Peter Coventry

Research Database

Peter is a Senior Lecturer in Health Services Research in the Department of Health Sciences and works in the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group. With Professor Piran White he is also the co-lead for the Environment and Health research theme at the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI).

Peter originally trained in sociology at the University of Leicester before moving to the University of Manchester to undertake a PhD in the history and sociology of medicine. While at Manchester he was awarded a MRC post-doctoral training fellowship during which he specialised in health services research and population health. He has over twenty years’ research experience with a focus on the development and evaluation of complex interventions for managing common mental health problems, especially in people with multiple long term conditions. This expertise extends to research with a focus on evaluating interventions to support self-management of physical health in people with serious mental illness. 

Since coming to York in 2016 Peter has developed a portfolio of research that centres on the relationship between environment and health. He has particular interests in the development and evaluation of nature-based solutions for mental and physical health, for example through green social prescribing. With partners in the NHS he is also developing work on how nature-based interventions can be tailored and delivered to support the mental health of children with special education needs and disabilities. As part of his YESI role he is developing a network with a focus on climate change and health, with particular interests on the impact of extreme weather events and health, including the global south. In addition to his role at YESI Peter also works with the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity to support PhD studies on biodiversity and health.

He has methodological expertise in qualitative research, experimental methods (e.g. randomised controlled trials), and evidence synthesis. He teaches across the Applied Health and Public Health masters programme in Health Sciences and also environmental governance in the Environment and Geography department. 

Websites:

Departmental profile: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/our-staff/peter-coventry/

Mental health and environment research webpage: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/mental-health/ourresearch/natural-environment/

Twitter: @Peteyc73