Presentation of SDHI Research Strategy

1. Thilo Kroll

2. Interdisciplinary
Research in Partnership
Universities of Dundee
and St Andrews since
2003
Interdisciplinary research should
supplement, not displace, single- discipline
efforts. . . .
Bridging Disciplines in the Brain, Behavioral, and Clinical Sciences,

3. Professor Paul Boyle
Chair, ESRC
Geography,
University of St
Andrews
Founding Director

4. Professor Brian Williams
Past Director of SDHI
Now Director CSO-funded
NMAHP Research Unit,
Universities of Stirling and
Glasgow Caledonian

5. Professor Huw Davis,
Co-Director of SDHI
Professor of Health Care
Policy and Management,
University of St Andrews

6. Organisation
2 Co-Directors (Dundee, St Andrews), 5 Associate Directors
Researchers, PhD students are affiliated with ‘home
departments’
Administrative base of Co-Director, Dundee (College of
Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing in the School of Nursing &
Midwifery), of Co-Director St Andrews (School of
Management)
Administrative support to co-ordinate inter-university, inter-
departmental activities

7. Demographics
Looking at recent years, the current overall picture is
of one of growth, with increased net in-migration and
fertility, as well as increased life expectancy, all
contributing to overall growth. Scottish Government,
2010
Scotland’s population is continuing to age, with a
50% increase in over 60s projected by 2033.
Health inequalities in Scotland result in significant
variation in mortality, life
expectancy and healthy life expectancy, with
deprivation being a key determining factor

8. Environment
The provision, cost and funding of care services,
generally and in the light of Scotland’s rural
geography
Despite the opportunities provided by the
neighbourhood for children’s physical activity, many
children, nowadays, may be classified as ‘indoor
children’ who play predominantly within the con-
fines of the home (Karsten, 2005)

9. Economy
To help them grow and develop, young
people need the support of their families,
neighborhoods, and communities. However,
changing societal and economic factors
have had a significant impact on the ability
of families at all income levels to provide
such supervision and guidance. IOM 2011
With an increasingly higher proportion of the
workforce falling into the older age groups, lower
employment rates in these age groups may impact
on overall labour market participation. However,
growth in employment rates has
Scottish Government, 2010

10. Technology

11. Health(care)
Many older people are
never counseled to stop
smoking, start exercising, or
take other measures
commonly urged on the
young, despite clear
evidence that such
measures help older people.

12. Wellbeing

13. Participation
The ICF puts the notions of ‘health’ and
‘disability’ in a new light. It acknowledges
that every human being can experience a
decrement in health and thereby
experience some degree of disability.
Disability is not something that only
happens to a minority of humanity. The ICF
thus ‘mainstreams’ the experience of
disability and recognises it as a universal
human experience. By shifting the focus
from cause to impact it places all
health conditions on an equal footing
allowing them to be compared using a
common metric – the ruler of health and
disability. Furthermore ICF takes into
account the social aspects of
disability and does not see disability
only as a 'medical' or 'biological'
dysfunction. By including Contextual
Factors, in which environmental factors are
listed ICF allows to records the impact of
the environment on the person's
functioning.
WHO International Classification of

14. EnvironmentEnvironment
Technology
Demographics
EconomyEconomy
Health
Wellbeing
Participation
Interdisciplinary Research to Address Key Challenges

16. Three pillars

17. 5 core strategic aims
• Identify and pursue key interdisciplinary programmatic
topics for research reflecting social dimensions of health
• Networking the networks, knowledge mobilisation,
strategic partnering, public engagement
• Diversified funding base
• New partnerships with 3rd sector, voluntary
organisations/charities, business
• Internationalisation

18. Two programmatic
strands
• Social and environmental dimensions of
health, wellbeing and service delivery
• Human resilience and capabilities

19. Social and environmental dimensions of health,
wellbeing and service delivery
Work within this programme explores the
significance of ‘context’ for people’s
health and efforts to improve it. We
take a broad view of ‘environments’
(including for example geographical
considerations of space and place,
anthropological considerations of
culture in healthcare organisations,
design considerations of technological
adaptations to support health and
well-being, and research
assessments) and ‘relationships’
(attending to both relative positions
and interactions).

