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Dr Sebastian Potthoff

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

Dr Sebastian Potthoff is a Chartered Health Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Northumbria University whose research focuses on the intersection between Health Psychology and Implementation Science. He has a wealth of expertise in supporting the implementation of service innovations into health and social care practice.

He is recognised internationally as an expert in the psychology of habit and has published numerous papers and book chapters, exploring how the concept of ‘habit’ can be drawn on to understand and change the clinical behaviours of practitioners translating research into practice.

Currently, his work focuses on developing practical tools (e.g. I-STEM toolkit and ItFits-toolkit) to make theory more ‘usable’ for non-academic users who are implementing service innovations. He also leads research to further advance methods and tools to support comprehensive approaches to stakeholder engagement in implementation research and practice.

Sebastian has received over £5m of funding from prestigous funders including the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and The Health Foundation. He co-leads the Innovation and Implementation Research group at Northumbria University. He is a Head Editor of the Practical Health Psychology Blog, a Director at Open Digital Health, and a Training Lead for the Knowledge Mobilisation and Implementation Theme of the NIHR Applied Research Collaborative North East and North Cumbria.

Sebastian Potthoff

Campus Address

Room MBA012, Coach Lane Campus West,
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Challenging assumptions underlying physical activity promotion for health care professionals in Australia: A data-prompted interview study, Kwasnicka, D., Potthoff, S., Hagger, M., Vandelanotte, C., Rebar, A., Short, C., Crook, D., Gardner, B. 1 Apr 2024, In: Health Promotion Journal of Australia
  • How is tailored implementation undertaken using a self-guided toolkit? Qualitative study of the ItFits-toolkit in the ImpleMentAll project, Finch, T., Potthoff, S., May, C., Girling, M., Perkins, N., Vis, C., Bührmann, L., Etzelmueller, A., van Genugten, C., Schuurmans, J., Piera-Jiménez, J., Rapley, T. 11 Jul 2024, In: Implementation Science
  • Recommendations for implementing digital alcohol interventions in primary care: lessons learned from a Norwegian feasibility study, Potthoff, S., Brendryen, H., Bosnic, H., Njå, A., Finch, T., Lid, T. 11 Oct 2024, In: Frontiers in Health Services
  • Systematic review of applications and properties of the NoMAD instrument for assessing implementation outcomes: Study protocol, Finch, T., Bührmann, L., Potthoff, S., May, C., Gibson, B., Gumancik, J., Wilson-Dickson, O., Girling, M., Rapley, T. 17 Sep 2024, In: NIHR Open Research
  • Developing habit-based health behaviour change interventions: twenty-one questions to guide future research, Gardner, B., Arden, M., Brown, D., Eves, F., Green, J., Hamilton, K., Hankonen, N., Inauen, J., Keller, J., Kwasnicka, D., Labudek, S., Marien, H., Masaryk, R., McCleary, N., Mullan, B., Neter, E., Orbell, S., Potthoff, S., Lally, P. 3 Apr 2023, In: Psychology & Health
  • Effectiveness of Self-guided Tailored Implementation Strategies in Integrating and Embedding Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Routine Mental Health Care: Results of a Multicenter Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial, Vis, C., Schuurmans, J., Aouizerate, B., Atipei Craggs, M., Batterham, P., Bührmann, L., Calear, A., Cerga Pashoja, A., Christensen, H., Dozeman, E., Duedal Pedersen, C., Ebert, D., Etzelmueller, A., Fanaj, N., Finch, T., Hanssen, D., Hegerl, U., Hoogendoorn, A., Mathiasen, K., May, C., Meksi, A., Mustafa, S., O'Dea, B., Oehler, C., Piera-Jiménez, J., Potthoff, S., Qirjako, G., Rapley, T., Rosmalen, J., Sacco, Y., Samalin, L., Skjoth, M., Tarp, K., Titzler, I., Van der Eycken, E., van Genugten, C., Whitton, A., Zanalda, E., Smit, J., Riper, H. 3 Feb 2023, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research
  • The effect of COVID rehabilitation for ongoing symptoms Post HOSPitalisation with COVID-19 (PHOSP-R): protocol for a randomised parallel group controlled trial on behalf of the PHOSP consortium, Daynes, E., Baldwin, M., Greening, N., Yates, T., Bishop, N., Mills, G., Roberts, M., Hamrouni, M., Plekhanova, T., Vogiatzis, I., Echevarria, C., Nathu, R., Mcauley, H., Latimer, L., Glennie, J., Chambers, F., Penfold, R., Hume, E., Megaritis, D., Alexiou, C., Potthoff, S., Hogg, M., Haighton, C., Nichol, B., Leavy, O., Richardson, M., Elneima, O., Singapuri, A., Sereno, M., Saunders, R., Harris, V., Nolan, C., Bolton, C., Houchen-wolloff, L., Harrison, E., Lone, N., Quint, J., Chalmers, J., Ho, L., Horsley, A., Marks, M., Poinasamy, K., Ramen, B., Wain, L., Brightling, C., Man, W., Evans, R., Singh, S. 26 Jan 2023, In: Trials
  • Towards an Implementation‐STakeholder Engagement Model (I‐STEM) for improving health and social care services, Potthoff, S., Finch, T., Bührmann, L., Etzelmumller, A., van Genugten, C., Girling, M., May, C., Perkins, N., Vis, C., Rapley, T. 1 Oct 2023, In: Health Expectations
  • Validation of the German Normalisation Process Theory Measure G-NoMAD: translation, adaptation, and pilot testing, Freund, J., Piotrowski, A., Bührmann, L., Oehler, C., Titzler, I., Netter, A., Potthoff, S., Ebert, D., Finch, T., Köberlein-Neu, J., Etzelmüller, A. 16 Oct 2023, In: Implementation Science Communications
  • Changing healthcare professionals' non-reflective processes to improve the quality of care, Potthoff, S., Kwascinska, D., Avery, L., Finch, T., Gardner, B., Hankonen, N., Johnston, D., Johnston, M., Kok, G., Lally, P., Maniatopoulos, G., Marques, M., McCleary, N., Presseau, J., Rapley, T., Sanders, T., ten Hoor, G., Vale, L., Verplanken, B., Grimshaw, J. 1 Apr 2022, In: Social Science and Medicine

