Mr Martin Anderson

  • Research Associate (MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit)

Biography

I graduated with a degree in Sociology from the University of Glasgow in 2015, then completed an MSc in Alcohol and Drug Studies in 2016. Subsequently, I was awarded a 1+3 year MRC studentship, completing a Master of Public Health in 2018 and a PhD in Social and Public Health Sciences in 2023. While writing up my PhD in 2021-22, I was employed as a Research Officer for Scottish Drugs Forum. Since December 2022, I have been employed as a Research Associate in the Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

More information can be found on my Google Scholar, ORCID, and Web of Science pages.

Research interests

My early research focused on the concept of 'recovery' from problem substance use, often exploring interventions that promote abstinent recovery, such as lived-experience recovery community organisations and residential rehabilitation settings. My MPH research explored social network transitions associated with participation in a recovery community organisation. My PhD research was an evaluation of a residential rehabilitation project providing people with vocational training and peer support.

As a Research Officer at Scottish Drugs Forum, I mainly worked on projects related to Take-Home Naloxone (THN) in Scotland. These included a prospective observational study of people provided with THN, an evaluation of a mass media campaign to increase awareness and uptake of THN, and a project to promote peer-to-peer Naloxone distribution. I also worked on a variety of applied evaluation and research projects related to topics such as the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards, staff burnout in treatment services, and international progress on drug decriminalisation. 

As a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, I have primarily worked on the Physical Activity, Social Connectedness, and Healthy Ageing (PACES) study. This represented an opportunity to expand into a broader range of public health issues and to develop expertise in transferable quantitative methodology. In this role, I have developed an interest in multilevel modelling and geospatial analyses, which I used to understand the association between people, places, and physical activity. 

I am a member of the advisory group for the Public Health Scotland evaluation of the Scottish Government residential rehabilitation programme. I am also on the advisory group of a PhD project engaging with people who use drugs to assess preferences on the design of Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs). I have continued to work with Scottish Drugs Forum in a consultancy role, primarily on an evaluation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2019
Number of items: 9.

2025

Kwasnicka, D., O’Gorman, A., Anderson, M. , Bowman, L. and McCann, M. (2025) A N-of-1 social network approach to study the social dynamics of alcohol consumption. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 13(1), 2465616. (doi: 10.1080/21642850.2025.2465616)

2024

Olsen, J. R. et al. (2024) Individual, social and area level factors associated with older people’s walking: analysis of an UK household panel study (Understanding Society). Social Science and Medicine, 358, 117083. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117083) (PMID:39226800)

Sumnall, H.R., Atkinson, A.M., Anderson, M. , McAuley, A. and Trayner, K.M.A. (2024) How to save a life: Public awareness of a national mass media take home naloxone campaign, and effects of exposure to campaign components on overdose knowledge and responses. International Journal of Drug Policy, 118, 104111. (doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104111) (PMID:37563039)

Trayner, K.M.A., Yeung, A., Sumnall, H.R., Anderson, M. , Glancy, M.E., Atkinson, A., Smith, M. and McAuley, A. (2024) National increase in the community supply of take‐home naloxone associated with a mass media campaign in Scotland: a segmented time series analysis. International Journal of Drug Policy, 131, 104106. (doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104106) (PMID:37563038)

Anderson, M. , Atkinson, A.M., McAuley, A., Sumnall, H.R., Glancy, M.E., Bloomfield, H.A. and Trayner, K.M.A. (2024) Assessing the reach and engagement with the “How To Save A Life” mass media campaign on drug-related death prevention in Scotland. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 31(5), pp. 524-533. (doi: 10.1080/09687637.2023.2262735) (PMID:39355306) (PMCID:PMC11441393)

2023

Anderson, M. , Long, E. and McCann, M. (2023) Social Network Characteristics Associated with Physical Activity in Adults Aged 55-75 Living in Two Deprived Communities in Scotland. 7th European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2023), Ljubljana, Slovenia, 04-08 Sep 2023.

2021

Anderson, M. , Devlin, A. M. , Pickering, L. , McCann, M. and Wight, D. (2021) 'It’s not 9 to 5 recovery': the role of a recovery community in producing social bonds that support recovery. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 28(5), pp. 475-485. (doi: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1933911) (PMID:34675456) (PMCID:PMC8522802)

Kwasnicka, D., Boroujerdi, M., O’Gorman, A., Anderson, M. , Craig, P. , Bowman, L. and McCann, M. (2021) An N-of-1 study of daily alcohol consumption following minimum unit pricing implementation in Scotland. Addiction, 116(7), pp. 1725-1733. (doi: 10.1111/add.15382) (PMID:33372333) (PMCID:PMC8248017)

2019

Anderson, M. , Devlin, A.M. , McCann, M. , Pickering, L. and Wight, D. (2019) It’s Not Nine-to-Five Recovery: How Recovery Communities Help Sustain Long-Term Recovery From Problem Alcohol and Other Drug Use. Faculty of Public Health (Scotland) Annual Conference, Dunblane, Scotland, 28-29 Nov 2019.

