Joseph Firth

Joseph Firth

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-2752

Personal profile

Overview

Dr Joseph Firth

Current Positions Held:

UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K.

Honorary Fellow, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.

Honorary Fellow, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, U.K.

 

Background:

Dr. Joseph Firth completed his PhD in the Division of Psychology and Mental Health at the University of Manchester, U.K and has a BSc (1st Hons) in Psychology from the University of Sheffield, U.K.

Dr Joseph Firth's current research primarily focuses on the use of digital technologies and physical health interventions for improving both physical and mental health outcomes in people living with mental illness.

 

Awards:

  • Clarivate™ World Highly Cited Researcher in Psychology / Psychiatry (for ranking in the top 0.1% for citations by field, globally) in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Awarded The USERN Laureate for Social Sciences in 2022, for research into digital tech & lifestyle medicine for mental health
  • Research.com 's #1 "Rising Star in Science" in the UK, across all fields in 2022
  • ExpertScape "World Expert" in Exercise, for ranking in the Top 10 researchers globally

 

Research & Impact:

  • Published >300 peer-reviewed articles in international research journals, including the top-ranked medical journals, such as The BMJ, American Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet Psychiatry, World Psychiatry, The New England Journal of Medicine, etc

  • Extensive media engagement, with first-author publications receiving coverage from >700 news outlets (including Times, Forbes, CNN, etc.) along with televised interviews on Sky News and BBC television.

  • Lead author of the  Lancet Commission on ‘Protecting Physical Health in People with Mental Illness’.

  • Member of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2020 Global Physical Activity Guidelines group, and co-author for the WHOs “2020 Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour”.


Dr. Firth's ongoing projects focus on developing and evaluating digital health interventions for helping young people with mental health conditions to engage in regular exercise, and to adopt healthy lifestyles. 

 

Select Publications

 

 

Firth, J., Siddiqi, N., Koyanagi, A., et al. 2019.
The Lancet Psychiatry Commission: a blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(8), 675-712.
[Link]

Firth, J., Solmi, M., Wootton, R. E., et al. 2020.
A meta‐review of “lifestyle psychiatry”: the role of exercise, smoking, diet and sleep in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. World Psychiatry, 19(3), 360-380.
[Link]

Torous J, Myrick K, Rauseo-Ricupero N, Firth J. 2020
Digital mental health and COVID-19: using technology today to accelerate the curve on access and quality tomorrow. JMIR mental health, 7(3), e18848.
[Link]

Bull FC, Al-Ansari S, Biddle S,...Firth J, et al. 2020.
World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451-1462.
[Link]

Firth, J., Torous J., Stubbs B, et al. 2024. 
From “online brains” to "online lives" : understanding the individualized impacts of internet use across psychological, cognitive, and social dimensions. World Psychiatry, 25 (1):119-129.
[Link]

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 1 - No Poverty
  • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Science, The University of Manchester

Award Date: 15 Dec 2017

Unknown, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, The University of Sheffield

Award Date: 1 Sept 2013

External positions

Honorary Fellow, Western Sydney University

Areas of expertise

  • R Medicine (General)
  • Digital Health
  • Physical Activity
  • Psychological Treatments
  • Mental health
  • mental health and wellbeing
  • RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
  • Psychiatry
  • RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
  • BF Psychology
  • RC1200 Sports Medicine
  • RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
  • ZA4450 Databases

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Christabel Pankhurst Institute
  • Healthier Futures

Keywords

  • Digital Health
  • Mental Health
  • Physical Activity
  • Nutrition
  • mHealth
  • Psychosis
  • Mental Illness
  • Exercise
  • eHealth
  • Multimorbidity
  • Syndemics
  • Mental Wellbeing

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  • Barriers and Facilitators to detection and treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in people with severe mental illnesses, qualitative interview study and referrer survey

    Faulkner, S., Firth, J., Shiers, D. & Kalucy, M., 4 Feb 2025, In: BMC Psychiatry. 25, 99 .

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Cannabis Use Disorder Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations and 5-Year Mortality

    Myran, D. T., Pugliese, M., McDonald, A. J., Xiao, J., Fischer, B., Finkelstein, Y., Tanuseputro, P., Firth, J., Pakpour, A., Hsu, C. W., Chang, W. C. & Solmi, M., 6 Feb 2025, In: JAMA Network Open. 8, 2, e2457852.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Collaborative outcomes study on health and functioning during infection times (COH-FIT): Insights on modifiable and non-modifiable risk and protective factors for wellbeing and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic from multivariable and network analyses

