Dr Chandani Nekitsing

Academic biography

Biography

Dr Chandani Nekitsing has a background in Research and Health Psychology with extensive experience in health behaviour research across the lifespan, including work on mental health, human appetite, health screening, and the promotion of physical activity. She has been a Research Associate at the University of York since 2018.

Chandani is currently working on Developing Inclusive Volunteering in Heritage and Nature-Based Organisations: a mixed methods evaluation, a project aimed at improving access to inclusive volunteering opportunities within community settings.

She recently completed her contribution to an NIHR funded Community Navigator Trial looking at developing and testing a programme of support to increase community connections and reduce loneliness for people with long-term depression.

Previously, Chandani worked on a Born in Bradford project looking at inequalities in the identification and treatment of perinatal mental health in order to develop recommendations and adaptations to systems to address these inequalities. 

Chandani’s PhD at the University of Leeds (School of Psychology) looking at strategies to increase vegetable intake in the early years has led to publication of series of vegetable story books for young children.

Chandani is passionate about applied mental health research that has the potential to improve the lives of all individuals, particularly those who are underserved in our communities. Her work is driven by a strong belief that research should not only generate knowledge but also lead to practical, sustainable improvements in health and wellbeing. She is determined and committed to further developing her personal knowledge and skills, continually strengthening her expertise to ensure that high-quality, impactful research is both conducted and disseminated effectively. She is focused on ensuring that research findings are accessible, useful, and capable of informing real-world decision-making and service development.

Research

List of current research interests and projects

NIHR: Developing inclusive volunteering in heritage and nature-based organisations: a mixed methods evaluation

NIHR: Community Navigator Trial

Research team members

• Professor Martin Webber and others at Mental Health Social Care Research Centre, University of York
• Dr Beth Casey Mental, University of York
• Dr. Annette Bauer, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Dr. Stephanie Tierney, University of Oxford
• Professor Ailsa Cameron, University of Bristol
• Dr Bryn Lloyd-Evans (and others), University College London
• Professor Marion Hetherington, University of Leeds

Substantial research project public output

Chandani has contributed to a series of blog posts about the behind-the-scenes of conducting a randomised controlled trial.

A series of children’s vegetable story books have been published based on Chandani’s PhD research. 

Professional activities 

• Member of British Feeding and Drinking Group.
• Member of The Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology (SRIP).

PhD supervision interests

Chandani is able to co-supervise PhD projects looking at Health and Wellbeing (eg Behaviour Change, Healthy Eating, Perinatal Mental Health, Health Inequalities, Mental Health Intervention).