Coral Hanson
coral hanson

Dr Coral Hanson

Senior Research Fellow

Biography

With over 20 years of experience working in a public sector physical activity environment, Coral has worked as both a deliverer and manager of physical activity interventions for those with long-term conditions since 1995. She completed a part-time PhD at Durham University in 2017. This was a large-scale, pragmatic, mixed methods evaluation of a community based physical activity programme.

In January 2017, Coral joined Edinburgh Napier University as a researcher for a three year project examining barriers and facilitators to male participation in a community-based physical activity referral scheme (PARS). Her current research includes the development and implementation of a taxonomy for the reporting and evaluation of PARS, and the development and evaluation of digital solutions to support participants in a PARS. She is also involved in two atrial fibrillation studies: a feasibility randomized controlled trial aimed at increasing medication adherence among adults with atrial fibrillation using mobile health technology, and a realist evaluation of atrial fibrillation screening.

Themes

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Member of the Public Health Scotland National Physical Activity Referral Scheme Development Group

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Lead conference organiser: Cardiovascular Health Conference ‘A focus on physical activity interventions,' Edinburgh Napier University (November 2019)

 

Editorial Activity

  • Guest editor for a special edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • British Cardiovascular Society Travel Award
  • Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions Travel Award
  • Association of Commonwealth Universities Early Career Award
  • Mentee at the Emerging Leaders Mentor/Mentee Dinner, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand
  • British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Travel Award

 

Invited Speaker

  • 'A focus on those less likely to attend cardiac rehabilitation. Are we providing the right services?' British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Exercise Professional Group Day, Birmingham, UK
  • What works for whom in AF screening- a realist review, Arrhythmia Alliance Heart Rhythm Congress, Birmingham, UK
  • How do we know if physical activity referral systems work? European Society of Cardiology Congress, Barcelona, Spain
  • 'Referral and retention in cardiac rehabilitation services,' Irish Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation Conference, Johnstown, Ireland
  • 'Exercise Referral Schemes – Access, Adherence And Multi-morbidity.' British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Conference, Nottingham, UK
  • 'What happens after cardiac rehabilitation? Exercise referral schemes.' European Society of Cardiology EuroHeartCare 2018 Congress, Dublin, Ireland
  • 'Exercise referral: Lessons from the UK.' Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand 65th Annual Scientific Meeting Clinical and Preventative Cardiology Symposium, Perth, Australia
  • An evaluation of the efficacy of the exercise on referral scheme in Northumberland, UK: impact on physical activity and predictors of engagement; Northern Symposium for Sports Medicine 2012, Newcastle, UK

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professionals
  • International Society for Physical Activity and Health member
  • British Cardiovascular Society member
  • British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation member

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Public Health Scotland Physical Activity Referral Learning Exchange Presentation: 'The Physical Activity Referral Scheme Taxonomy - Getting Criteria Right,' Edinburgh, UK
  • NHS Scotland Exercise Referral Learning Exchange Presentation: 'A Taxonomy for Exercise Referral,' Edinburgh, UK

 

Research Degree External Examining

  • PhD examination University of Sydney
  • Professional Doctorate examination, Staffordshire University
  • PhD examination James Cook University
  • PhD examination Northumbria University
  • PhD examination University of Sydney

 

Reviewing

  • Reviewer European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
  • Reviewer BMC Public Health
  • Reviewer Health Promotion International
  • Reviewer Journal of Physical Activity and Health
  • Reviewer Scientific Reports
  • Reviewer BMJOpen
  • Reviewer npj Digital Medicine
  • Reviewer Health Education Journal

 

Visiting Positions

  • Visiting Researcher, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia

 

Date


48 results

Evaluation of the initial rollout of the physical activity referral standards policy in Scotland: a qualitative study

Journal Article
Hanson, C. L., Mchale, S., Neubeck, L., Dougall, N., & Kelly, P. (2025)
Evaluation of the initial rollout of the physical activity referral standards policy in Scotland: a qualitative study. BMJ Open, 15(1), Article e089723. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089723
Objectives: Physical activity referral schemes (PARS) allow healthcare professionals to refer patients for physical activity support. Evidence of effectiveness is equivocal. P...

