Professor Ellen Stewart
- Professor of Public Policy and Health (Urban Studies & Social Policy)
- Associate (School of Health & Wellbeing)
Biography
Ellen Stewart is a social scientist working at the intersection of medical sociology and health policy. She joined the University of Glasgow as Professor of Public Policy & Health in 2024, having previously been co-Director of the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Strathclyde (2021-2024), Chancellor's Fellow in the Centre for Biomedicine, Self & Society at the University of Edinburgh (2016-2021), Postdoctoral Fellow in the University of Edinburgh Medical School, and a Research Assistant in the University of St Andrews Medical School.
She is Editor of the journal Sociology of Health & Illness, an active member of the Social Policy Association, and a member of the Wellcome Trust's Advisory Group for Early Career Awards.
Research interests
Ellen's research explores how health systems accommodate and negotiate different forms of ‘lay’ and ‘expert’ knowledge, including demands for public engagement and for evidence-based policy. In 2023 her latest book How Britain Loves the NHS: practices of care and contestation was published by Policy Press.
Current research
- Co-leading a workstream on digital solutions for healthcare in Scottish prisons, within the Health-Justice Nexus, funded by the Chief Scientist Office
- Co-leading a workstream on Community Insights for the Policy Modelling for Health consortium, funded by UKRI
- Leading the contemporary work package of a Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award on charity in the NHS since 1948
- Collaborating with Strathclyde's Centre for Health Policy to run a series of witness seminars capturing key reforms in deveolved Scottish health policy
Research groups
Publications
Prior publications
Book Section
Ellen Stewart, Amit Desai, Giulia Zoccatelli (2023) Our NHS? The changing involvement of patients and the public in England's health and care system University of Strathclyde. ISBN 9781447368601
Ellen Stewart (2019) (De)politicising hospital closures in Scottish health policy 2000-2010 University of Strathclyde. ISBN 9781138232990
Article
Scott L Greer, Ellen Stewart, Angelo Ercia, Peter Donnelly (2021) Changing health care with, for, or against the public: an empirical investigation into the place of the public in health service reconfiguration Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/1355819620935148)
Sonja Erikainen, Ellen Stewart (2020) Credibility contests University of Strathclyde. (doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2020.592666)
(2020) Between a rock and a hard place: Comparing arms’ length bodies for public involvement in healthcare across the UK Ellen Stewart. ISSN 0168-8510 (doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.02.004)
Ellen Stewart (2019) A sociology of public responses to hospital change and closure Crossref. (doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12896)
Lorelei Jones, Alec Fraser, Ellen Stewart (2019) Exploring the neglected and hidden dimensions of large‐scale healthcare change Crossref. (doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12923)
Alice Spann, Ellen Stewart (2018) Barriers and facilitators of older people's mHealth usage University of Strathclyde. (doi: 10.17011/ht/urn.201811224834)
K.E. Smith, E.A. Stewart (2017) Academic advocacy in public health: Disciplinary ‘duty’ or political ‘propaganda’? Crossref. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.07.014)
Ellen Stewart, Ingrid Young, Sarah Cunningham-Burley (2017) NHS manifesto: the missing piece of the puzzle Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 0140-6736 (doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(17)31446-0)
Jane Farmer, Judy Taylor, Ellen Stewart, Amanda Kenny (2017) Citizen participation in health services co-production: a roadmap for navigating participation types and outcomes Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 1448-7527 (doi: 10.1071/py16133)
KATHERINE E. SMITH, ELLEN STEWART (2016) We Need to Talk about Impact: Why Social Policy Academics need to Engage with the UK's Research Impact Agenda Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 0047-2794 (doi: 10.1017/s0047279416000283)
Ellen Stewart, Katherine E Smith (2015) 'Black magic' and 'gold dust': the epistemic and political uses of evidence tools in public health policy making Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 1744-2648 (doi: 10.1332/174426415x14381786400158)
Ellen A. Stewart (2014) Seeking outsider perspectives in interpretive research: young adults and citizen participation in health policy Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 1946-0171 (doi: 10.1080/19460171.2014.951667)
SCOTT L. GREER, IAIN WILSON, ELLEN STEWART, PETER D. DONNELLY (2014) ‘DEMOCRATIZING’ PUBLIC SERVICES? REPRESENTATION AND ELECTIONS IN THE SCOTTISH NHS Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 0033-3298 (doi: 10.1111/padm.12101)
