About
48
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Introduction
I am a sociologist and my research incorporates critical race theory, feminism, community development theory, and critical perspectives in health, social policy and practice. My abiding research interest is rooted in intersectionality, in particular, the interplay and impact of, gender, age and social class as experienced by racialised and minority ethnic population groups.
Additional affiliations
June 2002 - present
Publications
Publications (48)
The aim of this paper is to offer a critical reflection on some of the benefits and challenges of conducting research that seeks to improve the health of Black and minority ethnic groups, with a specific focus on voluntary-academic-sector research collaboration. A recently completed study, on improving the quality of access to mental health informa...
This paper reports on a study that investigated body-image perceptions and the beauty practices, such as skin lightening, black-henna application and purposively induced weight gain, of young, educated Sudanese women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 female students from universities across Khartoum. Participants came from Christia...
Objective
To identify ethnic differences in proportion positive for SARS-CoV-2, and proportion hospitalised, proportion admitted to intensive care and proportion died in hospital with COVID-19 during the first epidemic wave in Wales.
Design
Descriptive analysis of 76 503 SARS-CoV-2 tests carried out in Wales to 31 May 2020. Cohort study of 4046 in...
This report, focusing on the principle of voice and control, draws material from a number of reports already published across the study in order to focus in on this area:
1. insights from the published literature review;
2. evidence from service user and carer perspectives, particularly from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, and from those...
This paper explores mechanics and practices of place-making, and uses case-study
data (interviews, observations, visual documentation and other evidence) also to
explore the nature and impact of belonging that arises as part of such practices. The
paper is rooted in collective leisure pursuits and in the community-facing activities of
local art...
An estimated 25,000 people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BME) origins live with dementia in the UK – a number which is expected to increase sevenfold by 2051. People from many minoritised communities experience dementia in a markedly different way to their white British counterparts. The fight for a myriad of effective information pathways,...
The 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is reshaping all facets of society for many reasons, not least because it highlights the persistent and long-standing health inequities and social equality that mark Wales, as well as most other societies around the world. For many reasons, the following groups continue to be at higher risk of serious...
There is growing evidence that ethnic minorities in Europe are disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Using a name-based ethnicity classifier, we found that hospitalised Black, Asian and minority ethnic cases were younger and more likely to be admitted to intensive care (ICU). Pakistani, Bangladeshi and White - other than British or Irish, ethnic...
Genomic knowledge and technology have developed rapidly over the last decade and increased our capabilities to diagnose and manage rare diseases. However, current genomic datasets lack ethnic diversity as many genomic studies have focused on participants of white European ancestry. Studies, such as the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study, hav...
Background:
We propose that arts based methodologies can be of value in the production and exchange of evidence in supporting public health related policy. This article reports on a collaborative piece of work resulting from two projects which took place in a former coal mining town in South Wales.
Methods:
We used a participatory framework wher...
Objective:
As part of a large mixed-method study aimed at capturing understandings of dignity, and care expectations of community dwelling older women from Black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds living in Wales, the aim of this paper is to compare service providers' perceptions of their care and support provided to older people in general, an...
Drawing quantitative data from a large study, we explored service providers’ perceptions of the care and support provided to older women from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds living in the UK. Analyzing 102 responses to a questionnaire, we found that care needs of this group of older women were not adequately addressed, with ineffective commun...
In July 2013, the UK government arranged for a van to drive through parts of London carrying the message 'In the UK illegally? GO HOME or face arrest.' This book tells the story of what happened next.
The vans were short-lived, but they were part of an ongoing trend in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate toughness on immigra...
In July 2013, the UK government arranged for a van to drive through parts of London carrying the message 'In the UK illegally? GO HOME or face arrest.' This book tells the story of what happened next.
The vans were short-lived, but they were part of an ongoing trend in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate toughness on immigra...
Living Research Three: Migration research and the media One of the motivations for our project was to use research to intervene in public debates on immigration by providing alternative perspectives on what is often a polarised and entrenched debate where the perspectives of migrants and racially minoritised communities barely feature (Conlan, 2014...
