Health and social risks

We integrate health research and disaster research, focusing on topics such as disability, casualty, mental health, health-related behavioural change due to disasters, short and longer-term direct and indirect health consequences of disasters, space health, remote health and epidemic/infectious disease outbreak preparedness and response. Health risks are linked with social risk factors arising from socioeconomic status, inequalities, support and networks, and some of our work looks at health and disaster through this lens. Our research leads to innovative products such as digital public health solutions involving mobile gamified training and education interventions to improve health awareness and health capacity, and big data early-warning and prediction systems for infectious outbreaks and epidemics.

Projects

RDR Centre for Digital Public Health in Emergencies 

Recent health emergencies have unnecessarily taken thousands lives and cost the global economy billions. The UCL RDR Centre for Digital Public Health in Emergencies (dPHE) leads interdisciplinary research, training and policy to break down the limits of current health systems’ capacity and communities’ resilience to improve health and wellbeing; and respond to emergencies at local, national and international levels.