MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit

A new approach to improving youth mental public health – the TRIUMPH Network

Sat, 01 Dec 2018 14:12:00 GMT

One in eight children and young people experience mental health problems and the majority of these have onset before their mid-twenties. Yet, 70% of young people have not had the appropriate intervention that they need. We believe that there is a different, solution-focused approach - one that seeks to understand young people’s strengths, assets and resilience, which we can draw on to improve health.

Towards a Tobacco-Free Generation: Where Next?

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 10:31:00 GMT

In this blog, Dr Michael Green discusses the impacts of smoke-free public places legislation on inequalities in youth smoking uptake in the UK, and other MRC-funded work on the impacts of e-cigarettes on youth smoking.

Why aren’t today’s teens getting pregnant?

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 10:08:00 BST

Did you know that every year, fewer teenagers are getting pregnant? Across England, Wales and Scotland rates of teenage pregnancy have been dropping since about the turn of the millennium. Rates have halved amongst 15-17-year-olds, and dropped quite a bit even for older teenagers, who might not necessarily be avoiding getting pregnant.

Do people actually use the facilities in their home neighbourhood?

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:34:00 BST

This blog explores a key question in neighbourhood and health research: if there is a facility or amenity close to someone’s home, is it OK to assume they use it? Surprisingly, this assumption is at the heart of a lot of health and environment research.

What has science ever done for our sex lives? Exploring social science’s contribution to sex research at the Pint of Science festival

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 16:00:00 BST

When you research sex for a living, conversations in the pub often come around to your work. But recently we spent a night talking about sex in the pub, not just with a group of friends, but as part of a sold-out evening at the Pint of Science festival here in Glasgow.

PhD summer school experience – supportive, inspiring and most of all, fun

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 15:57:00 BST

Last month, along with a merry band of SPHSU PhD students, I attended the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) summer school. I am confident in speaking for us all by saying that we had a great time. Over the course of the week we took on board a wealth of information related to the PhD journey, both in terms of knowledge specific to each of our PhDs, and more broadly about the ups and downs of pursuing a PhD.

Policy, Research, and Internships – real world view

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 15:52:00 GMT

Two PhD students at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Lauren Elsie White and Karl Ferguson, recently spent three months with the Scottish Government. Both their internships focused on the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme in Scotland in which specially trained nurses work with first-time teenage mothers to develop their parenting capacity and support them to make positive choices for themselves and their children.