One of the motivations for our project was to use research to inter- vene in public debates on immigration by providing alternative per- spectives on what is often a polarised and entrenched debate where the perspectives of migrants and racially minoritised communities barely feature (Conlan, 2014; Migrant Voice, 2014) and where, as we found, resea...
Study Findings:
Aims of study
The aims of the study were as follows:
1. To map and explore the quality of information and service provision provided
by mental health and social care professionals to people of African, Caribbean,
South Asian, and South East Asian descent;
2. To carry out a needs assessment in order to provide a baseline of evidence...
Scoping Study to explore the feasibility of a Health and Social Care Research and Development Network covering
Black and Minority Ethnic Groups in Wales
Report submitted to the Wales Office of Research and Development Welsh Assembly Government
Published July 2005
Small grant development funding (20k)
The Voices of African- Caribbean and Black Welsh men and women: A qualitative study to capture what dignity means to people aged 50 years and older, and their expectations of care and support. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2011 (£10k)
A scoping study to map the research capacity of health social welfare voluntary organisations in Wales, with a focus on BME organisations and equalities agencies. Produced as part of the WEDHS Project, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (2005 - 2010) £284K
Research evidence indicates the need for studies that explore the salience of dignity from older people‟s perspectives, and that capture what care with dignity means to them. In order to capture the perceptions and experiences of older women, the research team worked with community researchers (CRs) to record the views of older Black and minority e...
Abstract: Co-productive health policy and service development and the power of the ‘narrative turn’ Co-production means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours. Against the backdrop of public service modernisation and democratic renewal thro...
Purpose
Drawing findings from a large mixed-method study on perceptions of dignity, care expectations, and support in relation to older women from Black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, this paper explores the interrelationships between life course events and the multiple roles adopted by women at different points in time that have shaped the...
A Tolerant Nation? brings together experts on Welsh history and culture to offer an overview and detailed analysis of the past two hundred years of ethnic diversity in Wales and its contemporary significance. Offering a historical context in which to understand contemporary Welsh multiculturalism, the book highlights the contributions of ethnic min...
This paper will explore how community representations produced through creative arts practices can be used to challenge and disrupt numerically based framings of health policy and practice. Policies for health improvement in the most deprived localities in the UK tend to focus either on the impact of poverty and deprivation – but with little histor...
In July 2013, the UK Home Office launched an advertising campaign with the slogan ‘In the UK illegally? Go Home or face arrest,’ mounted on a billboard and driven around ethnically and nationally diverse areas of London. A few weeks later, the @ukhomeoffice Twitter account began to publish tweets about arrests at locations around London, with the h...
Purpose – Research evidence indicates the need for studies that explore the salience of dignity from the perspective of older people from a range of ethno-linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Drawing findings from a mixed-methods study on social-care expectations of community-dwelling older women from black and minority-ethnic backgrounds, the purp...
Count Me In was an annual census of mental health inpatients that was undertaken in England and Wales from 2005 to 2010. Apart from brief, unpublished commentaries by the Welsh government, the data generated in Wales have received little attention and limited analysis. This paper presents a secondary analysis of the census data, with a focus on men...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative exploratory study conducted in Wales to explore what dignity and care mean from the perspectives of men and women aged 50 years and older who self‐identified as being either African‐Caribbean/West Indian, or Black Welsh (third‐ or fourth‐generation, with links to Africa or the Caribbea...
A short working paper to accompanying the Final Report of In Their Own Words: A pilot study to elicit perceptions of dignity and dignified care from a purposive sample of African-Caribbean and Black Welsh people aged 50 years and older living in Wales.
The aim of this summary report is to provide a commentary on
• the formal cross-sector partnersh...
Conceptual issues such as race and ethnicity, socio-economic status and geographic location impact significantly on the level of access to information and on the utilisation, experience and satisfaction of health and social care provision. In Wales, devolution has opened up new opportunities for assessing and addressing equality issues. In addition...
Factors such as ‘race’ and ethnicity, socio-economic status and geographic location impact on the level of access to information and treatment, aswell as on the utilisation, experience and knowledge of mental health and social care provision. This paper reports on one aspect of a study to improve access to mental health information and care to targ...
