Partnerships, Power, Potential: GHSM on from 10

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Reproduction Salon

After two years of Covid lockdowns and Zoom meetings, Lucy van de Wiel brought people together in person to share ideas, make plans and be inspired.

The Reproduction Salon, held at King’s in May 2022, was attended by 140 scholars, writers, clinicians, activists, regulators, lawyers and PhD students. It was the inaugural event of the new Reproduction Research Cluster.

The evening off ered an opportunity to reconnect on matters relating to reproduction, whether it be reproductive technologies, abortion, stem cells, contraception, demography or development biology.

The result was an intergenerational, interdisciplinary and international collaboration, wrapped up in congeniality.

Caption: Engaged crowds at Reproduction Salon by Henri T Freed

Caption: Staff and students from the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine at Reproduction Salon by Henri T Freed

Social security during COVID-19

For many of those worst aff ected by the COVID-19 pandemic, much of 2020 and 2021 were characterised by profound change and uncertainty. The benefits system in the UK also saw an increase in the number of new claimants.

Ben Geiger’s research captures people’s first-hand experience of claiming benefits during the pandemic. As part of the Welfare at a (Social) Distance project, Ben – together with colleagues at Salford, LSE, Leeds and Deakin University – sought to share people’s experiences and see what the overall story says about working-age social security today.

As part of the project, he produced a graphic novel depicting people’s real experiences dealing with the benefits system.

This research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19.

Find out more about Welfare at a (Social) Distance

Caption: Stills from the graphic booklet, Social Security during COVID-19: Experiences of Welfare at a Social Distance

Together for mental health

Ghana’s Mental Health Act prohibits the use of physical restraints on people with mental illness and promotes collaboration between mental health workers and traditional and faith healers to prevent this. Yet, coercive practices remain commonplace and little is known about how such collaborations work in practice.

Nkabom: A little medicine, a little prayer, a documentary produced in 2021, follows community mental health workers who are developing partnerships with traditional and faith healers, with the aim of improving care and reducing harmful practices such as chaining.

The fi lm was created through ethnographic research in Bono East region of Ghana. With researchers Lily Kpobi and Roberta Selormey from the University of Ghana and Erminia Colucci from the University of Middlesex co-investigator, Ursula Read explored how these partnerships develop, what makes them successful, and the ethical and resource challenges.

The research was funded by Global Challenges Research Fund and UKRI and was a collaboration between King’s College London, Middlesex University, the University of Ghana and Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.

Follow Together for Mental Health

Caption: Documentary poster for Nkabom, 2021

Living with mental illness in the Palestinian community

Almost 1 billion people are living with a mental illness worldwide. Stigma, discrimination and human rights abuses against people with mental illness are widespread.

Hanna Kienzler has co-produced an illustrated storybook with a group of people with severe mental illness in Palestine, in collaboration with Palestinian researchers and community mental health workers.

The storybook, titled ‘Get to know us! Our lives with mental illness in the Palestinian community’, seeks to share personal accounts of Palestinians living with mental illness, to raise awareness about what it means for these people to live and participate in the community.

It addresses sometimes painful topics like the meaning of community, who the people were before and after the onset of their illness, the availability and effects of medication, how to live the lives they value, equal treatment in society and the right to work.

This project is part of a larger research programme called Mental Health and Justice with funding from Wellcome Trust and King’s Impact Acceleration Award.

Find out more about Get to know us!

Caption: Pages from the illustrated storybook Get to know us!

The accessibility and affordability of cancer care in Kolkata

The Tata Medical Centre is a philanthropic cancer hospital established in 2011 and situated at the outskirts of Kolkata. It provides cancer care to patients from the Eastern and North- Eastern parts of India.

Carlo Caduff collaborated with consultant psychiatrist at the Centre, Dr Soumitra S Datta to examine the accessibility and affordability of cancer care. As part of the project, 150 patients and family members were interviewed to better understand the challenges that they face.

In its first year, 10,000 patients received treatment in Tata Medical Centre and 60,000 consultations were provided. In 2018, almost 20,000 patients came for treatment.

Caduff’s research focuses on cancer, arguably one of the most complex and expensive medical conditions. The rising rates of the disease, the lack of universal health coverage, the fragmented health system, and the growing fascination with technology have transformed cancer into one of the greatest global health challenges of our time.

The study involved a photographic project with photographer Soumyendra Saha, which led to Twenty-Four Stills, a photographic exhibition in London and Kolkata documenting cancer patients, family members and hospital staff.

