Dr Beck Taylor BMedSc, MBChB, MPH, FFPH, PhD

Beck Taylor

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Clinical Senior Lecturer
Honorary Consultant in Public Health

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 2848
Email
r.taylor.3@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@BeckTaylorBham
View my research portal
Address
Murray Learning Centre
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Beck is a Clinical Senior Lecturer working on the Maternity Theme of the NIHR West Midlands ARC programme. She is also an Honorary Consultant at Public Health England. Her research focuses on evaluating maternity services and policy, working in collaboration with women and staff. As a public health doctor she is trained to think at population and system-level. She has skills in qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation and evidence synthesis, designing research which matches the method to the research question.

Interests include:

  • Organisation and improvement of health systems, particularly in maternity.
  • The role of the workforce in health improvement, particularly the role of midwives, community health workers and paraprofessionals. 
  • Inequalities and health improvement in maternal and child health.

Qualifications

  • PhD 2016
  • FFPH 2015
  • Higher Education Academy Associate 2013
  • MPH 2007
  • MBChB 2003
  • BMedSc 2001

Biography

Beck qualified in medicine, working in a range of specialties before moving into clinical public health in roles across the East and West Midlands. She joined the University of Birmingham in 2009 to work on an NIHR-funded national evaluation, and undertake a doctorate focusing on the role of community health workers, alongside completing specialist training in public health.   

Since 2014 Beck has worked on Maternity Theme of the West Midlands NIHR CLAHRC and ARC programmes, working with maternity services, staff and women to improve services, outcomes and policy. She is also involved in a number of nationally-funded research projects. 

Her focus is on real-world evaluation and implementation of health improvement interventions, pathways and policies in complex health systems, including the use of rapid methods to deliver findings quickly.

Teaching

  • Medicine and Surgery MBChB
  • Public Health MPH/PG Dip/PG Cert
  • BMedSc Public Health and Population Sciences
  • MSc Health Care Policy and Management

Postgraduate supervision

Beck is available to supervise PhD students in areas related to her current research interests.

Research

Key research interests include maternity and child health, health service organisation and policy, and public health. 

Current/recent work includes:

- NIHR ARC projects to explore, evaluate and improve:

- Neonatal jaundice pathways

- 24-7 obstetrician presence on the labour ward

- Early postnatal discharge

- Midwife perspectives of continuity-based models of care

-Impact of COVID-19 on postnatal care

  • The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Assets-based feeding help Before and After birth (ABA-feed trial) (NIHR PHR)
  • Local Authority Research Systems: identifying the capacity and infrastructure needs of Birmingham City Council (NIHR PHR)
  • Tackling Multimorbidity at Scale MuM-PreDiCT (UKRI/NIHR)
  • Achieving closure?  Improving outcomes when care homes close. (NIHR Programme Grant)
  • Evaluation of policy-driven local transformation of maternity services (NHS-funded)

Other activities

  • Honorary consultant contract held with Public Health England (since 2017)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Jones, E, Casey, A, MacArthur, C, Coleman, T, Jankovic, J & Taylor, B 2026, 'Healthcare professionals’ experiences of supporting pregnant women with mental illness with their smoking behaviours: A qualitative study', Nicotine & Tobacco Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntag037

Glasby, J, Allen, K, Bennett, M, Douglass, T, Iqbal, A, Kinghorn, P, Needham, C, Plappert, H, Roberts, T, Skrybant, M, Smith, D, Tanner, D, Taylor, B, Topping, A, Ward, L & Zafar, S 2026, 'Improving outcomes when care homes close: NIHR Programme Grant multi-methods study', Programme Grants for Applied Research, vol. 14, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.3310/GJJG3821

Hanley, SJ, McCann, S, Lee, SI, Schoenaker, D, Singh, M, Moss, N, Nishshanka, NMCL, Vowles, Z, Plachcinski, R, Nirantharakumar, K, Black, M, Locock, L & Taylor, B 2026, '‘It Was a Bit of a Now or Never Situation’: Experiences of Preconception Care and Support for Women With Multiple Long‐Term Health Conditions', Health Expectations, vol. 29, no. 1, e70583. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70583

