Blog by Professor Mike Kelly In the UK, there has been considerable comment in the medical and other media about the shortcomings of government actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as sometimes bitter exchanges between public health experts. One element that has been largely absent from the arguments has been exploration of […]
Why policy makers get obesity wrong
Blog from Professor Mike Kelly, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Primary Care Unit The coronavirus pandemic has revealed a lot about the health of the UK population. Not least that certain health conditions, including being overweight, are linked to an increased risk from infectious diseases like COVID-19, and perhaps more significantly, that this risk is […]
20mph zones are effective in reducing road casualties, say researchers
20mph zones are effective in reducing the number and severity of traffic collisions and casualties, according to new research. The findings should be used to support the implementation of 20mph speed zones across the UK and Europe, say the research team. The research, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and published in […]
Is it really better to die at home? New study highlights challenges for family members and healthcare professionals looking after patients at home
Family carers and healthcare staff said that hospital admission for patients near the end of their lives became necessary because of insufficient nursing and support at home, in a newly published study from the Cambridge Palliative and End of Life Care Group at the Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge. The study was carried out […]
Why are we unable to walk safely on our country roads?
Professor Mike Kelly, senior visiting fellow at the Primary Care Unit, writing in the Guardian, explains why it took an integrated strategy to cut smoking. He suggests that we need major infrastructural changes if we are to increase our physical activity – not just information and advice. “Getting the population more active is an absolute […]
What makes social life possible? How the human brain connects with the complex social world around us
The social lives of humans shape and influence biological processes taking place in our brains, according to a new theoretical framework linking sociological thinking with insights from neuroscience. The new framework, from Professor Mike Kelly, sociologist at the Primary Care Unit and Professor Paul Fletcher, Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience and colleagues from the […]