This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Caption: Waiting room in Tata Medical Centre by Soumyendra Saha

Caption: A doctor at Tata Medical Centre by Soumyendra Saha

Myth-busting menstrual health

A combination of social, economic and political factors have resulted in an inadequate diagnostic process to differentiate between ‘normal (pre)menstrual changes’, the symptoms of various female prevalent health issues, and those triggered, worsened, or caused by the menstrual cycle.

This means that women are often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, leading to serious impacts on women’s finances, health outcomes and wellbeing.

Sally King’s research looks at the influence of gender and racial myths on clinical, academic, plus lay descriptions of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). This includes the myth of the irrational female – the idea that women, due to their reproductive biology, are pathologically emotional and thus have a reduced capacity for reason.

She founded an evidence-based online hub about menstrual health and rights, called ‘Mensual Matters’ and has produced a userfriendly PDF guide to support women to better understand their bodies and make informed decisions.

Find out more about Menstrual Matters

Giving voice to older communities and helping to make mobility meaning for them

Being able to get outdoors is essential for maintaining health and wellbeing into later life. Yet, many older people find it becomes less easy, enjoyable and meaningful as they age.

To help ensure that living longer is a positive experience for everyone, we need evidence-based solutions to the challenges facing our aging population.

Anthea Tinker worked with partners to better understand how our experience of environments influences our mood and, in turn, our willingness to be active.

The project titled, ‘Mobility, mood and place’ brought together experts from the Universities of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and King’s with architects in training. Older community members were asked to record their thoughts while walking in public spaces and later to share their thoughts on how to make environments more accessible.

Anthea Tinker presented the evidence to the House of Lords.

Find out more about Mobility, Mood and Place

Who’s looking after the kids?

What role do grandparents play in our societies? How many grandparents regularly look after their grandchildren?

Karen Glaser’s research looks at what leads grandparents to take on the role of caring for grandchildren and the impact on the children’s labour market, fertility behaviour and on grandparents’ health.

The project, titled Grandparenting in Europe, involved a cross-European network of social scientists from 10 European countries. Key findings are that unpaid care responsibilities remain critical even at older ages (as many families rely on grandparents for childcare), and grandchild care can have a positive impact on grandparents’ health.

The project led to new questions on grandparents in the national English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA). It also influenced UK family policy and was included in the Labour Party Election Manifesto for Women.

This project was supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in partnership with Grandparents Plus (now Kinship) and in association with the Beth Johnson Foundation.

Find out more about Grandparenting in Europe

Decolonising knowledge production in global health and social medicine

What does decolonisation in academia mean? And how does it shape research, advocacy, entrepreneurship and curriculum design in global health and social medicine?

These were the fundamental questions behind the 2022 symposium on decolonising knowledge production in Global Health and Social Medicine. Led by Nancy Tamimi, participants were able to exchange honest and brave discussions on decolonisation, and the day resulted in a collective call to reinstate the urgent need to decolonise how knowledge is produced, as well as the need to produce concrete strategies to decolonise higher education.

Tamimi was also course lead for the new course on decolonising research methods, with scholars attending from across the globe.

The hybrid course piloted by the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine connected researchers, scholars and students to accelerate discussion and exploration of diversity in teaching and research.

These projects were funded by the Race Equity & Inclusive Education Fund (REIEF) and the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, respectively.

Find out about the symposium

Unpacking the link between poor mental health and the workplace

According to insurance providers in Chile, more and more low- to-middle-income workers are submitting claims about work inflicted poor mental health.

Sofía Bowen Silva’s research looks at labour struggles in Santiago, Chile from a political and historical perspective. She has found that amidst job insecurity, Chilean workers often experience everyday abuse in the workplace. Her ethnography shows how workers also suff er when resisting the abuse.

Sofía links work-related poor mental health to the country’s history of social injustices. The social uprising in 2019 showed a collective understanding of mental distress in place, highlighting social relations in the workplace.

Additionally, Sofía's research analyses insurance providers’ bureaucracy, medical criteria and the moral views that prevent workers from fully accessing mental healthcare.

Caption: Financial district (Santiago, Chile), taken during ethnographic fieldwork (2018)

Understanding the determinants of poor mental health in Latin America

How have recent social, cultural and political changes in Chile influenced people’s mental health? In particular, how are the changing affecting young immigrants to the country? This is one of the topics clinical psychologist, Gabriel Abarca Brown is exploring.

To further collaborate with other researchers looking at mental health in Latin America, he co-founded the Mental Health in Latin America (PLASMA) social research platform.