Jones, E, Taylor, B, Jyothish, D, MacArthur, C & Cummins, C 2026, 'Parents’ experiences of the time preceding infant admission to hospital within 4 weeks of birth: a qualitative interview study', Midwifery, vol. 155, 104727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2026.104727

Clarke, J, Thomson, G, Crossland, N, Dombrowski, S, Hoddinott, P, Ingram, J, Johnson , D, MacArthur, C, McKell, J, Moss, N, Sanders, J, Savory, N, Taylor, B, Jolly, K & the ABA-Feed Study Group 2025, 'ABA-feed infant feeding training for peer supporters and coordinators: development and mixed-methods evaluation', Maternal and Child Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70115

Clarke, J, Crossland, N, Dombrowski, S, Hoddinott, P, Ingram, J, Johnson , DJ, Jolly, K, MacArthur, C, McKell, J, Moss, N, Sanders, J, Savory, N, Taylor, B & Thomson, G 2025, 'Experiences of the ABA-Feed Infant Feeding Intervention: A Qualitative Study With Women, Peer Supporters and Coordinators', Maternal and Child Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70124

Jones, E, Quinn, L, Tanner, J-R, Jankovic, J, Berrisford, G, MacArthur, C & Taylor, B 2025, 'Prevalence and incidence of moderate and severe mental illness in the second postpartum year in England (1995–2020): a national retrospective cohort study using primary care data', The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, vol. 53, 101312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101312

Cockburn, N, Hammond, B, Gani, I, Cusworth, S, Acharya, A, Gokhale, K, Thayakaran, R, Crowe, F, Minhas, S, Smith, WP, Taylor, B, Nirantharakumar, K & Chandan, JS 2024, 'Automating incidence and prevalence analysis in open cohorts', BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 24, no. 1, 144. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-024-02266-7

Cross-Sudworth, F, Taylor, B & Kenyon, S 2024, 'Community postnatal care delivery in England since Covid-19: A qualitative study of midwifery leaders' perspectives and strategies', Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 240-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2023.10.006

Pritchett, RV, Rudge, G, Taylor, B, Cummins, C, Kenyon, S, Jones, E, Morad, S, MacArthur, C & Jolly, K 2024, 'Emergency maternal hospital readmissions in the postnatal period: A population-based cohort study', BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17955

UK Audit and Research Collaborative in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (UKARCOG) Members 2024, 'Induction of labour care in the UK: A cross-sectional survey of maternity units', PLoS ONE, vol. 19, no. 2, e0297857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297857

Hanley, SJ, McCann, S, Lee, SI, Vowles, Z, Plachcinski, R, Nirantharakumar, K, Black, M, Locock, L & Taylor, B 2024, 'Lost in the System: Responsibilisation and Burden for Women With Multiple Long‐Term Health Conditions During Pregnancy', Health Expectations, vol. 27, no. 3, e14104. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.14104

Daniel, K, Bousfield, J, Hocking, L, Jackson, L & Taylor, B 2024, 'Women's Health Hubs: A rapid mixed-methods evaluation', Health and Social Care Delivery Research, vol. 12, no. 30, pp. 1-138. https://doi.org/10.3310/JYFT5036

Lee, S, Hanley, S, VOWLES, Z, Plachcinski, R, Azcoaga-Lorenzo, A, Taylor, B, Nelson-Piercy, C, McCowan, C, O'Reilly, D, Hope, HF, Abel, KM, Eastwood, K-A, Locock, L, Singh, M, Moss, N, Brophy, S, Nirantharakumar, K, Thangaratinam, S & Black, M 2023, 'Key outcomes for reporting in studies of pregnant women with multiple long-term conditions and their children: a qualitative study', BMC pregnancy and childbirth, vol. 23, 551. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-05773-5

Macdonald, C, MacGregor, B, Hillman, S, MacArthur, C, Bick, D & Taylor, B 2023, 'Qualitative systematic review of general practitioners' (GPs') views and experiences of providing postnatal care', BMJ open, vol. 13, no. 4, e070005. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070005

View all publications in research portal