Dr. Naomi Bartle

Naomi completed her Masters and PhD research at the University of Reading in 2010, studying mothers’ experiences of both breast- and bottle-feeding. This combined in-depth interviews with a Theory of Planned Behaviour survey in order to identify factors most associated with infant feeding decisions during pregnancy and at six weeks and six months postnatal.

Naomi moved to the Health Behaviour Research Centre, UCL in April 2010 where she analysed data from the Physical Exercise and Appetite in Children Study (PEACHES) - specifically investigating adiposity change in children between 7 and 11 years. Naomi also investigated the role of social norms for diet – investigating whether messages indicating high social norms for positive health behaviours could motivate people to eat more fruit and vegetables or make weight-loss attempts.

In June 2012 Naomi joined Coventry University in a joint role with the Primary Care Research Network in order to develop research in how to best support breastfeeding duration within primary care. Her work here has included the development of an app to support maintenance of breastfeeding which is currently being pilot tested in Coventry. Naomi has recently begun working on an MRC-funded project to develop an inclusive online intervention to support breastfeeding and safe bottle feeding.

• Bartle, N. C., Wallace, L.M., and Curtis, K. (2015) ‘Realising the potential for delivering health psychology interventions via smartphone ‘apps’: Consideration of equity, effectiveness and implementation’. Health Psychology Update 24(1).
• Higman W., Wallace L.M., Law S., Bartle N. C., and Blake K. (2015) 'Assessing clinicians’ knowledge and confidence to perform Kangaroo Care and Positive Touch in a Tertiary Neonatal Unit in England using the Neonatal Unit Clinician Assessment Tool (NUCAT)'. Journal of Neonatal Nursing 21(2), 72-82.
• Bartle, N. C., Hill, C., Webber, L., Van Jaarsveld, C.H.M., and Wardle, J. (2013) 'Emergence and persistence of overweight and obesity in 7-to 11-year-old children' Obesity Facts 6(5), 415-423.
• Lally, P., Cooke, L., McGowan, L., Croker, H., Bartle, N. C., and Wardle, J. (2012) 'Parents’ misperceptions of social norms for pre-school children’s snacking behaviour'. Public Health Nutrition 15(9), 1678-1682. 
• Lally, P., Bartle, N. C., and Wardle, J. (2011) 'Social norms and diet in adolescents'. Appetite 57 (3), 623-627.
• Andrew, N., and Harvey, K. (2011) 'Infant Feeding Choices: Experience, Self-Identity and Lifestyle'. Maternal and Child Nutrition 7(1), 48-60. 

• iFeed: User-centred development of an online and mobile phone intervention to support infant feeding choice and confidence to sustain breastfeeding and/or safe formula feeding: In order to improve public health we aim to improve the available information and behavioural support for infant feeding, and improve access to it via the web and smart phones since their use is becoming prolific. The main objective of this project is to develop a low cost, high reach intervention that can aid healthcare professionals in proactively delivering consistent, evidence based support to all mothers, in a format which is acceptable to all mothers, their partners and their clinicians, but particularly to those mothers least served by current services, without adding considerably to staff workload. Within this project we will:
  1)     Conduct a needs assessment incorporating a review of existing smartphone and web-based interventions, and in-depth focus groups with clinicians, breastfeeding supporters and parents
  2)     Develop a prototype intervention specified in terms of behaviour change and technological components
  3)     Test the acceptability of the prototype intervention offered to parents alongside their usual care
• B-Skills: This project will test the acceptability of the app on two smartphone platforms (android and apple) which increases the potential reach of the intervention (it was previously only available for apple devices). The outcomes of this project will help to inform future funding applications to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of offering the app on a larger scale.