Widening the focus on medical misogyny
In recent months there has been a renewed focus on ‘medical misogyny’ with numerous reports highlighting the routine dismissal of female patients seeking healthcare, particularly for reproductive health conditions. A report by the Women and Equalitiies Committee (UK) in 2024...
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Healing beyond borders: Digital mental health support for refugees
Looking around a refugee camp in Somaliland, I saw silent mental health battles everywhere. So I decided to help. My understanding of trauma did not begin with a textbook or a diagnosis. It grew little by little over many years;...
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Why Young Adult’s Loneliness is Political
In recent years, young adults (typically defined as age 16 – 25years) have become increasingly recognised as a group that are vulnerable to loneliness. Most research on young adult’s loneliness takes a psychological perspective and is concerned with individual and...
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Why women have to queue for the toilet
And what it says about how cities are designed Do you remember the last time you had to queue for a toilet? If several examples spring to mind, the chances are you were standing in the women’s line. Whether at theatres,...
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Outgunned Before Breakfast: Big Brand Advertising
Why Public Health Keeps Losing to Big Brand Advertising It’s 7:00 AM on a drizzly London morning. A seven-year-old sits at the breakfast table, eyes on the TV as he eats cereal. In minutes, he’s bombarded by cartoon mascots pushing...
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Developing skills pathways through community enrichment for disadvantaged children
Why we need a radical overhaul of our approach to the UK skills gap What is the UK skills gap? The recent announcement of the Government’s Youth Guarantee, ensuring all 18 to 21 year olds in England have access to...
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England now has a plan to end homelessness…
…here’s how to test whether it will work The UK has proved before that it can end homelessness. The Everyone In scheme during COVID lockdowns accommodated tens of thousands of people in emergency and supported housing, who would otherwise have continued...
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Shame, Stigma, and Self-Harm: Complicating Narratives
Over the last decade it’s been exciting to see a real groundswell in Sociology around the need to think carefully and critically about stigma. A brilliant example of this is the collection Recalibrating Stigma: Sociologies of Health and Illness edited...
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Why is “oat milk” banned but “coconut milk” is fine?
A recent ruling might see references to “vegan burgers” and “vegan sausages” disappear from packaging. But will it make a difference? And who really benefits? “Oat milk” and other plant-based milks have significantly increased in popularity in recent years. A...
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More Than a Client: Ruby Smith and the Heart of Social Care
In the course of my research into health inequalities and social care, I have had the privilege of working closely with voluntary sector organisations that support older adults. These spaces—often underfunded and overlooked—are where care happens in its most humane...
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Old wine in new bottles: the NHS 10 year plan for England
The Labour Governments’ NHS 10 Year Plan for England was published on 4th July 2025, exactly a year to the day from their election victory on 4th July 2024. Whilst not without ambition (merging NHS England with Department of Health...
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Why is Healthy Life Expectancy in decline?