Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Dr Ruth Cross
Course Director
Ruth is the Course Director for Health Promotion and has oversight of the suite of courses that the health promotion team deliver in the UK, online and overseas. Ruth is also Course Leader for the MSc Public Health Promotion (Ghana) and the BSc (Hons) Public Health (Zambia).
Ruth has a professional background in adult nursing. She has worked in acute and emergency medicine and specialised in HIV and Infectious Diseases. Ruth has lived and worked in Sub Saharan Africa and maintains an interest in the health issues of the region. Ruth has worked in Higher Education since 2003 designing, teaching and facilitating learning in health promotion and public health.
Current Teaching
Level 4: Introduction to Public Health and Health Promotion
Level 4: Introduction to Psychology
Level 5: Communicating Health
Level 6: Research and Practice Development
Level 7: Health Communication
Level 7: Programme Planning
Level 7: Public Health Promotion: Foundations
MSc dissertation supervision
PhD supervision
Research Interests
Ruth's PhD explored the social construction of risk in health by young women using a post-structuralist, feminist lens. Her research used in-depth interviews and Q methodology and considered the implications of the findings for health promotion policy and practice.
Ruth's current research in the Centre for Health Promotion Research focuses on evaluating interventions designed to support vulnerable young women and other marginalised populations (i.e. living with addiction/homeless). Findings from these evaluations inform policy and practice. Ruth has been involved in several different research projects with similar client groups. Her research interests include qualitative and creative methods of investigation, feminist and critical perspectives, and the relationship between theory and practice.