Scott L. Greer, Ellen A. Stewart, Iain Wilson, Peter D. Donnelly (2014) Victory for volunteerism? Scottish health board elections and participation in the welfare state Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 0277-9536 (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.053)
Ellen Stewart (2013) A mutual NHS? The emergence of distinctive public involvement policy in a devolved Scotland Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 0305-5736 (doi: 10.1332/030557312x655404)
Ellen Stewart (2013) What is the point of citizen participation in health care? Crossref Metadata Search. ISSN 1355-8196 (doi: 10.1177/1355819613485670)
Other
Ellen Stewart, Jennifer Smith-Merry, Justyna Bandola-Gill, Marc Geddes (2020) Opening up evidence-based policy University of Strathclyde. (doi: 10.1332/174426420X15838217456181)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Administering the System: Citizen Participation as Committee Work Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_3)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Electing the System: Citizen Participation as Representative Democracy Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_5)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Extending the System: Citizen Participation as Outreach Work Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_4)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Fighting the System: Citizen Participation as Protest Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_6)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Introducing Citizen Participation in Health Systems Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_1)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Playing the System: Citizen Participation as Subversive Service Use Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_7)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Rethinking Citizen Participation in Health Systems Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_8)
Ellen Stewart (2016) Scotland’s NHS: Citizen Participation and Mutuality in Scottish Health Policy Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9781349570201 (doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-46717-1_2)
Katherine Smith, Ellen Stewart, Peter Donnelly, Ben McKendrick (2015) Influencing policy with research—public health advocacy and health inequalities Crossref Metadata Search. ISBN 9780198703358 (doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198703358.003.0019)
Report
Ellen Stewart (2018) Involving the Public in Major Service Change in Scotland University of Strathclyde.
Grants
The Health-Justice Nexus: Crime and Justice as Social Determinants of Health in Scotland. Chief Scientist Office (2024-2028)
Policy Modelling for Health. UKRI (2024-2028)
Border Crossings: Charity and voluntarism in Britain's mixed economy of health care since 1948. Wellcome Trust (2020-2025)
System-science Informed Public Health and Economic Research for Non-communicable Disease Prevention (the SIPHER Consortium). UK Prevention Research Partnership (2019-2024)
Transforming Primary Care in Scotland and China to meet the needs of an ageing population - are health inequalities being tackled? ESRC (2020-2023)
Trends in Socio-Economic Determinants of Health Inequalities in Scotland. Health Foundation (2022-23)
"All the help we can get": contemporary public donations of money to Scotland's NHS. Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (2018-19)
Critical approaches to Public and Patient Involvement in Health Research. University of Edinburgh- University of Sydney Collaboration Scheme (2018-19)
Hospitals must close? a four system comparison of policy for constructive conversations on controversial service changes. Health Foundation (2016-2018)
Closing hospitals: an evaluation of knowledge use and public involvement in disinvestment proposals. Chief Scientist Office (2014-2018)
Supervision
I welcome PhD enquiries related to my research interests as described above.
Completed PhD students
- Dr Katie Hirono (University of Edinburgh): Comparing community engagement in Health Impact Assessments and Citizens' Juries in the UK and Australia.
- Dr Gabrielle King (University of Edinburgh): Exploring how people with Motor Neurone Disease engage with biomedical research.
- Dr Taina Meriluoto (University of Jyväskylä): Expertise-by-experience in the Finnish social welfare sector.
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2018: Cambridge University Press Award for Excellence in Social Policy Scholarship (Social Policy Association)
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2021: Wellcome Trust, Medical Humanities Early Career Advisory Group
- 2021: Science Foundation Ireland, Pathway Scheme AHSS panel
- 2024: ESRC, Peer Review College
Professional & learned societies
- 2018 - 2024: Executive Committee member, Social Policy Association