Ben Gregory

Profile

Qualitative researcher interested in the social aspects of mental health. Suicide and Place is am 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 area level characteristics (deprivation, social isolation, urbanicity, rurality) but there is a gap for qualitative evidence to explain potential mechanisms. I am supervised by Dr Cathy Brennan, who leads the Psychological and Social Medicine group, and Simon Popple, who leads the Digital Creativity and Cultures Hub.

Suicide and Place involves three linked studies, a Meta-ethnography, Walking Interviews, and Collaborative Storyboarding.   A qualitative systematic review and meta-ethography aims to idenify potential mechanisms between area-level characteristics and suicidality.  Walking interviews, with community members, aims to compare of two areas of Leeds with reported high and low sucide rates. Collaborative storyboarding, with people directly affect by suicidality, will re-interpret the previous studies and generate creative data. A grounded theory approach to synthesise the three studies aiming to generate a theory to understand the connection between local area and suicidality.

I have 2 years experience working as a research assistant in Leeds and Glasgow. I worked with Dr Evi Germeni Incorporating Experiences and Perspectives in health technology assesment at the University of Glasgow. I enjoyed using Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (systematic reviews, thematic synthesis, scoping review), online semi-structured interviews evluating the implementation of an AI tool in radiology, and ethnographic approaches in the NIHR funded Early Vasopressors in Sepsis study. I also worked with Professors Paul Cooke and Siobhan Hugh-Jones and Eve Little at the University of Leeds, using Participatory Filmaking as part of an evaluation of a Leeds City Council Public Mental Health intiative. I tutor undergraduate medical students on public health, public and patient involvement, and I enjoy developing my teaching skills and knowledge.

Research interests

• Qualitative Methods (semi-structured interviews, ethnographic approaches, participant observation, thematic analysis)
• Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (systematic reviews, scoping review, theamtic synthesis, meta-ethnography, framework synthesis)
• Social perspectives on suicide
• Sociology of Mental Health
• Lived Experience Representation

Qualifications

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