Over the past two decades research has shown that factors such as race, ethnicity, socio-economic positioning and geographic location impact on the level of access to information and treatment as well as on the utilisation, experience and knowledge of mental health and social care provision. This paper reports on one aspect of a study to improve ac...
Scholars have examined Mary Prince’s slave narrative in a number of different ways: it is a rich resource in which to explore the role of women and the centrality of gender relations, the interplay of socially ascribed differences, the links between metropole and colony, and the multiplicity of voices in the mapping of Caribbean slavery and emancip...
Highlighting the colonial formation of contemporary politics in Bermuda is like trying to film ships or areoplanes as they vanish into the fabled Bermuda Triangle. With one point off the coast of South Carolina and the other off the shores of the Bahamas, Bermuda is the third point and namesake of this mysterious phenomenon.1.Covering an expanse of...
Questions
Questions (6)
Asking for a person to reflect on their lives is difficult in itself. I am working with colleagues to capture stories rooted in the work of the Black and minority ethnic voluntary sector in Wales during the current crises in a way that provides enough -but not too much – of a steer or framing. We want to draw out challenges, strengths and innovation, but we don’t want to lead people down the road we think they should take. How do we strike the balance? Which option below would you use? Why? All suggestions welcome!
Option 1: The COVID-19 Pandemic has led to many changes for community groups and voluntary organisations in terms of how people come together, how services are delivered and how people are supported. We want to know what you, your community group or organisation have been doing over the last few months, the changes you had to make, the challenges you are facing and how the people you work with, and the people you serve are coping. Stories can be rooted in whatever is important to you. You can share successes, challenges, innovation. Your story can be about a huge shift or a small change in you work life that you’ve made.
Option 2: Reflect on the last few months, your work and the people you serve or support. What have you done or experienced since the lock down that has been different to business as usual that you feel matters now and needs to be heard? The ideas, experience or story can be rooted in whatever is important to you.
Option 3: Thinking about the current Coronavirus pandemic, share one observation about your organisation and the people you serve, that you feel needs to be heard. This could be something that you have done differently, something that was done well or where there might be room for improvement.
Option 4:?
I am interested in the agency and resourcefulness of older, community-dwelling adults
Loneliness comes in many guises (social, emotional) and the notion of connectedness is often raised as a key antidote. However, how is connectedness manifested? How do older people foster and sustain connectedness? I am interested in their tools, strategies and their 'ways of knowing and being'. My questions:
-can you share relevant research?
-what must we be mindful of when making the claim that connectedness is indeed an antidote for loneliness?
-how best to place the lived experiences and agency of older people as key in how we come to understand the above?
-is there something specific the oldest old (85+) could reveal?
I am seeking to approach the concept of loneliness via a critical review and reflection on the concept of aloneness. I find much more research literature on the former and little exploration of the latter. Why is that? Of course, loneliness as a concept needs further exploration, not least how it is understood not only across the life course, but by those from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. What about aloneness?
I am exploring via case study data, manifestations of belonging in a place-based setting. I am aware of varying conceptualisations of belonging (elective, embedded, trans-locational) but want to explore more deeply embedded notions of belonging in particular and more generally how best to make the case that the manifestations of belonging in play in a location need to be understood in order to develop meaningful public policy that improve people's lives.
I welcome views, references and key points as linked to both elements of the above statement.
Is belonging a dimension of place or rather is belonging and place co-constitutive? What about holding the two concept on one analytical plane? Happy to receive comments, links and references!
I am interested in the leisure pursuits of older migrant (first generation) people and the ways in which such activities shapes their everyday lives and rituals as well as the impact leisure in shaping performances of wellbeing (individual and collective). For example, first generation Caribbean migrants living in the UK and the role and significance of playing dominos and the annual domino competitions which see groups of teams travelling throughout the UK.
Question: What research has or is currently being done in this area? information re.references, comments on your or your colleagues' work in this area, and ideas for future collaborations will be gratefully received!!
