Professor Barry Gibson

PhD, MMedSci, BSc (Hons), SFHEA

School of Clinical Dentistry

Professor in Medical Sociology

Person-centred and Population Oral Health Research Group Lead

b.j.gibson@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9322

19 Claremont Crescent

Full contact details

Professor Barry Gibson
School of Clinical Dentistry
19 Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA

Profile

I am a Professor in Medical Sociology who joined the University 2004 when I set up and then led on the Masters in Dental Public Health in the Department. To date I have supervised 19 PhD students to completion using a range of research approaches and methodologies in various disciplines (dentistry, sociology, nursing and public health). I previously worked at King's College Dental School in London. Have won the IADR Giddon Award for Distinguished Research in Behavioural Sciences three times. My research has been covered in the Guardian and the Sunday Times and I successfully publish across the disciplines with numerous papers in dentistry, public health and sociology.

I have a special interest in the on-going development of medical sociology, having established the British Sociological Association's Yorkshire Medical Sociology Group and now Co-Convene the Social Theory Study group for the British Sociological Association. I have been an Executive Member of the Behavioural, Epidemiological, and Health Services Research Group of the IADR. Am a founding member of the Coalition for Grounded Theory and the Critical Public Health Network.

Research interests

I am a medical sociologist working across disciplines in oral health dentistry and public health. My applied research involves drawing on sociological approaches to enable the placing of the voices of patients at the centre of oral and dental care. I seek to achieve this, along with others, through ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

The goal of this research is twofold: to improve the measurement of patient reported outcomes, and to describe patient perspectives and analyse their journeys through care. These findings are then used to advocate for change in the way patients are treated in dental services.

My current funded projects include working with Haleon exploring the everyday life of people living with removable dentures, alongside work to better understand the diagnostic journey to living with dentine hypersensitivity. The goal of this research is to place the needs of patients at the heart of dental services and consumer health. My publications in this field span clinical research, the sociology of health and illness and the sociology of consumption.

Current PhD students

Anna Beaven – Multimorbidity, diet and inequalities in health.

Chhaya Gupta – A multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis of dentine hypersensitivity.

Publications

Books

Gibson BJ & Hartman J (2014) Re-discovering Grounded Theory. Sage Publications Ltd.

Journal articles

Baker SR & Gibson BG (2014) Social oral epidemi(olog)2y where next: One small step or one giant leap?. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 42(6), 481-494.
Gibson BJ & Paul NR (2014) Differentiation and displacement: Unpicking the relationship between accounts of illness and social structure. Social Theory & Health, 12(3), 267-290. View this article in WRRO

Research group

PhD students

Najla Al Dossari, Mothers Agency and children’s oral health in Saudi Arabia Started March 2011 due 2014 Saudi Arabian Government Funded.
Joe Vere, “Evidence based medicine: Philosophy and Practice.” Started July 2011 due 2017 (PT).
Sarab Masoud, An Evaluation of Approaches to Oral Health Promotion for Children. Started – Libyan Government Funded. Started 2012.
Abdullah Alzahrani, Decision making, power and dental Implantology in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian Government Funded.
John Sedgwick A grounded theory study of decisions to undertake dialysis. (PT)
Rizwana Lala, Power and politics in Cosmetic Dentistry. (PT) Started 2014.
Ninu Rose Paul, A grounded theory study of the processes involved in orthognathic surgery. (FT) Started 2014.

Grants

I have contributed to over £2,303,391.00+ in grants and consultancy from Research Council Funding, Private Companies, Charities and various Government Departments.

2020–23: Australian Research Council Discovery Award, Social practices of oral health in Australian preschool children. £363,000.00 ($660,000 AU)
2019–23: Grantham Centre Scholarship, Sustainable futures in sugar production and consumption: a food justice approach £144,852.00
2018–19 :Glaxosmithkline, Gum health and oral health related Quality of Life £145,000.00
2015–16: Glaxosmithkline, The significance of the mouth in old age. Peter Robinson, Barry Gibson, Angus Wallis (Edinburgh) £117,000.00
2014–18: Shirley Glasstone Hughes Research Grant – REF: 002-2013. Do dental restorative materials containing plastics act as environmental pollutants? £164,605.00

Teaching interests: I am interested in teaching qualitative research methods, grounded theory as well as ethnography. My current teaching development include adjustments to the outreach programme at the School of Clinical Dentistry focusing on 'Being a Dentist'. I am also well known for an active style of lecturing on the sociology of health and illness to public health students.

Teaching activities: Professor Gibson teaches the sociology of health and illness to the undergraduate dental programme as well as to the Masters in Public Health (MPH and Masters in Dental Public Health (MDPH).

Professional activities and memberships

Member of

The British Sociological Association (BSA)
International Association of Dental Research (IADR)
Grounded Theory Coalition Critical Public Health Network

Consultancy

I have worked as a consultant for Oticon Denmark, GlaxoSmithKline, Department of Health, Ireland and can provide support, advice and data analysis on commercial data outputs.