Pengfei Wang, PhD student, Department of Health Sciences
I am currently a PhD student in the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group at the Department of Health Sciences.
I took a Master’s research degree at the School of Public Health, Fudan University, where my research focused on the risk factors (particularly environmental factors) for cognitive impairment and depression among older adults as well as intervention strategies. I also worked as a part-time research assistant in the Department of Social Work at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, exploring the relationship between mental health and functional disability in older adults.
My current research focuses on the longitudinal relationships between urban living environments, including natural, built, and social environments, and mental health.
Email: stl542@york.ac.uk
Our 60-second interview with Pengfei:
Could you please tell us what work you do in the field of mental health?
My PhD research focuses on the relationship between urban living environments and mental health, examining the combined effects of natural, built, and social environmental factors. I am currently conducting a systematic review to synthesise existing evidence on how physical and social environments jointly influence mental health. I am also conducting a large-scale longitudinal analysis using UK Biobank data to investigate how different environmental factors and their combinations affect the mental health outcomes.
What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?
This study will address the need for place-based mental health promotion policies and the reduction of health inequalities in urban areas, with a particular focus on key elements such as the physical and social environment.
What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?
How to integrate and analyse the combined effects of physical and social environments is both an innovative and challenging aspect of this research.
What impact do you hope your work is having - or can potentially have?
This study can provide foundational evidence for identifying modifiable environmental and social determinants, thereby informing multi-sectoral strategies in urban planning, public health, and the design of mental health services.
Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?
Hanging out with friends, traveling, enjoying good food, spending time in nature, and doing things I enjoy are my ways of maintaining a positive mood. When it comes to research, I think one of the most important things is not to procrastinate. Although this is challenging for me sometimes, I’ve found that when I try to maintain a regular routine, I gain a greater sense of control and accomplishment.