Professor Frank De Vocht
BSc, MSc, PhD
Expertise
Frank de Vocht has over 170 peer-review publications broadly covering the areas of public health, radiation epidemiology, and environmental and occupational epidemiology.
Current positions
Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and subsequently worked at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the Centre for Epidemiology/Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Manchester, before coming to Bristol.
Professor de Vocht is a Committee Member of the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), where he also Chairs the Electromagnetic Fields and Health Subcommittee. He is further a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands (Gezondheidsraad) and its Committee on the Identification of Environmental Health Hazards, the UK Society for Radiological Protection and its EMF & Optical Radiation Committee, and is one of the UK nominated members of the International Radiation Protection Association Non Ionising Radiation Task Group. He is also a member of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme Research Funding Committee.
Research interests
Frank de Vocht is a Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, and joined the Centre for Public Health, which is part of Population Health Sciences at Bristol Medical School in 2014. He is funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West).
He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and subsequently worked at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the Centre for Epidemiology/Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Manchester, before coming to Bristol.
He has over 120 peer-review publications broadly covering the areas of public health, exposure measurements and assessment, and radiation, environmental and occupational epidemiology. He has contributed to book chapters on epidemiology, exposure assessment and the effects of electromagnetic fields on humans. His work is funded by NIHR, the European Union and several charities, and he specializes in epidemiology of lifestyle, environmental, and occupational risk factors. His current research interests are two-fold: the evaluation of natural experiments in public health, specifically in the context of alcohol policies, and secondly the effects of ionising and non-ionizing radiation on human health.
Frank de Vocht is a Committee Member of the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) and of the EMF Committee of the Health Council of the Netherlands (Gezondheidsraad).
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
HEaLth IMpact Of E-bikes And E-scooTers: Baseline Data Collection
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Physical activity is important for physical and mental health. Walking or cycling between places is one way to be physically active. E-bikes are pedal bikes which have a battery to…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/08/2023 to 31/01/2024
PReCePT Programme Devolved Nations Extension Study
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Description
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the National PReCePT Programme to increase the uptake of the MgSO4 in English maternity units for the prevention of cerebral…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/01/2023 to 31/12/2023
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the physical activity of Year 6 children and their parents: Identifying scalable actions to mitigate adverse impacts and provide rapid evidence to policy makers
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Physical activity is important for health among children and their parents. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated social changes, such as the lockdown, have had a marked impact on physical…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/04/2021 to 30/06/2022
Maximising Wellbeing Living Everyday Life with Long-term conditions
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Developing and evaluating a care and support planning intervention for people with multimorbidity in primary careManaging organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/01/2019
Unity Sexual Health rapid STI testing, diagnostic and treatment service evaluation
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Sexual health services are facing financial constraints due to reduced local authority budgets. At the same time, there is increased demand for HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing. In…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/10/2017 to 30/09/2021
Thesis supervisions
Investigating the use of mentoring in improving the health, educational outcomes and employability of young people
Supervisors
The epidemiology of health and wellbeing in the workplace
Supervisors
Using a systems thinking approach to define, understand, and explore the commercial determinants of dietary behaviour and obesity in adolescence, a mixed methods study
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
30/01/2024Estimating the effectiveness of an enhanced ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) service addressing the wider determinants of mental health
BMJ Open
Evaluation of risks of cardiovascular disease from radiation exposure linked to computed tomography scans in the UK
Journal of Radiological Protection
Exploring parents’ physical activity motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Public Health Research
Physical activity interventions in European primary schools
Frontiers in Public Health
Public health engagement in alcohol licensing in England and Scotland
Public Health Research
Teaching
Related people
Professor Russ Jago
Professor of Physical Activity & Public Health
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Ruth Salway
Research Fellow
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Katie Breheny
Research Fellow in Health Economics
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Robert Walker
Senior Research Associate
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Danielle House
Senior Research Associate
Bristol Medical School (PHS)