Feasibility of Measurement Tools Used to Assess Sleep of Pre-school Aged Children: A Systematic Rapid Review. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.770262
• Griffin, N., Phillips, S. M., Hillier‑Brown, F., Wistow, J., Fairbrother, H., Holding, E., …Summerbell, C. (2021). A critique of the English national policy from a social determinants of health perspective using a realist and problem representation approach: the ‘Childhood Obesity: a plan for action’ (2016, 2018, 2019). BMC Public Health, 21, Article 2284. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12364-6

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Phillips, S., & Mowbray, R. (2021). Working together to tackle inequalities and inactivity. [[Media unknown]]
• Phillips, S. (2021). ‘Let’s Get Little Ones Moving!’ Infographic of early years physical activity. [[Media unknown]]
• Phillips, S., & Mowbray, R. (2021). PhD researcher on secondment at County Durham Sport (January to March 2021) – Sophie Phillips (Durham University). [[Media unknown]]

Report

• Phillips, S. (2021). Early Years Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Report. [No known commissioning body]