Profile

Biography

Hilary Graham has a background in sociology and social policy. Prior to coming to the Department of Health Sciences at York, she held positions at the University of Warwick and Lancaster University.

She has a track-record of research concerned with social inequalities in health, with a particular focus on health-related behaviours. Her current research is exploring the implications of climate change for people's health and everyday lives. 

Research concerned with climate change and people's health.

Hilary Graham is part of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, funded by the Wellcome Trust and led by UCL (2018-23). She coordinates the Countdown group tracking public and political engagement in health and climate change. She is an author for the series of reports published as part of the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change: Policy Responses to Protect Public Health. Follow these links for the 2019 Lancet Countdown report and the podcast about the 2019 report. The 2018 report and podcast can be found here: 2018 Lancet Countdown report and the podcast about the 2018 report.

Hilary is an Associate Director of the new ESRC Centre for Climate and Social Transformations (CAST) led by the University of Cardiff.

Research concerned with social inequalities in health.

Hilary Graham has led a range of research programmes, including the ESRC Health Variations Programme (1996-2001), which investigated the links between social and health inequalities, and the Department of Health Public Health Research Consortium (2005-11). She has continued to be a collaborator in the Public Health Research Consortium (2011-19) and is a Co-Investigator in the new NIHR Public Health Policy Research Unit (2019-2024, led by LSHTM).

Her books include Unequal Lives: Health and Socioeconomic Inequalities (Open University Press, 2007) and Understanding Health Inequalities (Open University Press, 2010). 

Other activities

Hilary was a member of the Social Policy and Social Work Panel for the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, as well as a number of previous Research Assessment Exercises, and has served as Vice-Chair of the ESRC Research Committee. Hilary received a CBE for services to social science in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2014 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2016.

Qualifications

• PhD Sociology, University of York
• Postgraduate Certificate in Education, University of York
• MA Sociology, University of York
• BA Sociology, University of York

Research

Overview

Hilary's current research interests focus on the social and health implications of climate change, including implications for future generations (children's future lives and the lives of those yet to be born). She also continues her research interests in public health and social inequalities, and, in particular, health behaviour and behaviour change.

Projects

• Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change
• ESRC Centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations (CAST)
• HOPE - Health of Populations and Ecosystems (ESRC funded)
• A systematic review of qualitative studies of older people's experiences of everyday travel (DHSC PHRC funded)
  • Final Report
  • Ageing and Society paper
  • Journal of Transport and Health paper
• Health behaviours and health behaviour change among adults in England (DHSC PHRC funded)
  • Final report
  • Adults who engage in little physical activity nd eat little fruit and vegetables: A brief report
• Barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation in pregnancy and following childbirth
• Multiple risk behaviours among parents with dependent children. (DHSC PHRC funded)

Research group(s)

• Public Health and Society

Publications

Selected publications

• Graham et al. (2019) Flood- and weather-damaged homes and mental health: An analysis using England's Mental Health Survey https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183256
• Graham et al. (2019) Willingness to pay for policies to reduce future deaths from climate change: evidence from a British survey https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.06.001
• Smith et al. (2019) Associations between active travel and diet: cross-sectional evidence on healthy, low-carbon behaviours from UK Biobank http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030741
• A report on adults who engage in little physical activity and eat little fruit and vegetables (funded by PHRC) Report (PDF , 1,890kb) (This report should be opened in Adobe Acrobat to see the associated tables)

Full publications list

• Hilary Graham's publications

External activities

Memberships

• Fellow of the British Academy