The Health Studies Research Group (HSRG)

The Health Studies Research Group (HSRG) is a multi-disciplinary research group exploring the experience of health and illness across the life course through key interrelated research themes.

• Mental Health - e.g., workplace challenges, child and adolescent mental health, and computerised psychotherapies.
• Wellbeing - e.g., living well with dementia or other long-term conditions and co-morbidities.
• Health and Social Care - e.g., user, carer, and provider experiences.
• Global Health - e.g., mental health research in Sub-Saharan Africa

There is a greater need for health research than ever before as physical and mental health problems rapidly increase and present serious challenges to our health and social care services.

Prof Cathy Lloyd
HSRG Co-Lead

Our projects focus on developing inclusive methodologies with services users and practitioner academics such as nurses, social workers, and others from health professional backgrounds.

Employing multi-disciplinary quantitative and qualitative approaches, we work with funders, charities, organisations, service users, and carers across the world.

Recent projects include a global study on pathways to care for people with diabetes and depression, and developing e-therapies for young people seeking help for their depression in New Zealand, Canada and elsewhere.

The Open University and the BBC: bringing learning to life

Our unique partnership allows us to support award-winning co-productions in our fields of research. Co-productions include:

All in the Mind

This BBC Radio 4 programme explores three aspects of human behaviour: issues concerning mental health, the latest neuroscience research, and new ideas in psychology.

Read more about All in the Mind

David Harewood: Psychosis and Me

This BBC 2 show is the Winner of a Mind Media Award (2019) for the Speaking Out category. Winner of a Learning on Screen Award (2020) for the Broadcast Award. Nominated for a BAFTA (2020) for the Single Documentary Award.

David Harewood: Psychosis and Me

Hospital

This BBC 2 programme is the Winner of the Royal Television Society Award (2017) for Best Documentary Series, nominated for a Grierson Award (2020).

Read more about Hospital

Sectioned

This BBC 4 programme is the Winner of a Mind Media Award (2010) for Best Mental Health Documentary.

Read more about Sectioned

All our co-productions are accompanied by free educational resources available on OpenLearn, The Open University’s free learning platform. For more examples of these and other HSRG resources, please visit the 'Resources' section of our website.