Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) have released a report [pdf] following a British Sociological Association (BSA) symposium on ‘How do different disciplines talk about alcohol and how can we work better together?’, held in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in April 2016.
The event aimed to bring together academics representing several Universities to discuss how the issue of alcohol consumption is seen in the fields of History, Geography, Sociology, Nursing, Psychology, Epidemiology and Public Health.
Included within the report, detailed presentations include:
- History and Alcohol Research - Dr James Nicholls, Director of Research and Policy Development, Alcohol Research UK
- Alcohol and the Sociological Imagination - Dr Thomas Thurnell Read, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Coventry University
- Nursing: Viewing the world from a different place through a different prism - Dr Aisha Holloway, Senior Lecturer/Clinical Academic Research Fellow, The University of Edinburgh
- Epidemiology and alcohol research - Dr John Holmes, Sheffield Alcohol Research Group, University of Sheffield
- Alcohol research from a Public Health perspective - Dr S Vittal Katikireddi, Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Public Health, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Research Unit, University of Glasgow
- Geography - Dr Niamh Shortt, Senior Lecturer in Health Geography and codirector of the Centre for Environment, Society and Health (CRESH), The University of Edinburgh
- Psychology - Dr Richard De Visser, Reader in Psychology, University of Sussex
Dr Carol Emslie, co-organiser of the event and co-convenor of the BSA Alcohol Study Group said:
“This stimulating event brought together excellent speakers from a diverse range of disciplines to discuss their contribution to alcohol research. It was exciting to see the points of connection and to discuss how we could improve communication across disciplinary ‘silos’ and work better together. We are very grateful to Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems for hosting the symposia and producing the report.”
The social media discussion during the event can be found here.
Beyond academic disciplines: policy & practice?
Those working outside the realm of academia may be surprised to consider so many different alcohol research 'disciplines', and may wonder to what extent such work does or should influence policy and practice. The event though also included perspectives from both nursing and public health and speakers were prompted to consider implications for policy and practice, as also reflected within the question and answer discussions (also detailed within the report). Indeed one conclusion from the report might be that alcohol use and problems are massively complex, and thus so is the scope and approaches required by those seeking to understand its many facets. Both academics and those from other fields have a responsibility to engage and communicate effectively with others whilst noting the many agendas and perspectives at play. It may be an issue which needs ongoing attention.
Forthcoming alcohol events in 2017 are detailed here including a BSA event on the 22 May and the Alcohol Research UK looking at public involvement on 5 April.
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