Dr Abigail Stevely

BSc, MPH, PhD

School of Medicine and Population Health

Research Fellow

Abigail Stevely
Profile picture of Abigail Stevely
a.stevely@sheffield.ac.uk
G033, Regent Court (ScHARR)

Full contact details

Dr Abigail Stevely
School of Medicine and Population Health
G033
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
Profile

I am a Research Fellow in the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), holding degrees in biomedical sciences and public health from the ±¬ÁÏTV. I have worked at the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) since 2020 and held an NIHR SPHR Launching Fellowship from 2023 to 2025. 

Much of my work has focused on evaluating major policy interventions including minimum unit pricing in Scotland. I have also worked on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on drinking behaviour. My current research focuses on the 2023 Alcohol Duty reforms and the public health impact of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks.

My PhD thesis applied theories of practice to develop alcohol epidemiology and policy analysis. I used data on how people drink alcohol (e.g. drinking beer in a pub or relaxing on the sofa) to identify contexts associated with heavy alcohol consumption within drinking occasions and to evaluate the effects of the Licensing Act 2003.

Research interests

My research focuses on alcohol epidemiology, public health policy evaluation, and reducing health inequalities. I am interested in how complex social systems produce and interact with population health and inequalities, and in using this knowledge to inform intervention development, evaluation and refinement.

My recent projects have focused on changes in the clustering of health and wellbeing indicators among adolescents in high-income countries since the early 2000s, and the evaluation of major alcohol policies including minimum unit pricing in Scotland.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Stevely AK, Holmes J & Meier PS (2021) . Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 45(3), 630-637.
  • Stevely AK, Vocht F, Neves Lic RB, Holmes J & Meier PS (2021) . Addiction, 116(9), 2348-2359.
  • Holmes J, Beard E, Brown J, Brennan A, Meier PS, Michie S, Stevely AK, Webster L & Buykx PF (2020) . Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 74(11), 942-949.
  • Stevely AK, Holmes J, McNamara S & Meier PS (2020) . Drug and Alcohol Review, 39(4), 309-320.
  • McNamara S, Holmes J, Stevely AK & Tsuchiya A (2020) . The European Journal of Health Economics, 21(2), 275-285.
  • Stevely AK, Holmes J & Meier PS (2020) . Addiction, 115(2), 218-229.
  • Stevely AK, Buykx P, Brown J, Beard E, Michie S, Meier PS & Holmes J (2018) . BMC Public Health, 18.
  • Stevely A, Dimairo M, Todd S, Julious SA, Nicholl J, Hind D & Cooper CL (2015) . PLoS One, 10(11).

