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Dr Sebastian Potthoff

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

Dr Sebastian Potthoff is a Chartered Health Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Northumbria University whose research focuses on the intersection between Health Psychology and Implementation Science. He has a wealth of expertise in supporting the implementation of service innovations into health and social care practice. In 2023, he received a prestigious award for ‘Outstanding Translational Research Initiative’ by the Fuse Centre of Translational Research in Public Health for his contributions to implementation science.

He is recognised internationally as an expert in the psychology of habit and has published numerous papers and book chapters, exploring how the concept of ‘habit’ can be drawn on to understand and change the clinical behaviours of practitioners translating research into practice.

Currently, his work focuses on developing practical tools (e.g. ItFits-toolkit) to make theory more ‘usable’ for non-academic users who are implementing service innovations. He also leads research to further advance methods and tools to support comprehensive approaches to stakeholder engagement in implementation research and practice.

Sebastian is an active member of the European Health Psychology Society, a Head Editor of the Practical Health Psychology Blog, a Director of Open Digital Health, and a Training Lead for the Knowledge Mobilisation and Implementation Theme of the NIHR Applied Research Collaborative North East and North Cumbria. He is a Member of the Innovation and Implementation Research Group at Northumbria University.

Sebastian Potthoff

Campus Address

Room MBA012, Coach Lane Campus West,
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Challenging assumptions underlying physical activity promotion for health care professionals in Australia: A data-prompted interview study, Kwasnicka, D., Potthoff, S., Hagger, M., Vandelanotte, C., Rebar, A., Short, C., Crook, D., Gardner, B. 3 Aug 2023, In: Health Promotion Journal of Australia
  • Developing habit-based health behaviour change interventions: twenty-one questions to guide future research, Gardner, B., Arden, M., Brown, D., Eves, F., Green, J., Hamilton, K., Hankonen, N., Inauen, J., Keller, J., Kwasnicka, D., Labudek, S., Marien, H., Masaryk, R., McCleary, N., Mullan, B., Neter, E., Orbell, S., Potthoff, S., Lally, P. 3 Apr 2023, In: Psychology & Health
  • Effectiveness of Self-guided Tailored Implementation Strategies in Integrating and Embedding Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Routine Mental Health Care: Results of a Multicenter Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial, Vis, C., Schuurmans, J., Aouizerate, B., Atipei Craggs, M., Batterham, P., Bührmann, L., Calear, A., Cerga Pashoja, A., Christensen, H., Dozeman, E., Duedal Pedersen, C., Ebert, D., Etzelmueller, A., Fanaj, N., Finch, T., Hanssen, D., Hegerl, U., Hoogendoorn, A., Mathiasen, K., May, C., Meksi, A., Mustafa, S., O'Dea, B., Oehler, C., Piera-Jiménez, J., Potthoff, S., Qirjako, G., Rapley, T., Rosmalen, J., Sacco, Y., Samalin, L., Skjoth, M., Tarp, K., Titzler, I., Van der Eycken, E., van Genugten, C., Whitton, A., Zanalda, E., Smit, J., Riper, H. 3 Feb 2023, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research
  • The effect of COVID rehabilitation for ongoing symptoms Post HOSPitalisation with COVID-19 (PHOSP-R): protocol for a randomised parallel group controlled trial on behalf of the PHOSP consortium, Daynes, E., Baldwin, M., Greening, N., Yates, T., Bishop, N., Mills, G., Roberts, M., Hamrouni, M., Plekhanova, T., Vogiatzis, I., Echevarria, C., Nathu, R., Mcauley, H., Latimer, L., Glennie, J., Chambers, F., Penfold, R., Hume, E., Megaritis, D., Alexiou, C., Potthoff, S., Hogg, M., Haighton, C., Nichol, B., Leavy, O., Richardson, M., Elneima, O., Singapuri, A., Sereno, M., Saunders, R., Harris, V., Nolan, C., Bolton, C., Houchen-wolloff, L., Harrison, E., Lone, N., Quint, J., Chalmers, J., Ho, L., Horsley, A., Marks, M., Poinasamy, K., Ramen, B., Wain, L., Brightling, C., Man, W., Evans, R., Singh, S. 26 Jan 2023, In: Trials
  • Towards an Implementation‐STakeholder Engagement Model (I‐STEM) for improving health and social care services, Potthoff, S., Finch, T., Bührmann, L., Etzelmumller, A., van Genugten, C., Girling, M., May, C., Perkins, N., Vis, C., Rapley, T. 1 Oct 2023, In: Health Expectations
  • Validation of the German Normalisation Process Theory Measure G-NoMAD: translation, adaptation, and pilot testing, Freund, J., Piotrowski, A., Bührmann, L., Oehler, C., Titzler, I., Netter, A., Potthoff, S., Ebert, D., Finch, T., Köberlein-Neu, J., Etzelmüller, A. 16 Oct 2023, In: Implementation Science Communications
  • Changing healthcare professionals' non-reflective processes to improve the quality of care, Potthoff, S., Kwascinska, D., Avery, L., Finch, T., Gardner, B., Hankonen, N., Johnston, D., Johnston, M., Kok, G., Lally, P., Maniatopoulos, G., Marques, M., McCleary, N., Presseau, J., Rapley, T., Sanders, T., ten Hoor, G., Vale, L., Verplanken, B., Grimshaw, J. 1 Apr 2022, In: Social Science and Medicine
  • Conceptualising Four Categories of Behaviours: Implications for Implementation Strategies to Achieve Behaviour Change, Nilsen, P., Potthoff, S., Birken, S. 11 Jan 2022, In: Frontiers in Health Services
  • Enhancing the translation of health behaviour change research into practice: a selective conceptual review of the synergy between implementation science and health psychology, Presseau, J., Byrne-Davis, L., Hotham, S., Lorencatto, F., Potthoff, S., Atkinson, L., Bull, E., Dima, A., van Dongen, A., French, D., Hankonen, N., Hart, J., ten Hoor, G., Hudson, K., Kwasnicka, D., van Lieshout, S., McSharry, J., Olander, E., Powell, R., Toomey, E., Byrne, M. 2 Jan 2022, In: Health Psychology Review
  • Pragmatic approaches for addressing alcohol in general practice: Development of a tailored implementation intervention, Potthoff, S., O'Donnell, A., Karlsen, A., Brendryen, H., Lid, T. 17 Nov 2022, In: Frontiers in Health Services

Leah Bührmann Co-development of an implementation tool for knowledge mobilisers and implementers in the integrated health and social care system across the North East and North Cumbria Start Date: 01/05/2021

Sebastian has experience in supervising PhD and MD students in a broad range of topics in applied health research. Currently he is supervising two PhD students.

Current postgraduate supervision:

Leah Buhrmann - Translating research evidence into health and social care policy and practice: using best practice across an integrated health and social care system (North East and North Cumbria ARC) to co-develop and evaluate tools for knowledge mobilisers and implementers

Claire Leader - How does the discourse of National Governmental policy influence social practices around the management of wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives working in the National Health Service? 

  • Education Certificate January 12 2021
  • Psychology PhD November 24 2017
  • Psychology MRes January 09 2013
  • Psychology BA August 31 2010
  • Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology, British Psychological Society CPsychol 2015


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