Researcher Summary
Social and spatial inequalities in health and policies to narrow these divides, as well as the role of context/local neighbourhood in shaping health outcomes and health-related behaviours. My recently published work has concentrated on the polarisation of health inequalities with a particular focus in overall mortality but also cause-specific mortality such as cancer and suicide. Much of my research has been undertaken in New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s, a period of rapid social and economic change, and a theme of my research has been to consider the role of rapid changes in social and economic policy upon health outcomes. In particular I am interested in the role of social and economic inequality in determining population health.
I have also developed new methods to understand the role of neighbourhood as a mediator in the relationship between poverty and health inequalities. My neighbourhoods and health work has examined the role of neighbourhood access to parks and green spaces, shops selling healthy and nutritional food, fast food outlets and primary health care provision in explaining numerous health outcomes.
