Health Psychology Research Group
Group membership
Academic staff
PhD students
- Kate Nicholls
Current activities
The group is expanding its activities into new areas and topics. Current research topics include:
- family dysfunction, stress, pregnancy, miscarriage, pre-menstrual syndrome (Kuczmierczyk)
- sexual health (Kuczmierczyk & Willig)
- health policy, health promotion, smoking cessation, dementia (Marks, Sykes & Willig)
- health inequalities, macroeconomics, humans rights, and child labour (Marks & Estacio)
- discursive constructions and risk-taking (Willig)
- heroin use (Corcoran)
- the patient's and carer's experience of coronary heart disease (Sykes)
- phenomenology of health related experience (Willig)
- patient and public involvement in NHS decision making (Sykes).
Dr Andrew Kuczmierczyk has developed active collaborative links with leading units in behavioural medicine, such as Louisiana State University Medical Center. The development of critical theory and its relationship to practice is becoming a new focus for the Group. The Group uses a range of quantitative and qualitative methods. It is also actively disseminating new research methodology, theory and research through the editorship of a journal (The Journal of Health Psychology), conferences and books.
The Group's research and postgraduate teaching have a useful synergism. The longstanding MSc in Health Psychology/Psychology and Health has a substantial annual intake. The MSc provides a focus for 25-30 small-scale research projects each year supervised and co-supervised by group members.
The Doctorate in Health Psychology (Stage 2 training) programme creates further opportunities for trainee health psychologists to master their research and professional skills. The Group also plays an active role in the Department's Professional Doctorate in Psychology Programme (DPsych) and PhD programmes, providing further opportunities to carry out research across a variety of health care settings.
International collaborations
The Group has active links with researchers and units throughout the world. Professor Jan Smedslund of the Institute of Psychology, Oslo, Norway, Professor Isaac Prilleltensky (Australia), Professor Margot Schofield (Australia) and Professor Uwe Flick (Berlin) have visited City. The Group has a network of collaborators throughout the world.
