Ben Gregory

Profile

Qualitative researcher interested in the social aspects of mental health. Suicide and Place is an interdisciplinary PhD project exploring the connection between local area and suicidality. Suicide research often focuses on individual level characteristics (psychological breakdown, mental illness or bereavement). Using a sociological imagination private troubles are public issues. Strong statistical evidence shows associations between suicide and area level characteristics (deprivation, social isolation, urbanicity, rurality), but there is a gap for qualitative evidence to idenfity potential mechanisms. I am supervised by Dr Cathy Brennan, who leads the Psychological and Social Medicine group, Simon Popple, who leads the Digital Creativity and Cultures Hub, and Sarah Waters who leads a social justice analysis of Work-related suicide.

Suicide and Place involves a Meta-ethnography, Walking Interviews, Semi-structured interviews, and creative digital mapping. The meta-ethography aims to idenify potential mechanisms between area-level characteristics and suicidality. Walking tours lead by community members, aims to expore mental wellbeing in an area of Leeds with high reported suicide rates. Using NVivo and ArcGIS storymaps, Interview transcripts, photographs and GPS tracking are triangulated to develop a creative map. The map visualises the physical, social and emotional aspects of place. This map acts as an eliticitation device in interviews with community members directly affect by suicidality. My interdisciplinary research contributes towards a social model of suicidality, and the development of innovative methodological approaches.

I have experience conducting research in the University of Leeds and Univerwsity of Glasgow. In Glasgow’s Health Economics and Health Technology Assesment group, I condutced Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (systematic reviews, thematic synthesis, scoping review), online semi-structured interviews, and ethnographic approaches to contribure to clinical trials. In Leeds, I conducted Participatory Filmaking to evaluate a Leeds City Council Public Mental Health intiative. My MSc research explored Psychiatric Service User experiences of disability benefits which I presented at BSA medical sociology conference and WUN Global Mental Health symposium.

I enjoy tutoring undergraduate medical students on public health, public and patient involvement, and developing my pedagogical skills and knowledge. I served as a PGR rep for Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, contributed to a School of Medicine PGR belonging task and finish group, and organisied events for PGRs in the School of Medicine. I co-lead a PGR peer support group for emotionally demanding research, and contribute towards a task and finish group to improve institutional level support.

Research interests

• Qualitative Methods (semi-structured interviews, ethnographic approaches, walking interviews, participant observation, thematic analysis)
• Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (systematic review, scoping review, thematic synthesis, meta-ethnography, framework synthesis)
• Creative research approaches (qualitative GIS, creative digital mapping, photography, participatory film-making)
• Social perspectives on suicide
• Sociology of Mental Health
• Lived Experience Representation

Qualifications

• MSc Global Mental Health with specialism in Research Methods
• Sociology BA