All publications

Journal articles

  • Powell K, Fenton L, McGill E, Nazir-Desforges S, Clowes M, Stevely AK, McQuire C, Hulls PM, Clarke ZL, Daly MP , Egan M et al (2026) . Health & Place, 97, 103574-103574.
  • Jackson SE, Brown J, Angus C, Stevely A, Opazo Breton M, Brose L, Wilson L & Holmes J (2025) . Addiction.
  • Hardie I, Marryat L, Murray A, King J, Okelo K, Fenton L, Stevely AK, Boardman JP, Lombardo MV, Stock SJ , Wood R et al (2025) . The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 101525-101525.
  • Buss V, Kale D, Oldham M, Shahab L, Stevely A, Kersbergen I & Brown J (2025) . BMJ Public Health, 3(2).
  • Moolla A, Holmes J, Wilson L, Brown J, Kersbergen I & Stevely A (2025) . International Journal of Drug Policy, 145.
  • Wilson L, Stevely AK, Kersbergen I, McGrane E, Moore EC, Pryce RE, Brown J & Holmes J (2025) . Addiction, 120(8), 1655-1665.
  • Vieira E, Taylor N, Stevely A, Pennay A, Raninen J, Holmes J, Vashishtha R & Livingston M (2025) . Addiction, 120(8), 1551-1570.
  • Meier PS, Holmes J, Stevely A, Boyd JE, Alava MH, Hardie I, Warde A & Sasso A (2025) . Drug and Alcohol Review, 44(1), 144-156.
  • Wilson LB, Bain M, Hernandez-Alava M, Holmes J, Pryce R, Sasso A, Stevely AK, Warde A & Meier PS (2025) . Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 86(1), 39-47.
  • Dunphy J, Vieira E, Stevely AK, Livingston M, Vashishtha R, Rivelin K & Holmes J (2025) . Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 32(1), 15-28.
  • Stevely A, Garnett C, Holmes J, Jones A, Dinu L & Oldham M (2024) . JMIR Formative Research, 8.
  • Morris D, Angus C, Gillespie D, Stevely A, Pryce R, Wilson L, Henney M, Meier P, Holmes J & Brennan A (2024) . The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e719-e728.
  • Oldham M, Okpako T, Leppin C, Garnett C, Dina L-M, Stevely A, Jones A & Holmes J (2024) . PLOS Digital Health, 3(8).
  • Stevely AK, Gray LA, Fairbrother H, Fenton L, Henney M, Kersbergen I & Holmes J (2024) . PLoS ONE, 19(6).
  • Holmes J, Sasso A, Hernández Alava M, Borges Neves R, Stevely AK, Warde A & Meier PS (2024) . International Journal of Drug Policy, 127.
  • Fenton L, Fairbrother H, Whitaker V, Henney M, Stevely AK & Holmes J (2024) . Drug and Alcohol Review, 43(3), 675-684.
  • Holmes J, Sasso A, Hernández Alava M, Stevely AK, Warde A, Angus C & Meier PS (2023) . SSM - Population Health, 24.
  • Stevely AK, Gray LA, Fairbrother H, Fenton L, Henney M & Holmes J (2023) . Preventive Medicine Reports, 36.
  • Stevely AK, Mackay D, Alava MH, Brennan A, Meier PS, Sasso A & Holmes J (2023) . Public Health, 220, 43-49.
  • Fenton L, Fairbrother H, Whitaker V, Henney M, Stevely A & Holmes J (2023) . Journal of Youth Studies, 27(7), 1006-1022.
  • Warde A, Sasso A, Holmes J, Hernandez Alava M, Stevely A & Meier P (2023) . Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 40(3), 301-318.
  • Holmes J, Sasso A, Alava MH, Neves RB, Stevely AK, Warde A & Meier PS (2022) . Lancet, 400 Suppl 1, S50.
  • Stevely A, Vashishtha R, Fairbrother H, Fenton L, Henney M, Livingston M & Holmes J (2022) . European Journal of Public Health, 32(3), 354-359.
  • Hardie I, Stevely AK, Sasso A, Meier PS & Holmes J (2022) . Addiction, 117(6), 1622-1639.
  • Holmes J, Angus C, Sasso A, Stevely A & Meier P (2021) . Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 82(5), 602-609.
  • Stevely AK, Holmes J & Meier PS (2021) . Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 45(3), 630-637.
  • Stevely AK, Vocht F, Neves Lic RB, Holmes J & Meier PS (2021) . Addiction, 116(9), 2348-2359.
  • Holmes J, Beard E, Brown J, Brennan A, Meier PS, Michie S, Stevely AK, Webster L & Buykx PF (2020) . Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 74(11), 942-949.
  • Holmes J, Beard E, Brown J, Brennan A, Kersbergen I, Meier PS, Michie S, Stevely AK & Buykx P (2020) . Public Health Research, 8(14).
  • Stevely AK, Holmes J, McNamara S & Meier PS (2020) . Drug and Alcohol Review, 39(4), 309-320.
  • McNamara S, Holmes J, Stevely AK & Tsuchiya A (2020) . The European Journal of Health Economics, 21(2), 275-285.
  • Stevely AK, Holmes J & Meier PS (2020) . Addiction, 115(2), 218-229.
  • Holmes J, Beard E, Brennan A, Brown J, Gillespie D, Meier PS, Michie S, Stevely AK, Webster L & Buykx P (2019) . The Lancet, 394, S54-S54.
  • Stevely AK, Buykx P, Brown J, Beard E, Michie S, Meier PS & Holmes J (2018) . BMC Public Health, 18.
  • Stevely A, Dimairo M, Todd S, Julious SA, Nicholl J, Hind D & Cooper CL (2015) . PLoS One, 10(11).
  • Doyle A, Stevely AK, Lyons S, McBride J, Riordan F & Holmes J () . HRB Open Research, 9, 15-15.

Conference proceedings

  • Stevely A, Holmes J, Sasso A, Alava MH, Warde A, Angus C & Meier P (2023) . SSM Annual Scientific Meeting (pp A27.2-A27)
  • Dimairo M, Stevely A, Todd S, Julious S, Nicholl J, Hind D & Cooper C (2015) . Trials, Vol. 16(Supp 2). Glasgow, UK, 16 November 2015 - 16 November 2015.

Reports

  • Wilson L, McGrane E, Angus C, Kersbergen I, Pryce R, Stevely A & Holmes J (2025)
  • Stevely A (2023)
  • Stevely A (2022) Evaluating the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing in Scotland on people who are drinking at harmful levels
  • Stevely AK, Sasso A, Alava MH & Holmes J (2021) Changes in alcohol consumption in Scotland during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: Descriptive analysis of repeat cross-sectional survey data

Preprints

  • Rousham O, Stevely AK & Holmes J (2025) , openRxiv.
  • Holmes J, Sasso A, Alava MH, Neves RB, Stevely AK, Warde A & Meier PS (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Stevely AK, Garnett C, Holmes J, Jones A, Dinu L & Oldham M (2023) , JMIR Publications Inc..
Grants
  • 2026-2028: Natural Experimental Evaluation of increasing the Minimum Unit Price for alcohol in Scotland to 65p (NEEMUP65). NIHR Public Health Research (£1.2m). Work-package lead and co-investigator.
  • 2024-2027: Reducing alcohol harms during a cost-of-living crisis: Evaluating the impact of alcohol duty reforms across Great Britain. NIHR Public Health Research (£2.0m). Work-package lead and co-investigator.
  • 2022-2026: Evaluating and responding to the public health impact of no and low alcohol drinks: A multi-method study of a complex intervention in a complex system. NIHR Public Health Research (£2.2m). Co-investigator.
  • 2023-2025: NIHR SPHR Launching Fellowship (£165K). Personal funding award.
  • 2022-2024: Developing contextually specific interventions to reduce alcohol consumption amongst increasing and higher-risk drinkers within the Drink Less App. MRC PHIND Research Grant (£135K). Co-investigator.
  • 2017-2020: NIHR SPHR Doctoral studentship. Personal funding award.