MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit

Changing places and mental health: do changes in perceptions of neighbourhood influence anxiety and depression in adults?

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 15:47:00 GMT

Mental health problems are a global issue. In 2013 over 615 million individuals suffered from anxiety and/or depression across the world, a rise of 50% since 1990. How people experience their local environment can impact on mental health. Living in areas that are perceived to have higher levels of neighbourhood problems such as poor housing quality, limited amounts of greenspace, industrial activity, and high traffic volume, has been linked to poorer mental health by some research studies.

Data, Government, and a Little Bit of Cake – My Internship Story

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 15:34:00 GMT

Unit PhD student Megan McMinn is in her third year of her postgraduate studies and recently worked at the Scottish Government as part of an internship organised through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. Megan explains her experience working alongside analysts working at the heart of government.

All the latest on health in Scotland

Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:28:00 BST

Are you curious about health in Scotland? Maybe you’d like to know how trendy vaping really is or wonder if teetotallers are a thing of the past. The latest Scottish Health Survey findings have just been published, providing answers to many such questions.

Post-school education: a large-scale behaviour-change intervention?

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 15:24:00 BST

Young people make life-changing decisions as they move from youth into adulthood. Often this means taking on new roles as employees, parents, or living with a partner. Over the past few decades more and more young people have been staying on in education after compulsory schooling and, of course, getting more young people into education continues to be declared as a policy goal.

The link between population health and health inequality

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:20:00 BST

Is life expectancy increasing? Is health inequality decreasing? These are fundamental questions for population health. It is thus natural to ask if life expectancy and inequality are related.

To understand place, sometimes you need to go places

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 15:16:00 BST

Blog by Dr Jon Olsen, Research Associate with the Neighbourhoods and Communities programme, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit.

Risky Business? The health of young people who are not in education, training, and employment

Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:12:00 GMT

It is now said that one in two people in Great Britain will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Half of us. A startling figure that refocuses efforts to address how and why people may engage in behaviours that could increase their risk of developing a form of the disease.

Does social class hold clues to patterns of smoking, drinking and psychiatric distress?

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:17:00 GMT

Blog by Dr Michael Green, Research Associate with the Measurement and Analysis of Socio-economic Inequalities in Health programme, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit

Being a PhD Student

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 13:51:00 GMT

At the start of the year many are considering the benefits of further study and embarking on a career in research. PhD Student Ian MacNeill, who has just completed his first year with the Unit, reflects on his experiences to offer some advice.