Sara is the Programme Manager of the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub and works closely with the research team to develop and implement evaluations of community based projects delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme. Sara also leads the Community Engagement workstream of the Innovation Hub.

Her current work focuses on building capacity around evaluation and understanding engagement with and access to community based projects and services. Sara has a background in Psychology, gaining her PhD at the University of Leeds. She joined the Born in Bradford team in 2014 and since then her research has focused on exploring the determinants of health related behaviours and promoting healthier lifestyles for families and children using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Why you enjoy working at BiB

Working alongside Bradford families to help improve the health of our city

Favourite toy when you were a child

My Raleigh tricycle

Favourite pastime when not at work

Listening to music and going to see bands live

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Josie Dickerson, Sally Bridges, Kathryn Willan, Brian Kelly, Rachael H. Moss, Jennie Lister, Chandani Netkitsing, Amy L. Atkinson, Philippa K. Bird, Eleanora P. Uphoff, Dan Mason, Alex Newsham, Dagmar Waiblinger, Rifat Razaq, Sara Ahern, Maria Bryant, Sarah L. Blower, Kate E. Pickett, Rosemary M. McEachan, John Wright, (2022). Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) interventional birth cohort study: Interim cohort profile. Wellcome Open Research, 7(224),
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Lizzie Caperon ,Fiona Saville, Sara Ahern, (2022). Developing a socio-ecological model for community engagement in a health programme in an underserved urban area. PLOS ONE DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275092,
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Lizzie Caperon, Fiona Saville, Sara Ahern, (2022). Developing a socio-ecological model for community engagement in a health programme in an underserved urban area. PLOS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275092,
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Lizzie Caperon, Rosemary R C McEachan, Charlotte Endacott, Sara M Ahern, (2022). Evaluating Community Co-Design, Maintenance and Ownership of Green Spaces in Underserved Communities Using Participatory Research. JPRM, 3(1), DOI: 10.35844/001c.35632,
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Josie Dickerson, Philippa K. Bird, Maria Bryant, Nimarta Dharni, Sally Bridges, Kathryn Willan, Sara Ahern, Abigail Dunn, Dea Nielsen, Eleonora P. Uphoff, Tracey Bywater, Claudine Bowyer-Crane, Pinki Sahota, Neil Small, Michaela Howell, Gill Thornton, Kate E. Pickett, Rosemary R. C. McEachan, John Wright,, (2019). Integrating research and system-wide practice in public health: lessons learnt from Better Start Bradford. BMC Public Health DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6554-2,
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Nimarta Dharni, Josie Dickerson, Kathryn Willan, Sara Ahern, Abigail Dunn, Dea Nielsen, Eleonora Uphoff, Rosemary R C McEachan, Maria Bryant, (2019). Implementation evaluation of multiple complex early years interventions: an evaluation framework and study protocol. BMJ Open DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2019-000479,
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Preston, N., Magallon, S., Hill, L. Andrews, E., Ahern, S. & Mon-Williams, M., , (2016). A systematic review of high quality randomized controlled trials investigating motor skill programmes for children with developmental coordination disorder. Clinical Rehabilitation 1-4. DOI: 10.1177/0269215516661014,