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Developing an NIHR Health and Social care Delivery Research (HSDR) national evaluation team: InterDisciplinary Evaluation of complex innovations in heAlth and Social care (IDEAS) Centre, Bate, A. (Principal Investigator), Potthoff, S. (Co Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/02/25 - 31/01/30, £3,028,752.00
  • Jay’s study: Developing tailored implementation of a personalised safety planning toolkit for adults experiencing self-harm and suicidality, Clibbens, N. (Principal Investigator), Potthoff, S. (Co Investigator), National Institute for Health Research, 01/09/24 - 02/03/26, £25,582.00
  • Alcohol and Drug Research - Contract Phase 2, Potthoff, S. (Principal Investigator), Stavanger University Hospital, 03/06/24 - 30/05/25, £27,241.00

Leah Bührmann Navigating implementation context in integrated health and social care: co-development of a toolkit for implementation practitioners Start Date: 01/05/2021

Sebastian has experience in supervising PhD and MD students in a broad range of topics in applied health research. Currently he is supervising two PhD students.

Current postgraduate supervision:

Leah Buhrmann - Translating research evidence into health and social care policy and practice: using best practice across an integrated health and social care system (North East and North Cumbria ARC) to co-develop and evaluate tools for knowledge mobilisers and implementers

Claire Leader - How does the discourse of National Governmental policy influence social practices around the management of wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives working in the National Health Service? 

Michealla Lincoln - How can university training and clinical supervision support low intensity practitioners to competently and confidently deliver and embed a Parent-led Cognitive Behavioural Therapy intervention and improve outcomes for children, young people, and families: a mixed methods study.

 

  • Education Certificate January 12 2021
  • Psychology PhD November 24 2017
  • Psychology MRes January 09 2013
  • Psychology BA August 31 2010
  • Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology, British Psychological Society CPsychol 2015


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