20. Examples: Social and environmental dimensions of
health, wellbeing and service delivery
• Explorations of youth and domestic violence as a public health issue in Scotland.
• Sources and implications of work stress on nurses
• Sources and uses of feedback about patient experiences for quality
improvements in primary care
• Reducing alcohol-related harm and social disadvantage
• The use of relational understandings of ‘autonomy’ and ‘trust’ to study and
critique the ways in which health care provision shapes people’s ability to
contribute to their own health and social care.
• The role of knowledge exchange networks for policy makers, practitioners, and
researchers in promoting self care in long-term conditions
• The role of context in collective learning in health care organisations
• The measurement of outcomes in community-based stroke rehabilitation
• Barriers and facilitators to physical activity for people with disabilities in the
community
• Natural disaster mitigation for people with disabilities
• Social geographies of wellbeing
• Employment, disability and long-term conditions
• Socioeconomic determinants of health inequalities
• Organisational culture in general practice

21. Human resilience and capabilities
Work within this programme addresses
the particular concerns and
experiences that people with
physical, cognitive and/or
communicative impairments have in
relation to health and healthcare. It
has a strong emphasis on enabling
participation, and is increasingly
making use of insights from the
‘Capabilities Approach’ to encourage
a broad evaluative space for
interventions intended to improve the
lives of people with disabilities. Work
within the programme is also exploring
applications of ‘Capabilities’
thinking to healthcare provision more
generally.

22. Examples: Human resilience and capabilities
• Illness representations of and cognitive factors in the self
management of long-term conditions
• Perceived ability to self care among people with learning
disabilities
• Digital ‘storytelling’ of people with communication
disabilities
• Low literacy and health outcomes
• Manualised stroke rehabilitation
• Patient-centered assessment and patient experience
• Technology-supported interventions for people with
dementia
• Use of the Capabilities Approach to justify and develop
the notion of ‘Person Centred Care’

23. Conferences

24. Research Development Groups
Learning Disabilities (Vikki Entwistle)
Cancer and Employment (Mary Wells)
Physical Activity and Long-Term Conditions (Jacqui
Morris)
*New* Oral Health and Inequalities (SDHI as facilitator)
*New* Disability from a Public Health Perspective (Thilo
Kroll)
Other potential RDGs on the horizon
Environmental change and health service access
Violence and Public Health
Aging and Dementia
E-Health
Inequalities
Low literacy (Phyllis Easton)

25. Seminars

26. Webinars *New in 2012*
Cate Buchanan
Director, Surviving Gun Violence Project,
Sydney
Surviving Gun Violence Project
15th
March 2012

27. Workshops

28. Public Engagement and Knowledge
Exchange

29. Post-graduate support
Postgraduate and postdoctoral retreat (Kindrogan)
Grant Writing Scheme (with SNM)
Writing for Publications (with SNM)
*Planned for 2012* Innovative Research Groups (with
DJCAD)

30. Internet and social media

31. Networking the networks
• Centre for Environmental Change and Human
Resilience (CECHR)
• Alliance for Self Care Research (ASCR)
• Centre for Medical Education (CME)
• Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQuMen)
• ….

32. Opportunities
• Research Development Groups (initiate, join,
contribute)
• Knowledge Mobilisation and Exchange
(Seminars, Webinars, Workshops, Public
Engagement) (suggest topics, co-host)
• Postgraduate support (co-facilitate;
innovative, applied learning and teaching
from an interdisciplinary perspective)

33. Thank you!

34. Please get in touch
www.sdhi.ac.uk
@SDHIresearch
https://m.facebook.com/SDHIresearch
Dr Thilo Kroll t.kroll@dundee.ac.uk
Dr Fred Comerford fac1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Rosanne Bell r.c.bell@dundee.ac.uk