Society, Culture & Health

Using social science theory and methods to understand the social and cultural determinants of health and how society produces the lived experience of health.

domain Department

Department of Health Economics Wellbeing and Society

About

The society, culture and health research group contributes new thinking using social science theory and methods to understand the social and cultural determinants of health and how society produces the lived experience of health. We seek to understand how health is experienced and produced within an ecological public health framework - adopting both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Much of our research incorporates a focus on health inequities - with a focus on inequities generated by gender, age, social roles (e.g. paid and unpaid work), evolving cultural practices, and both economic and non-economic resources (e.g. income, time, social support).

Projects and sub-themes include:

Addressing the Hour-glass Ceiling: New case for action on gender inequality
Work hours and health for construction workers
Work hours, working conditions, work attributes and effects on health
Working longer, working well, and keeping productive
MC2020 Partners Study - new parents’ health following smoke & bushfire events
Social singing to support the wellbeing of migrant and refugee mothers
The Great Disruption: Work, caregiving and health post COVID
Socio-cultural contributors to obesity in Australia and Thailand
The COVID-19 Clinical Response Review
The Relations Study: Women who use drugs and their children within the health and welfare system

Publications

Bennetts, S.K., Hokke, S., Crawford, S., Hackworth, N.J., Leach, L.S. Nguyen, C. Nicholson J.M. & Cooklin, A.R. (accepted 11^th December 2018). Using paid and free Facebook methods to recruit Australian parents to an online work-family survey: An evaluation. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Brown R. Muller, T & Olsen, A. (2019). Australian women’s cervical cancer screening attendance as a function of screening barriers and facilitators. Social Science & Medicine 220, 396-402.

Alam M, Banwell C, Olsen A & Lokuge K (2019) Patients and doctors perception on utility of Telemedicine service for maternal and child healthcare in Bangladesh: a qualitative exploratory study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth (accepted).

Chun J, Olsen A, Taing MW, Clavarino A, Hollingworth S, Dwyer R, Middleton M & Nielsen S. (2019) How prepared are pharmacists to provide over-the-counter naloxone? The role of previous education and new training opportunities. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (accepted)

Olsen A, Lawton B, Dwyer R, Taing MW, Chun J, Hollingworth S & Nielsen S. (2019) Why aren’t Australian pharmacists supplying naloxone? Findings from a qualitative study. International Journal of Drug Policy (accepted).

Zhao, Y, Richardson, A., Poyser, C., Butterworth, P., Strazdins, L., & Leach, L. (Accepted 10 April 2019). Shift work and mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Sarma, H., Gerth-Guyette, E., Shakil, S.A., Alom, K.R., Abu-Haydar, E., D’Rozario, M., Tariqujjaman, M, Arifee, S. E., and Ahmed, T. “Evaluating the use of job aids and user instructions to improve adherence for the treatment of childhood pneumonia using amoxicillin dispersible tablets in a low-income setting: a mixed method study”. BMJ Open 2019;9:e024978. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024978.

Projects

Time, work, family and health

A primary focus for this research program is the contemporary predicament of work and care and its health consequences. We investigate how these determinants and their health consequences are socially patterned, gendered, and intergenerational (children’s health and wellbeing).

Status

Completed

People

Social causes and consequences of common mental disorders

Current research in this program focuses on how work and family circumstances (and transitions) intersect with the two most common mental disorders – depression and anxiety.

Status

Completed

People

Sociocultural approaches and qualitative methodologies for population health

In this program we aim to enhance population health by drawing on social theories from anthropology and sociology and by focussing on qualitative and mixed methods in our teaching (Qualitative Research Analysis) and our research concerning risk perceptions associated with health practices.

Status

Completed

People

Addressing the hour-glass ceiling: New case for action on gender equality

Using new theory and methods that bridge economics and population health, this project aims to model how the long hour labour market interacts with time outside of work, impacting health and locking in the gender wealth gap.

Status

Current

People

Dr Tinh (Jimmy) Doan

Conversations about life, health and safety: Social supports for young construction workers' health and safety

Supervisor-worker communication and supervisor support have been identified as critical determinants of young construction workers’ experience of injury and ill-health.

Status

Current

People

Dr Tinh (Jimmy) Doan

Mental health modelling - Impact of Covid19 on psychological distress and mental health service use

This project models the impact of Covid 19 on psychological distress and mental health service use in Australia using large scale administrative data such as tax data, MBS, PBS, welfare benefit data, Census, and health and other survey surveys. Both predictive modelling and microsimulation were applied in the analysis.