Public Engagement
At the SPHSU, we are committed to improving public understanding of what we do and why it matters.
We engage a wide variety of non-academic audiences in our research including school children, teachers, health professionals, voluntary organisations, community groups, journalists and politicians.
By informing, listening and collaborating, we can make sure our research has a real impact on society. Sharing and exchanging knowledge and expertise can offer fresh perspectives, prompt behaviour change, improve practice and shape healthy public policy.
Our researchers have discussed their work in schools, the media, shopping centres, pubs, community centres, Glasgow Science Centre and the Scottish Parliament. As well as organising our own events, we regularly take part in annual festivals like Glasgow Science Festival, Festival of Social Science, Explorathon and Pint of Science.
We are always open to exploring new ways of involving people with our work. Explore below some of the fun and creative ways we have developed to share our work and discuss the impact our research can have on health and society.
For more information about our public engagement activities, please contact Gillian Bell (Engagement & Communications Manager).
Activities
Covid-19 online tool - how has the Covid-19 response influenced health and wellbeing across society? gla.ac.uk/covid19tool
I'm a public health researcher... - meet some of our team and find out the different paths they have taken to becoming public health researchers.
HealthyVille - identify all the features in this fictional town which make it a healthy place to live, work and visit.
Understanding Health Research – go beyond the headlines to understand published health research with this free, interactive, online tool.
www.understandinghealthresearch.org
Best Start in Life - explore the social influences on health and wellbeing by ranking the factors that will give baby Kirsty the best start in life (digital version coming soon).
Health and the City – build a healthier, safer city by implementing public health interventions and testing how effective they are with residents.
Enlighten your clock: How your body tells time - science-based comic book from the SCRAMS project on the biological clock and sleep. https://enlightenyourclock.org/
Sexy Science – complete the timeline by guessing which year advances in sex research, sexual health, equalities and rights took place.
Data Detective – find the clues, share and link data securely to help stop the spread of a mystery disease. https://datadetective.sphsu.gla.ac.uk/
Mountain Plot Jigsaw – put the pieces in the jigsaw to make a ‘mountain of inequality’. The mountain plot displays the contribution of different causes of death to inequalities across all ages.
Videos
Understanding the weight loss journey
PhD student Meigan Thomson was a finalist at the University of Glasgow's 2019 'Impact in 60 seconds' competition with her video Understanding the weight loss journey.