Patient and public perspectives of involvement in cardiovascular research in Scotland, UK. A report of the NHS Research Scotland Heart Engagement And Research Talks

Journal Article
Mchale, S., Pearsons, A., Hanson, C., Mcauley, M., Simpson, M., Porteous, C., Irvine, V., Houston, R., Henderson, P., & Neubeck, L. (2025)
Patient and public perspectives of involvement in cardiovascular research in Scotland, UK. A report of the NHS Research Scotland Heart Engagement And Research Talks. British Journal of Cardiology, 32(1), https://doi.org/10.5837/bjc.2025.002
Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of global mortality, necessitating extensive research efforts. In Scotland, the NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cardiov...

Brain fog and spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a commentary

Journal Article
Neubeck, L., Pearsons, A., & Hanson, C. (2024)
Brain fog and spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a commentary. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 23(8), e175–e176. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvae109
This invited commentary refers to ‘Cognitive and physical fatigue—the experience and consequences of ‘brain fog’ after spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a qualitative st...

A narrative review of global and national physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines development processes - The GUidelines Standards (GUS) project

Journal Article
Milton, K., Hanson, C., Pearsons, A., Chou, R., & Stamatakis, E. (in press)
A narrative review of global and national physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines development processes - The GUidelines Standards (GUS) project. Preventive Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.107959
Background: Clinical and public health guidelines serve to direct clinical practice and policy, based on the best available evidence. The World Health Organization (WHO) and ...

Online information for Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) survivors and their families: a systematic appraisal of content and quality of websites

Journal Article
Weddell, J., Jawad, D., Buckley, T., Redfern, J., Mansur, Z., Elliott, N., …Gallagher, R. (2024)
Online information for Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) survivors and their families: a systematic appraisal of content and quality of websites. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 184, Article 105372
Background Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) survivors often seek information online. However, the quality and content of websites for SCAD survivors is uncertain....

Understanding for whom, under what conditions, and how an integrated approach to atrial fibrillation service delivery works: a realist review

Journal Article
Pearsons, A., Hanson, C., Hendriks, J., & Neubeck, L. (in press)
Understanding for whom, under what conditions, and how an integrated approach to atrial fibrillation service delivery works: a realist review. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Article zvad093. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvad093
Aims To understand for whom, under what conditions, and how an integrated approach to atrial fibrillation service delivery works (or does not work). Methods and Results A r...

The need for improved Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) care

Journal Article
Elliott, N., Pearsons, A., Hanson, C., & Neubeck, L. (2023)
The need for improved Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) care. British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 18(11), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjca.2023.0081
In this article, Natalie Elliot and colleagues discuss the need for improved care for patients who have experienced spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

A systematic review and narrative synthesis of physical activity referral schemes’ components

Journal Article
Mino, E., Hanson, C., Naber, I., Weissenfels, A., McHale, S., Saftig, J., …Geidl, W. (2023)
A systematic review and narrative synthesis of physical activity referral schemes’ components. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20, Article 140. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01518-x
Background: Physical activity referral schemes (PARS) are complex multicomponent interventions that represent a promising healthcare-based concept for physical activity (PA) p...

Completeness of intervention reporting in randomised trials of technology-enabled remote or hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation: A systematic review using the TIDieR framework

Journal Article
McGrath, A., McHale, S., Hanson, C. L., McClelland, C., & Hamilton, D. F. (in press)
Completeness of intervention reporting in randomised trials of technology-enabled remote or hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation: A systematic review using the TIDieR framework. Disability and Rehabilitation, https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2023.2274887
Background Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves clinical outcomes and quality of life. Technology-enabled delivery of remote cardiac rehabilitation is as effective...

What should all health professionals know about movement behaviour change? An international Delphi-based consensus statement

Journal Article
Alsop, T., Lehman, E., Brauer, S., Forbes, R., Hanson, C. L., Healy, G., …Gomersall, S. (2023)
What should all health professionals know about movement behaviour change? An international Delphi-based consensus statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(22), 1419-1427. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106870
Background: The World Health Organization has called for action to integrate physical activity promotion into healthcare settings. There is a lack of consensus on the competen...

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