Key details
Dr Vincent La Placa
Associate Professor of Public Health and Policy and Associate Head of Student Success for the School of Human Sciences
Dr Vincent La Placa joined the University in 2010 and specialises in global public health and wellbeing; design and implementation of health-related behaviour change segmentations; and social theory and research methodologies. He previously worked as a Research Consultant for the Department of Health (DH) [now DHSC], where he managed the qualitative strand of the "Healthy Foundations (HF) Life-stage Segmentation Model": one of the largest pieces of qualitative research funded by DH.
Dr La Placa, as Associate Professor of Public Health and Policy and Associate Head of the School for Student Success, is strategically responsible for maximising student academic outcomes and learning and teaching experiences across the School of Human Sciences; and has previously presented research on international student recruitment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Prior to this, he was a Research Manager for a leading UK student accommodation provider, where he designed strategic research and insight, to enhance the student experience of accommodation and its impact upon student outcomes.
Dr La Placa has presented research at a variety of national and international conferences and is also an Honorary Fellow of the Eurasia Teaching and Research Association (TERA). He co-edited the book, “Wellbeing: Policy and Practice”, with Anneyce Knight and Allan McNaught, published in 2014. He has recently co-edited the book, “Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health”, with Julia Morgan, published in 2023.
Posts held previously:
- 2009 - 2010, Research Consultant: Methodology and Policy, DH Social Marketing and Health-Related Behaviour Change (Department of Health) and a Sessional Lecturer in Social Science Research Methodology, Birkbeck College, University of London. Provided consultancy and management of the ‘Healthy Foundations (HF) Life-Stage Segmentation Model’ Qualitative Phase (immersion interviews and focus groups, preparing and writing policy interventions chapter of the qualitative report); management and development of the HF Synthetic Estimates Model (quantitative); management and development of HF Online Reporting Tool (data and methods); development of training toolkit for use in workshops to train healthcare professionals to use HF research and tools; facilitation of training/teaching workshops
- 2008 - 2010, Senior Research and Communications Manager: provided research and Consultancy around strategic development, communication, and research across Government Departments, including HM Revenues and Customs and Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
Responsibilities within the university
Associate Head of School for Student Success
Recognition
- 2022 June - Honorary Advisory Member of the Scholarly Social Science and Humanities Research Association (SSHRA)
- 2021 August - Honorary Fellow of the Eurasia Research Teaching and Education Research Association (TERA)
- 2021 August - Expert Reviewer for ESRC-funded T-AP Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World (RRR)
- 2021 April - Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
- 2018 September - Greenwich University Certificate in Academic Programme Leadership
- 2017 September - Member of the Institute of Leadership (IL)
Research / Scholarly interests
Impact of globalisation on health and wellbeing, welfare states and public policy; social theories and epistemologies, (particularly late modernity and capitalism, risk, and critical public health; research methods (quantitative and qualitative); and health-related behaviour change.
Recent publications
Article
Morgan, Julia and , La Placa, Vincent (2023), Loneliness is a major public health problem – and young people are bearing the brunt of it. The Conversation Trust. In: , , , . The Conversation Trust, The Conversation: 218391 ISSN: 2201-5639 (Print), (doi: https://theconversation.com/loneliness-is-a-major-public-health-problem-and-young-people-are-bearing-the-brunt-of-it-218391).
La Placa, Vincent , Reiss, Lisa-Marie, Morgan, Julia, Jeavons, Charlotte (2023), Perceptions of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and health messages among undergraduate students. Nova Science Publishers. In: , , , . Nova Science Publishers, International Public Health Journal, 15 (2) . pp. 187-196 1947-4989 (Online) (doi: https://novapublishers.com/shop/volume-15-issue-2-2023-international-public-health-journal/).
La Placa, Vincent and , Knight, Anneyce (2017), The emergence of wellbeing in late modern capitalism: Theory, research and policy responses. Redfame Publishing. In: , , , . Redfame Publishing, International Journal of Social Science Studies, 5 (3) ISSN: 2324-8033 (Print), 2324-8041 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v5i3.2207).
Book section
La Placa, Vincent and , (2025), Towards a definitional framework of wellbeing in health and social care research, policy, and practice. Routledge. In: , , In: Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608-5) NB Item availability restricted.
La Placa, Vincent and , Hackett, Lotta (2025), Theories of social policy and welfare states. Routledge. In: , , In: Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608-3) NB Item availability restricted.
Morgan, Julia and , La Placa, Vincent (2025), Conclusion: Comparative perspectives on health and social care policy and practice across OECD countries. Routledge. In: , , In: Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608-20) NB Item availability restricted.
Morgan, Julia and , La Placa, Vincent (2025), Introduction. Routledge. In: , , In: Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608-2) NB Item availability restricted.
Morgan, Julia and , La Placa, Vincent (2025), Loneliness. Routledge. In: , , In: Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608-19) NB Item availability restricted.
La Placa, Vincent and , Knight, Anneyce (2022), Globalisation and global public health. Routledge. In: , , In: Vincent La Placa, Julia Morgan (eds.), Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health. Routledge, London , 1st (1st) . pp. 17-28 . ISBN: 9780367652098 (doi: https://www.routledge.com/Social-Science-Perspectives-on-Global-Public-Health/Placa-Morgan/p/book/9780367652098).
La Placa, Vincent and , Morgan, Julia (2022), Public health, theory, and application to policy and practice. Routledge. In: , , In: Vincent La Placa, Julia Morgan (eds.), Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health. Routledge, London , 1st (1st) . pp. 5-17 . ISBN: 9780367652098 (doi: https://www.routledge.com/Social-Science-Perspectives-on-Global-Public-Health/Placa-Morgan/p/book/9780367652098).
La Placa, Vincent and , Morgan, Julia (2022), The social construction of loneliness and global public health. Routledge. In: , , In: Vincent La Placa, Julia Morgan (eds.), Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health. Routledge, London , 1st (1st) . pp. 189-198 . ISBN: 9780367652098 (doi: https://www.routledge.com/Social-Science-Perspectives-on-Global-Public-Health/Placa-Morgan/p/book/9780367652098).
Edited book
Morgan, Julia and , La Placa, Vincent (2025), Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group. In: , , , . Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781032381237; 9781003343608 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003343608).
La Placa, Vincent and , Morgan, Julia (2022), Social science perspectives on global public health. Routledge - Taylor & Francis. In: , , , . Routledge - Taylor & Francis, London (1st) . ISBN: 9780367652098; 9781003128373 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003128373).