Skip to main content
Wolfson Institute of Population Health

Mrs Nicola Firman

Nicola

Health Data Scientist

Email: nicola.firman@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

I am a health data scientist and part-time PhD student in the REAL Child Health team, part of the Clinical Effectiveness Group in the Centre for Primary Care. My work focuses on using electronic health records to assess childhood obesity and its related health outcomes in an ethnically diverse child population in east London. To date, my work has included analyses of longitudinal data to establish whether there are ethnic patterns in parental concern about childhood obesity, understanding the implications of applying ethnic-specific BMI adjustments, and now focuses on understanding the morbidities and consultation patterns of children with obesity and their families in east London.

 

As well as childhood obesity, I have research interests in childhood immunisations, and have spent time researching inequalities in HPV and MMR vaccine uptake.

 

Prior to working at Queen Mary, I completed a BSc at the University of Southampton in Population and Geography, followed by an MSc in Demography and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in 2014.

Research

Research Interests:

Childhood obesity

Childhood immunisations

Electronic health records

Publications

Outstanding Publications: 

Firman N, Marszalek M, Gutierrez A, Homer K, Williams C, Harper G, Dostal I, Ahmed Z et al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on timeliness and equity of measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations in North East London: A longitudinal study using electronic health records. BMJ Open 12(12) 2022

10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066288

 

Firman N, Wilk M, Harper G, Dezateux C. Are children with obesity at school entry more likely to have a diagnosis of a musculoskeletal condition? Findings from a systematic review. BMJ Paediatrics Open 6(1) 2022

https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/6/1/e001528

 

Bedford H, Firman N, Waller J, Marlow L, Forster A, Dezateux C. Which young women are not being vaccinated against HPV? Cross-sectional analysis of a UK national cohort study Vaccine 39(40):5934-5939 2021 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X21010057?via%3Dihub

 

Firman N, Robson J, Ahmed Z, Boomla K, Dezateux C. Completeness and representativeness of body mass index in children's electronic general practice records: Linked cross-sectional study in an ethnically-diverse urban population in the United Kingdom Pediatric Obesity 16(8) 2021 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijpo.12772

 

Firman N, Boomla K, Hudda MT, Robson J, Whincup P, Dezateux C. Is child weight status correctly reported to parents? Cross-sectional analysis of National Child Measurement Programme data using ethnic-specific BMI adjustments. Journal of Public Health 2020 https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/42/4/e541/5706873

Back to top