overview

The UWS Centre for Social, Health and Environmental Inequalities (SHEI) is a transdisciplinary research centre aimed at producing new perspectives on social, health and environmental injustice. Our signature research takes an intersectional approach to understanding the social, structural, and systemic ‘causes of causes’ of inequalities and visioning equitable futures in three interrelated domains: 1) Inequality and intersectionality; 2) Health and Well-Being; and 3) Sustainable Communities and Environmental Change.

The Centre leads cutting-edge research across disciplinary divides drawing on a wide constituency of expertise. Our emphasis on community-engaged research and collaborative knowledge co-production involves key stakeholders from policy, practice and affected communities in all stages of our research. Our approach aims to deliver clear implementation pathways for the translation of findings into policy and practice for real world impact.

CONTACT DETAILS

Professor Aileen O’Gorman

Email address: aileen.ogorman@uws.ac.uk

School of Education and Social Sciences

RESEARCH THEMES

Social, health and environmental inequalities are intertwined areas of global concern. There is an urgent need for transformative research to address these complex and entrenched challenges. The Centre’s research takes a novel intersectional approach to understand the social, structural, and systemic ‘causes of causes’ of inequalities and vision equitable futures through intersectional policy and whole system approaches in three interrelated domains:

  1. Inequality and Intersectionality (e.g., structures and systems shaping multiple intersecting inequalities).
  2. Health and Well-Being (e.g., physical and mental health, drug/alcohol related harms, poverty and precarity).
  3. Sustainable Communities and Environmental Change (e.g., environmental stressors that create/ exacerbate inequality).

KEY PROJECT SUMMARIES 

  • Health and well-being are inextricable from socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts and differentiated by social class, gender, ethnicity, age etc. A large volume of research by Centre members (on topics such as mental health, stigma, substance use, physical health and climate change in Scotland, RUK, EU and Southeast Asia) applies an intersectional lens to understand complex inter-related needs and develop novel targeted interventions to reduce health inequalities locally and globally.
  • Rates of drug-related deaths in Scotland are amongst the highest internationally and have become a leading cause of premature mortality among young adults in Scotland. Our research indicates that drug-related harms and ‘deaths of despair’ are situated within broader socio-political contexts characterised by inequalities and constrained social, welfare and health care systems and require a broad population health approach.
  • Centre members are involved in a substantial body of work that targets inclusion in Higher Education (widening access), student retention, gender equity in STEM subjects, anti-racist practice, addressing educational inequalities and learning needs in the school system, and community education.

MEMBERS/KEY STAFF

CORE MEMBERS

Professor of Substance Use and Social Policy (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: aileen.ogorman@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/aileen-ogorman

Professor of Mental Health (School of Health and Life Sciences)

Email: Fiona.Harris@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/fiona-harris

Senior Lecturer Community Education (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Annette.Coburn@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/annette-coburn

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Karen.Dunleavy@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/karen-dunleavy

Lecturer in Mental Health and Integrated Practice (School of Health and Life Sciences)

Email: Suzanne.Heron@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/suzanne-heron

Lecturer Psychology (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Greig.Inglis@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/greig-inglis

Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead: MA Broadcast Journalism (School of Business and Creative Industries)

Email: Elizabeth.McLaughlin@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/elizabeth-mclaughlin

Senior Lecturer Education and Associate Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Khadija.Mohammed@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/khadija-mohammed

Associate Members UWS

Lecturer (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Rebecca.Gordon@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://www.uws.ac.uk/staff-directory/rebecca-gordon/

Lecturer (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Paula.Gow@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/paula-gow

Lecturer in Human Resource Management (School of Business and Creative Industries)

Email: Silvio.Hofmann@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/silvio-hofmann/publications/

School Enhancement Developer (School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences)

Email: Lorna.Love@uws.ac.uk

Lecturer Mental Health Nursing (School of Health and Life Sciences)

Email: Aisling.McBride@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/aisling-mcbride-2

Senior Lecturer Politics (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Hartwig.Pautz@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/hartwig-pautz

Senior Lecturer in Leadership (School of Business and Creative Industries)

Email: Kae.reynolds@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/kae-reynolds

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Laura.Roe@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/laura-roe

 Professor of Wireless Communications (School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences)

Email: Muhammad.Shakir@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/muhammad-zeeshan-shakir-shakir

Lecturer Social Work (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Dina.Sidhva@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/dina-sidhva

Senior Lecturer Psychology (School of Education and Social Sciences)

Email: Melody.Terras@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/melody-terras

Lecturer Education 

Email: Laurie.Walden@uws.ac.uk

PURE profile: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/laurie-walden/activities/

External Collaborations and Partners

Centre members collaborate with a number of national and international agencies including Action Against Stalking; Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Middlesex University; Drugs Research Network Scotland; European Society for Social Drugs Research; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare; Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations; Highlands Alcohol and Drug Partnership; International Society for the Study of Drugs Policy; Mental Health Foundation; Ministry of Health, Malaysia; Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions (NMAHP) Research Unit, University of Stirling; Oxfam Scotland; Poverty Alliance; Scottish Drugs Forum;  Scottish Institute for Public Interest Journalism; Simon Community Scotland; Turning Point Scotland; Women in Journalism Scotland.

Last updated: 16/01/2024