Keishia Taylor

My PhD Title: How does neighbourhood mixing affect the mental wellbeing of older adults? A longitudinal cross-country comparison between Ireland and England.

Supervisor: Stephen Jivraj, Epidemiology & Public Health

I'm interested in the impact of our neighbourhoods on our mental health. We know that living in a neighbourhood with high levels of deprivation is worse for our physical and mental health than living in a well-off neighbourhood. But what about inequality within neighbourhoods? Does the mental health of less well-off residents in neighbourhoods with a high level of inequality benefit from having wealthier neighbours, who may bring more resources to the area? Or do they suffer from being priced out, unable to access resources and there being less in common between different groups in the neighbourhood?

I have decided to focus on older adults because they tend to spend more time within their neighbourhoods and be more reliant on local services. They are also more likely to be settled in the area, so may have been exposed to the positive or negative effects of their neighbourhoods on their mental health for a longer period.

This study seeks to develop our understanding of the processes by which socioeconomic inequality within neighbourhoods might affect mental health and how it changes over time. It will also compare data from older adults in England (ELSA) and Ireland (TILDA), which hasn't been done before.

Qualifications

MSc Applied Social Research, Trinity College Dublin (2013-2014, Distinction)

BA (Hons) Religions and Theology, Trinity College Dublin (2008-2012, First, Gold Medal)

Awards

My PhD is funded by the ERSC as part of the UCL, Bloomsbury and East London Doctoral Training Partnership (UBEL DTP).

Publications

www.researchgate.net/profile/Keishia_Taylor/contributions

Appointments
I most recently worked on the Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) project, funded under Horizon 2020 and based in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. This project involved mixed-methods analysis of data from 30 European countries regarding complex care of children with autism and ADHD, and reporting on the varying interfaces of care and care coordination, to further the development of optimum models of child health care.

I previously worked at the TobaccoFree Research Institute, Dublin, where I conducted data collection, analysis and administration of qualitative and quantitative European projects on adolescent behaviours and attitudes concerning smoking cigarettes, roll-your-own and e-cigarettes, as well as an evaluation of tobacco control policies at national, municipal and school level. Specific projects include ESPAD (The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) and SILNE-R (Enhancing the effectiveness of programs and strategies to prevent smoking by adolescents: a realist evaluation comparing seven European countries).

Contact details Keishia.taylor.17@ucl.ac.uk