Pre-GCPH posts included the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) and NHS Health Scotland (2001-2006), ISD Scotland (then the statistical arm of the NHS in Scotland) (1994-2001), as well as undertaking various research projects within NHS Greater Glasgow (1999-2000), NHS Argyll & Clyde (1996-98) and NHS Grampian (1993-1994).
Hi main research interests include health inequalities and their determinants. His recent and ongoing work includes understanding the impacts of UK Government austerity policies on health inequalities in the UK; the causes of excess’ mortality in Scotland and Glasgow; adverse early years environments; ethnicity and health inequalities in Scotland/UK; health inequalities across post-industrial European regions.
Summary
The talk will provide an overview of health inequalities and their profoundly political influences within Glasgow, Scotland and the wider UK.
As backdrop to the main part of the talk, historical context will be explained: an exploration of long-term trends in health inequalities over the past century and a half, and an understanding of how Scotland came to have the widest health inequalities in Western Europe by the end of the 20th Century.
The main part of the talk will then focus on the dramatic changes to inequalities that have been seen in all parts of the UK in the last 15 years. The evidence linking these changes to UK Government ‘austerity’ measures will be set out, based on David Walsh’s and Gerry McCartney’s recent book, ‘Social murder? Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK’.