    Solmi, M., Thompson, T., Cortese, S., Estradé, A., Agorastos, A., Radua, J., Dragioti, E., Vancampfort, D., Thygesen, L. C., Aschauer, H., Schlögelhofer, M., Aschauer, E., Schneeberger, A., Huber, C. G., Hasler, G., Conus, P., Cuénod, K. Q. D., von Känel, R., Arrondo, G. & Fusar-Poli, P. & 191 others, Gorwood, P., Llorca, P. M., Krebs, M. O., Scanferla, E., Kishimoto, T., Rabbani, G., Skonieczna-Żydecka, K., Brambilla, P., Favaro, A., Takamiya, A., Zoccante, L., Colizzi, M., Bourgin, J., Kamiński, K., Moghadasin, M., Seedat, S., Matthews, E., Wells, J., Vassilopoulou, E., Gadelha, A., Su, K. P., Kwon, J. S., Kim, M., Papsuev, O., Manková, D., Boscutti, A., Gerunda, C., Saccon, D., Righi, E., Monaco, F., Croatto, G., Cereda, G., Demurtas, J., Brondino, N., Veronese, N., Enrico, P., Politi, P., Ciappolino, V., Pfennig, A., Bechdolf, A., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Kahl, K. G., Domschke, K., Bauer, M., Koutsouleris, N., Winter, S., Borgwardt, S., Bitter, I., Balazs, J., Czobor, P., Unoka, Z., Mavridis, D., Tsamakis, K., Bozikas, V. P., Tunvirachaisakul, C., Maes, M., Rungnirundorn, T., Supasitthumrong, T., Haque, A., Brunoni, A. R., Costardi, C. G., Schuch, F. B., Polanczyk, G., Luiz, J. M., Fonseca, L., Aparicio, L. V., Valvassori, S. S., Nordentoft, M., Vendsborg, P., Hoffmann, S. H., Sehli, J., Sartorius, N., Heuss, S., Guinart, D., Hamilton, J., Kane, J., Rubio, J., Sand, M., Koyanagi, A., Solanes, A., Andreu-Bernabeu, A., Cáceres, A. S. J., Arango, C., Díaz-Caneja, C. M., Hidalgo-Mazzei, D., Vieta, E., Gonzalez-Peñas, J., Fortea, L., Parellada, M., Fullana, M. A., Verdolini, N., Andrlíková, E., Janků, K., Millan, M. J., Honciuc, M., Moniuszko-Malinowska, A., Łoniewski, I., Samochowiec, J., Kiszkiel, Ł., Marlicz, M., Sowa, P., Marlicz, W., Spies, G., Stubbs, B., Firth, J., Sullivan, S., Darcin, A. E., Aksu, H., Dilbaz, N., Noyan, O., Kitazawa, M., Kurokawa, S., Tazawa, Y., Anselmi, A., Cracco, C., Machado, A. I., Estrade, N., De Leo, D., Curtis, J., Berk, M., Carvalho, A. F., Ward, P., Rosenbaum, S., Marx, W., Horodnic, A. V., Oprea, L., Alexinschi, O., Ifteni, P., Turliuc, S., Ciuhodaru, T., Bolos, A., Matei, V., Nieman, D. H., Sommer, I., van Os, J., van Amelsvoort, T., Sun, C. F., Guu, T. W., Jiao, C., Zhang, J., Fan, J., Zou, L., Yu, X., Chi, X., de Timary, P., van Winkel, R., Ng, B., Peña de León, E., Arellano, R., Roman, R., Sanchez, T., Movina, L., Morgado, P., Brissos, S., Aizberg, O., Mosina, A., Krinitski, D., Mugisha, J., Sadeghi-Bahmani, D., Sheybani, F., Sadeghi, M., Hadi, S., Brand, S., Errazuriz, A., Crossley, N., Ristic, D. I., López-Jaramillo, C., Efthymiou, D., Kuttichira, P., Kallivayalil, R. A., Javed, A., Afridi, M. I., James, B., Seb-Akahomen, O. J., Fiedorowicz, J., Daskalakis, J., Yatham, L. N., Okasha, T., Dahdouh, A., Tiihonen, J., Shin, J. I., Lee, J., Mhalla, A., Gaha, L., Brahim, T., Altynbekov, K., Negay, N., Nurmagambetova, S., Jamei, Y. A., Weiser, M. & Correll, C. U., 1 Jan 2025, In: European Neuropsychopharmacology. 90, p. 1-15 15 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Effectiveness of Digital Lifestyle Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    Brinsley, J., O'Connor, E. J., Singh, B., McKeon, G., Curtis, R., Ferguson, T., Gosse, G., Willems, I., Marent, P.-J., Szeto, K., Firth, J. & Maher, C., 20 Mar 2025, In: JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH. 27, p. e56975

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Exercise as a transdiagnostic intervention for improving mental health: An umbrella review

    Solmi, M., Basadonne, I., Bodini, L., Rosenbaum, S., Schuch, F. B., Smith, L., Stubbs, B., Firth, J., Vancampfort, D., Ashdown-Franks, G., Carvalho, A. F., Radua, J., Fusar-Poli, L., Correll, C. U. & Fusar-Poli, P., Apr 2025, In: Journal of Psychiatric Research. 184, p. 91-101 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

    Open Access
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