
Dr Beki Langford
BA, Masters, PhD
Expertise
My research focuses on what helps children and young people thrive. I explore how support in early years settings, schools and communities can improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities.
Current positions
Senior Lecturer
Applied Health Research
Contact
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Biography
Since then, Beki has built a career in public health research, working on a diverse range of projects involving children, young people and families across the UK. Her work has explored topics including physical activity, nutrition, smoking, sexual health, obesity and mental health, primarily using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches. She is particularly interested in understanding how services, interventions and everyday environments can support children to thrive, especially in early years and educational settings. Her research is driven by a commitment to improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities for children and families.
Research interests
Beki has a particular interest in early years provision and child health and wellbeing, as well as weight stigma and weight-related bullying, and how these experiences influence wellbeing, education and young people's life chances. She works on a wide range of projects examining the wider determinants of health and wellbeing, including research in Early Years settings (the EARLY study), parenting programmes (the COSIE study), the mental health impact of receiving debt advice through food banks, and the needs of children and young people who are not currently attending school.
She is also a member of the Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team (PHIRST), which provides timely and accessible evaluations of local authority public health interventions.
Beki teaches on Bristol Medical School's Master's in Public Health, the undergraduate medical programme, and contributes to the School's short courses on Co-design, Co-production and Participatory Action Research, as well as Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Communication and Skills Intervention with Fathers (COSIE): A feasibility study
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/01/2026 to 31/12/2027
Back to School: What young people, parents, carers and teachers think about COVID-19 measures in secondary schools
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
What we found and what this means
Concerns about COVID-19 risk at school were outweighed by the potential impacts of missing learning. Interviewees described a wide variety of school COVID-19 measures…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/06/2020 to 31/03/2021
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
25/03/2026An environmental physical activity and nutrition intervention in Early Childhood Education and Care settings
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
How public health practitioners in the UK are using parental guidance on talking to children about weight
BMJ Open
Involving community members in designing behavioural weight management programmes
BMC Public Health
The Value in Rapid, Multi-Site Team Ethnography for Understanding Context to Design Public Health Interventions
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Weight-related bullying in schools
BMC Public Health
Teaching
She currently teaches across Bristol Medical School's undergraduate medical and Master's in Public Health programmes, covering topics including health inequalities, public health intervention evaluation and public health communication.
Beki also contributes to professional development short courses on qualitative research methods and co-production, supervises Masters and PhD students and is an academic mentor on the South West Public Health Specialty Registrar training scheme.
Beki enjoys developing interactive and engaging learning experiences and has led the design of new modules and training programmes in areas including health promotion, leadership, co-production and participatory research methods. Her teaching is informed by her active research portfolio and a commitment to creating inclusive learning environments that encourage critical thinking, curiosity and the practical application of evidence to improve population health.




