Heidi previously worked for Teesside university on a qualitative project with Middlesbrough Council investigating inclusivity in local public health campaigns. Heidi was also Research Associate at Teesside University on an NENC NIHR ARC funded project evaluating the NHS TEWV Nutrition and BMI Clinical Link Pathway for people living with Severe Mental Illness and/or Learning Disabilities.
Heidi joined the BALM study at the University of York in 2022 and has since worked on MODS and BASIL+. She is currently working on the SCEPTRE and ESCAPE studies and also assists on animal human interaction studies.
She is in the final year of a funded PhD at Teesside University focussing on healthy weight management for people with severe mental illness in the context of the community mental health transformation plan.
Heidi is interested in the tailoring of mental health support and services to specific populations and in making public health information more inclusive and accessible to improve health literacy.
As an Association for Nutrition (AfN) registered nutritionist, Heidi is also interested in weight management and the obesogenic environment.
Stevens H, Smith J, Bussey L, Innerd A, McGeechan G, Fishburn S, Giles E. Weight management interventions for adults living with overweight or obesity and severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2023 Aug 14;130(3):536-552. doi: 10.1017/S0007114522003403. Epub 2022 Nov 3. PMID: 36325987; PMCID: PMC10331435.
Smith J, Stevens H, Lake AA, Teasdale S, Giles EL. Food insecurity in adults with severe mental illness: A systematic review with meta-analysis. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2024 Apr;31(2):133-151. doi: 10.1111/jpm.12969. Epub 2023 Aug 24. PMID: 37621069.
Giles EL, Stevens H, McGeechan GJ, Walker L, Pakunwanich N, Whittaker V, Smith J. Evaluating the nutrition and body mass index clinical link pathway in mental health and learning disability services: A mixed-methods study. PLoS One. 2024 Jun 13;19(6): e0303893. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303893. PMID: 38870198; PMCID: PMC11175514.
Shoesmith, EK, Hall, S, Sowden, AJ, Stevens, H, Pervin, JL, Riga, J, McMillan, D, Mills, D, Clarke, C, Wu, Q, Gibsone, S & Ratschen, E 2024, Dog-assisted interventions for children and adults with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions: a systematic review, British Journal of Psychiatry.
Shoesmith, E., Stevens, H., Gibsone, S., Miles, C., Beal, H., Jennings, K., & Ratschen, E. (2025). Supporting Families to ‘Make the Most’ of the Relationship Between Their Companion Dogs and Their Children with Autism Spectrum Condition: A Qualitative Exploration of the Family Dog Service. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 162.