Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
Our research
Our Children of the 90s study reached its 33rd year in 2023, taking a longitudinal approach to studying the health and wellbeing of parents and children in the Bristol area. Topics currently being explored include childhood eating patterns, fatty liver disease, and the menopause. The project also received an award of £6.4m in MRC/ESRC funding in 2023 as part of the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration. This partnership of longitudinal studies offers a valuable resource, providing access to data that can enable cross-sector working and support further research.
Patient wellbeing is a core concern for health research. In 2023, a study by researchers at Bristol Medical School examined the information patients receive about innovative or novel surgeries, and whether they are fully informed before making decisions about their treatment, offering recommendations for improving communication and increasing patient involvement. Meanwhile, research from the University of Bristol Law School into the importance of patient autonomy and choice in mental health care has helped inform the work of the UK Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the new Mental Health Bill, which published its report in early 2023.
Our students
In 2022, Bristol was one of the first universities to receive the University Mental Health Charter Award from Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity. The University conducted a robust, evidenced-based assessment of its entire support offer, including areas that could use improvement. A 22,000 word report and two-day inspection from Student Minds were part of the assessment process, which included scrutiny of 18 areas of the University's support for mental health, including support services, proactive interventions, inclusivity, and accommodation.
In early 2023, a new group was established by Bristol researchers with an interest in medical education. The Bristol Medical Education research group offers an opportunity for staff to come together to share expertise and collaborate on finding new, innovative ways to improve teaching and learning in the medical, clinical and healthcare fields.
Our communities
A teaching resource to help teenagers find out about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in schools has been awarded the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education Association quality mark. EDUCATE was co-produced by researchers from the University of Bristol and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working with young people, and will help inform and reassure young people about the HPV vaccine, which is usually offered to teenagers at school as part of the national vaccination programme.
2023 saw the launch of Good Grief Weston, a festival in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, that aims to open up conversations around death and bereavement. Co-organised by the University and local community partners, the festival offered 30 workshops and events over eight days, including yoga, music and crafts. The Good Grief Festival was first run as a virtual event in 2020, and was started by two Bristol academics as a way to bring people together to share experiences of love and loss during the pandemic.
Ourselves
A landmark new building for the University’s Dental School opened in summer 2023, transforming the student experience and the School’s links with the local community. The £36 million purpose-built space, spanning 7,300 square metres, enables Bristol students to learn alongside trainees in dental hygiene, therapy and nursing, mirroring real-world practice. It will also allow the School to increase student places by around 25% and to expand its work providing free oral healthcare to under-served sections of the population at a time of significant inequality of access to dental care in South West England.
Six new externally mounted defibrillators were installed across our central campus in late 2022, which can be used in an emergency to save someone’s life if they experience sudden cardiac arrest. The automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are in publicly accessible places, available 24 hours a day, and carry clear step-by-step instructions for use. Staff from the Medical School and colleagues from the Safety and Health Team worked with Security, Estates and Campus Division to identify where the new defibrillators should be located, taking expert advice from South West Ambulance Service and Bristol City Council. The new and existing units have been added to a national defibrillator network known as The Circuit so that, in the event of an emergency call to 999, users can be directed to the nearest available AED unit by the ambulance service.
