The Public Mental Health Research group takes a multidisciplinary perspective spanning, Psychology, Epidemiology, Health economics and Participatory research, to understand the social determinants of mental health problems and to develop and evaluate public mental health interventions. The group is led by Dr Laura Goodwin and is based within the Division for Health Research, with broader collaboration across the Faculty of Health and Medicine, with the Centre for Health Informatics, Computing, and Statistics (CHICAS) and the Data Science Institute (DSI) at Lancaster University. The Public Mental Health group have received funding from national bodies, including UKRI and NIHR, in addition to charity sector funding. Research from the group has informed policy and practice.
Introduction
Specific themes covered by the group include:
- The development and evaluation of public mental health interventions
- Mental health of young people
- Social determinants of mental health in underserved groups (e.g. minoritised ethnic groups, people experiencing multiple disadvantages and people with a learning disability)
- Mental health in coastal and rural communities
- Epidemiology of co-occurring mental health and substance use problems
- Mental health of people who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss
Core research themes
accordion
- We have expertise in applying secondary and routine data (e.g. population health surveys and electronic healthcare records) to identify the social and psychological determinants of mental health.
- We conduct qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of people who have experienced social and psychological disadvantages (e.g. stigma or discrimination) or traumatic life events (e.g. pregnancy loss).
- We are experienced in determining the mental health consequences of different occupational stressors, for example in military personnel or healthcare professionals.
- We use secondary data to determine the demographic and social associations of multimorbidity, for example, in people experiencing co-occurring mental health and alcohol use disorders.
- We prioritise co-production activities in the development of social and psychologically informed public mental health interventions, which can include service user input for people who have a mental health problem or work with communities who are at a greater risk of developing poor mental health.
- We work with the third sector to develop novel intervention approaches, for example, working with community organisations in coastal areas, or charities which support people who have experienced baby or pregnancy loss.
- We develop digital interventions, for example, for carers of people with severe mental health conditions or for military veterans who want to reduce their alcohol use.
- We have expertise in the use of routine data to evaluate national programmes and regional interventions, using both individual and area-level data.
- We apply health economic approaches to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of public mental health interventions.
Methodological approaches in public mental health
We apply wide ranging methods, including epidemiological methods, qualitative approaches, traditional experimental and observational approaches, in addition to quasi-experimental evaluation.
We work with nationally representative data, for example, the UK Household Longitudinal Study or the Mental Health Services Data Set.
We work with service user researchers with lived experience of mental health problems at Lancaster University and with peer researchers from the voluntary and community sector.
We have expertise in different intervention evaluations, for example, qualitative implementation and process evaluations and quantitative randomised controlled trial and health economic evaluations.
We engage in knowledge exchange and mobilisation activities with local providers and commissioners and with national policy makers.
PMHR Group Members
Dr Laura Goodwin
Senior Lecturer in Mental HealthSecurity Lancaster, Security Lancaster (Policing), Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research
Professor Heather Brown
Professor of Health InequalitiesHealth Economics
Dr Rachael Eastham
Lecturer in Adolescent Health InequalitiesCentre for Health Inequalities Research
Dr Paula Holland
Senior LecturerCentre for Health Inequalities Research, Centre for Organizational Health and Well Being
Dr Sahir Hussain
Senior Research Associate (NIHR Prevention Programme),
Dr Buket Kara
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology,Centre for Health Inequalities Research
Dr Maike Klein
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology,Clinical Psychology
Professor Mark Limmer
Professor of Adolescent Public Health, Head of DepartmentCentre for Health Inequalities Research
Professor Fiona Lobban
ProfessorFHM Mental Health Theme, Institute for Social Futures Fellow, ISF Fellows 2019/20, Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research
Dr Thomas Mason
Senior Lecturer in Health EconomicsHealth Economics
Dr Felix McNulty
Lecturer in Adolescent Health Inequalities,
Dr Heather Robinson
LecturerFHM Mental Health Theme, Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research
