The Health Variations Programme revisited

Anne Rogers

doi:10.1921/swssr.v25i1.2299

Authors

Anne Rogers University of Southampton Faculty of Health Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7231-790X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/swssr.v25i1.2299

Keywords:

health inequalities, urban regeneration, mental heath, social interventions, ESRC Health Variations Programme

Abstract

This contribution focuses on a period between 2000 and 2004 and centres on collaborative work funded by the ESRC health variations programme. This programme of research represented a shift in Peter’s work away from mental health in formal health settings towards a focus on the social determinants and amelioration of mental health problems. The social origins of mental health problems and how to tackle them has traditionally been a poor relation to the medical clinical institutional way in which most research and attention is placed. Thus this study marked a departure from the study of mental anguish in the closed systems of medicine including primary care to more open systems of the causes and potential solutions of mental health problems. It came at a point of optimism about regeneration and the social democratic social and welfare policies of new labour.

Author Biography

Anne Rogers, University of Southampton Faculty of Health Sciences

Anne Rogers’ long standing research interests are in the sociological aspects of mental health and illness, self-care and management of long term conditions, people’s experiences of health care, health need and demand for care, and how patients adapt to and incorporate new technologies into their everyday life. Her most recent interests are focused on addressing how social ties and relationships operate in domestic and community settings and act as a conduit for accessing resources and support for managing wellness, social isolation and mental health.

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