This interdisciplinary online space provides scholars with opportunities to reflect and collaborate on research. There have also been two international workshops stemming from the network: one of mapping new voices on global mental health, from a Latin American perspective; and the other exploring the cartographies of suffering and mental health in Latin America.

Find out more about PLASMA

Rethinking mental health in adversity

Paula De Vries Albertin examines the conceptualisation of mental distress in young people living in the deprived area of Sapopemba, in the southeast of São Paulo, Brazil.

In 2018, the community reached out to researchers to rethink mental health in adversity. Since then, Paula and her collaborators have been developing strong relationships with local community leaders and organisations.

Seeking to better understanding the role of services in supporting mental health, her fieldwork also includes documenting meetings held at the local Human Rights Centre, where participants discuss mental health with local services and organisations.

This project is in partnership with University of São Paulo, Center for Human Rights Sapopemba, and Child and Adolescent Rights Centre Sapopemba, as well as local community members.

Understanding the expert global mental health community

What is global mental health? In recent years, it has emerged as a fi eld of research, advocacy and practice, concerned with improving the mental health of populations and reducing inequity in the global burden of mental illness.

Dörte Bemme’s research looks at the production of expert knowledge in interdisciplinary collaborations on global mental health.

Her ethnographic fieldwork has taken her to many locations in the expert community: an international conference on the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which aims at scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for countries especially with low- and middle income. A World Bank meeting, where policymakers experienced the confinement of a person with mental illness in Ghana through virtual reality technology. The office of a data manager in Cape Town, who was tasked to ‘clean’ epidemiological and case data across five different countries.

International diplomacy and healthcare in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa. It also experiences the public health problems typical of an underdeveloped country, such as communicable diseases such as malaria and haemophilus influenzae (HIB), material and child heath problems such as diarrhoea, neonatal issues, and malnutrition. There is also significant growth in noncommunicable diseases such as cancer and mental illness.

The government of Ethiopia is working towards building a universal healthcare system through a community-based health insurance model. As it looks to the UK for guidance, can diplomatic relations between these two countries influence and improve the way people receive healthcare?

Ade Adeyemi’s research explores the impact of bilateral diplomacy on healthcare workers. This includes understanding how diplomacy affects everyday labour conditions and the realities of the public healthcare system in Addis Ababa.

The future of mosquito proofing

Malaria kills over 400,000 people a year, with the majority of fatalities occurring in Africa. What if some of these deaths could be prevented?

Ann Kelly has been working with the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania to develop new protective tools, such as repellent sandals, shoulder bags, prayer mats, football socks, window traps, that are aesthetically pleasing and can be manufactured on site.

The transdisciplinary work, involving a vast network of architects, designers, scientists, researchers and local community members, is at the frontiers of vector control.

More recently, the project, titled ‘Entomological happenings’, has been exploring a brick designed to make a house more mosquito-proof – a basic building material that could become disruptive technology.

Find out more Entomological happenings

Caption: Morning mosquito count and classification, performed by local entomologists and residents of Lupiro, Tanzania

Exploring Indian society through genetics

How does one classify a ‘tribe’? Is it through genetics or through culture? Can a biologicalised understanding of India – an historically diverse society – help us to better understand the historical DNA of population groups?

India offers a unique opportunity to untether human genetics and medical genomics from race as the only measure of human cultural difference in the biological science – and prevent a return to race sciences.

Kriti Kapila’s research looks beyond the abandoned Human Genome Diversity Project, which aimed to record the genetic profiles of indigenous populations, to better understand the diversity of India and the Indi-gene.

Working with partners at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in Kalyani, India, she interrogates the knowledgemaking practices that underpin malleable and enduring ideas of human origins and cultural belongings.

She also looks at the codification of group rights in tangible and intangible cultural heritage under the UNESCO Convention and the interface of national and transnational legal regimes.

Healthy aging in China

Across the globe, ageing populations’ health and well-being is influenced by their interactions with family members. For example, the birth of the grandchild may lead to older adults taking on a more enhanced role in the family or becoming overloaded. Jiawei Wu examines how the transition to grandparenthood influences the health and well-being of older people in China.

Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, he uses individual fixed-effects models to examine the impact of transitioning to grandparenthood on functional limitations, life satisfaction and depression.

He has found that transitioning to grandmotherhood is associated with a higher probability of reporting one or more functional limitations of daily living, but transitioning to grandparenthood was associated with higher life satisfaction. Similar results have been found for grandparents with a rural or urban hukou status.