This list was generated on Sun Apr 27 00:40:10 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 9.

Articles

Kwasnicka, D., O’Gorman, A., Anderson, M. , Bowman, L. and McCann, M. (2025) A N-of-1 social network approach to study the social dynamics of alcohol consumption. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 13(1), 2465616. (doi: 10.1080/21642850.2025.2465616)

Olsen, J. R. et al. (2024) Individual, social and area level factors associated with older people’s walking: analysis of an UK household panel study (Understanding Society). Social Science and Medicine, 358, 117083. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117083) (PMID:39226800)

Sumnall, H.R., Atkinson, A.M., Anderson, M. , McAuley, A. and Trayner, K.M.A. (2024) How to save a life: Public awareness of a national mass media take home naloxone campaign, and effects of exposure to campaign components on overdose knowledge and responses. International Journal of Drug Policy, 118, 104111. (doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104111) (PMID:37563039)

Trayner, K.M.A., Yeung, A., Sumnall, H.R., Anderson, M. , Glancy, M.E., Atkinson, A., Smith, M. and McAuley, A. (2024) National increase in the community supply of take‐home naloxone associated with a mass media campaign in Scotland: a segmented time series analysis. International Journal of Drug Policy, 131, 104106. (doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104106) (PMID:37563038)

Anderson, M. , Atkinson, A.M., McAuley, A., Sumnall, H.R., Glancy, M.E., Bloomfield, H.A. and Trayner, K.M.A. (2024) Assessing the reach and engagement with the “How To Save A Life” mass media campaign on drug-related death prevention in Scotland. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 31(5), pp. 524-533. (doi: 10.1080/09687637.2023.2262735) (PMID:39355306) (PMCID:PMC11441393)

Anderson, M. , Devlin, A. M. , Pickering, L. , McCann, M. and Wight, D. (2021) 'It’s not 9 to 5 recovery': the role of a recovery community in producing social bonds that support recovery. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 28(5), pp. 475-485. (doi: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1933911) (PMID:34675456) (PMCID:PMC8522802)

Kwasnicka, D., Boroujerdi, M., O’Gorman, A., Anderson, M. , Craig, P. , Bowman, L. and McCann, M. (2021) An N-of-1 study of daily alcohol consumption following minimum unit pricing implementation in Scotland. Addiction, 116(7), pp. 1725-1733. (doi: 10.1111/add.15382) (PMID:33372333) (PMCID:PMC8248017)

Conference or Workshop Item

Anderson, M. , Long, E. and McCann, M. (2023) Social Network Characteristics Associated with Physical Activity in Adults Aged 55-75 Living in Two Deprived Communities in Scotland. 7th European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2023), Ljubljana, Slovenia, 04-08 Sep 2023.

Anderson, M. , Devlin, A.M. , McCann, M. , Pickering, L. and Wight, D. (2019) It’s Not Nine-to-Five Recovery: How Recovery Communities Help Sustain Long-Term Recovery From Problem Alcohol and Other Drug Use. Faculty of Public Health (Scotland) Annual Conference, Dunblane, Scotland, 28-29 Nov 2019.

This list was generated on Sun Apr 27 00:40:10 2025 BST.

Supervision

I am open to supervision enquires from Master's and PhD students interested in substance use research or evaluation of complex interventions relating to any public health topics.

I have a supervised MSc and MPH students to successful completion of their projects.

2024 - Chloe Bate, Msc Science Communication. Cocaine and other psychostimulant use in Scotland.

2023 - Anshika Das, Master of Public Health. School Influences on Loneliness. 

 

Teaching

I have developed course materials for the online Master of Public Health (MPH) and the Substance Use in a Contemporary World Microcredential, both delivered at the University of Glasgow. I have developed and delivered materials on a National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) training course, 'Introduction to Networks and Health Improvement'. I have delivered guest lectures on substance use for PgDip/MSc Contemporary Drug & Alcohol Studies at University of the West of Scotland and MSc/MRes Global Health course at the University of Glasgow.


Mr Martin Anderson on Bluesky