Dr Harriet Hunt (She/her)

I research how evidence is used to make decisions in complex, real-world settings. I’m interested in what happens when evidence is uncertain, incomplete or contested - and how we can make it more useful to the people who need to act on it.

My work explores how different kinds of evidence and knowledge are brought together, what gets overlooked, and how research can better reflect what matters to people, including the public, professionals, and policymakers. I’m particularly interested in the gap between what research measures and what people actually need to know to help make decisions. My background is in epidemiology, psychology, and public health. I am experienced in evaluating health services and diagnostic tests, and I’m especially interested in how we decide what matters. Often, the things we measure in research aren't the same as what people actually care about. I try to bridge that gap - asking not just what the evidence shows, but who it's for, what's missing, and how we can improve the picture.

I work across disciplines with researchers, policymakers, practitioners, community organisations, and people with lived experience. Much of my work involves bringing different perspectives together to understand complex problems and develop evidence that is useful in practice.

I am based at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter. My current research includes the pan-European RESONATE project, exploring how natural environments can support health and wellbeing, and evaluation of the Green Social Prescribing Test & Learn Pilots in England.

Across my work, I am interested in the space between evidence and action; how we make good decisions when we do not have all the answers, and how research can be made more useful in the complex settings where those decisions have to be made.