Health: Practices, Spaces and Technologies

About

Research explorations around health are a long-lasting theme within sociology at Newcastle. Our focus brings the conceptual and empirical together to shape knowledge and understanding and inform practice. Topics we explore include how:

• marginalised communities and individuals experience treatment in different spaces of healthcare provision
• to understand the blurred boundaries between chronic illness and disability
• different embodiments are lived and socially located
• health inequalities effect people’s lives
• areas of healthcare provision seek to tackle health inequalities
• technological innovations are socially shaped and their policy implications
• to develop ethical and participatory research in the field of health research.

Staff within the cluster regularly receive funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, NIHR, the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness, European funders and others.

Much of our work is in partnership with patient groups, advocacy organisations, practitioners and policy makers. Conceptually our work is located in medical sociology, but in conversation with associated areas such as disability studies, science and technology studies, drug studies, youth studies, trauma and suicide studies.

PhD researchers are an important part of our group, and we always welcome enquiries about undertaking PhD research with us. We have a strong track record of successfully supporting applicants receive PhD funding from the ESRC NINE DTP. As well as mentoring fellowships with the ESRC NINE DTP, Mildred Blaxter Fellowship of the Foundation for Sociology of Health and Illness and Leverhulme research fellowships

We are also editors of 2 key journals in the field: Social Theory and Health (Ruth Graham and Geth Rees) and Sociology of Health and Illness (Janice McLaughlin).

Staff

• Ruth Graham
• Pauline McCormack
• Janice McLaughlin
• Karenza Moore
• Stephanie Mulrine
• Geth Rees
• Tracy Shildrick
• Jen Tarr

PhD Researchers

• Laura Breckon
• Oscar Daniels
• Brightman Makoni