R Lynch
Biographic Data
| ID | 45469 |
|---|---|
| NAME | R Lynch |
| GIVEN NAMES | R |
| FAMILY NAME | Lynch |
| SIGNATURE | LYNCH R |
| AFFILIATIONS | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6890-698X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 49 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
(Self)care by Numbers
In an era of increasing interest in self-monitoring technologies to improve population health, this article considers how participants in a public health trial engaged with such technologies. Exploring how their engagement sits with the logic of self-monitoring and the technology of the trial highlights that the trial's blackboxing of its objects of study obscure the deeply contextualized care practices through which such technologies "work." Att…
The unfairness of place
Rethinking chronicity
Epidemics of chronic disease are widely recognized as deeply rooted in economic, social, and political structures and their histories. Yet strategies to address them continue to drift further downstream, to the ‘modifiable risk factors’ associated with conditions such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension (Glasgow & Schrecker 2016). In the context of this seemingly intractable gulf between evidence and policy, this Special Section highlights some …
Apocalyptic futures
In the context of Covid-19, anthropologists of medicine and religion alike may be tempted to join with the media in declaring that humanity is facing the end of the world as we know it. Indeed, as
Living in the end of days
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Trinidad, this paper examines how the framing of a particular apocalyptic future provided a moral commentary and model for wellbeing in contemporary everyday life. Changing social, political, and economic circumstances and relations had brought a range of new risks and anxieties into daily life. These more recent problems originating from beyond the village (such as climate change, criminality, inequality, pol…
The (failed) promise of multimorbidity
Multimorbidity has become an increasingly prominent lens through which public health focuses on the 'burden' of ill health in ageing populations, with the promise of a more upstream and holistic approach. We use a situational analysis (drawing on documentary analysis and interviews with service providers, policy actors and people living with multiple conditions) in south London, UK, to explore what this lens brings into focus, and what it obscure…
Parent recommendations to support physical activity for families with young children
BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early childhood is a critical period when healthy behaviours can be instilled for a future active lifestyle. We explored community, societal and environmental factors affecting child and family physical activity and sought parent recommendations to support physical activity in families with young children. METHODS: We interviewed 61 parents expecting a child or wi…
Co-circulation of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses in Colombia from 2008 to 2018
Objective. This study aimed to identify the co-circulation patterns of three viruses (dengue, Zika, and chikungunya) in Colombia from 2008 to 2018 by using notification reports provided to the national surveillance system. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted through a review of data for 2008 through 2018 from Colombia’s Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA). Results. In 2015, when chikungunya was first detected, it had a hig…
Authors’ response to the letter to the editor entitled
How do health behaviour interventions take account of social context? A literature trend and co-citation analysis
In recent years, health behaviour interventions have received a great deal of attention in both research and policy as a means of encouraging people to lead healthier lives. The emphasis of such interventions has varied over time, in terms of level of intervention (e.g. individual vs community) and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Recently, a number of critiques have focused on how health behaviour interventions sometimes sideline …
Beyond the person
Many studies of blood donation have looked at the motives of donors, their relationship with the wider society and corresponding values such as gift-giving, altruism and responsibility. These underpin a rhetorical representation of person-to-person donation that neglects the many technical processes that take place between donation and eventual use and the material nature of blood itself. This ethnographic study, conducted in four UK blood donati…
Posthuman perspectives
In this special issue of Critical Public Health the papers collectively explore how certain theoretical perspectives in the social sciences, often termed ‘posthumanism’, might productively be appli
Falling into a routine
In line with the concept of 'nudging' people to change their behaviour, there has been increased attention on habit as a focus for psychologically-based health interventions. It is hoped that behaviours initiated by interventions not only become so regular that they are normalised into people's everyday lives, but that through repetition they may eventually become fixed and habitual. In this paper we draw on people's accounts of participating in …
Diverse bodies
In recent years, medical anthropology has benefited a great deal from debates in science studies, and in particular, the focus on knowledge practices (Pickering, 1995) and epistemic cultures (Knorr Cetina, 1999).At the same time, within anthropology, work exploring post-human orientations-for example, the focus on materiality and the role of objects, human-animal relations, and environmental approaches -have invigorated debate not only about how …
In the loop
Self-monitoring, by which individuals record and appraise ongoing information about the status of their body in order to improve their health, has been a key element in the personal management of conditions such as diabetes, but it is now also increasingly used in relation to health-associated behaviours. The introduction of self-monitoring as an intervention to change behaviour is intended to provide feedback that can be used by individuals to b…
Well London Phase-1
BACKGROUND: We report the main results, among adults, of a cluster-randomised-trial of Well London, a community-engagement programme promoting healthy eating, physical activity and mental well-being in deprived neighbourhoods. The hypothesis was that benefits would be neighbourhood-wide, and not restricted to intervention participants. The trial was part of a multicomponent process/outcome evaluation which included non-experimental components (se…
Measures of exposure to the Well London Phase-1 intervention and their association with health well-being and social outcomes
In this paper, we describe the measures of intervention exposure used in the cluster randomised trial of the Well London programme, a public health intervention using community engagement and community-based projects to increase physical activity, healthy eating and mental health and well-being in 20 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in London.10 No earmarked resources to support the development of these measures and associated data collection …
Complaints about dog faeces as a symbolic representation of incivility in London, UK
During a 'Well London' study, residents were asked about their neighbourhood and its environment. Above all other complaints, 'dog poo' was mentioned as a key concern. Despite low rates of infection and disease among the human population resulting from contact with canine faecal matter, the concerns of the public continue to rate it as a serious public health issue. Most public health studies, therefore, seek to identify processes of transmission…
OP07 What Shapes Participation in a Community-Based Intervention? Evidence from a Qualitative Evaluation of the Well London Project
Background This paper examines how individual and area-level contextual factors shape participation in a community-based development and health promotion intervention. Well London was a 3-year community development and health promotion programme for improving health behaviours (physical activity and healthy eating) and mental health and wellbeing in areas of high deprivation. The programme aimed to improve individual level health outcomes through…
Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN68175121
Free breakfasts in schools
An overview of the methods used for the evaluation is presented, providing an example of the feasibility of conducting robust evaluations of policy initiatives using a randomised trial design with nested process evaluation. Details are provided of response rates and the flow of participants. Reflection is offered on methodological issues encountered at various stages through the course of the study, focusing upon issues associated with conducting…
Associations between deprivation, attitudes towards eating breakfast and breakfast eating behaviours in 9–11-year-olds
Objectives To examine school-level relationships between deprivation and breakfast eating behaviours (breakfast skipping and the healthfulness of foods consumed) in 9–11-year-old schoolchildren and to examine whether attitudes towards eating breakfast mediated these relationships. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting One hundred and eleven primary schools in Wales. Subjects Year 5 and 6 pupils within the 111 primary schools. Measures were compl…
Posthuman perspectives
In this special issue of Critical Public Health the papers collectively explore how certain theoretical perspectives in the social sciences, often termed ‘posthumanism’, might productively be appli
How do health behaviour interventions take account of social context? A literature trend and co-citation analysis
In recent years, health behaviour interventions have received a great deal of attention in both research and policy as a means of encouraging people to lead healthier lives. The emphasis of such interventions has varied over time, in terms of level of intervention (e.g. individual vs community) and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Recently, a number of critiques have focused on how health behaviour interventions sometimes sideline …
Measures of exposure to the Well London Phase-1 intervention and their association with health well-being and social outcomes
In this paper, we describe the measures of intervention exposure used in the cluster randomised trial of the Well London programme, a public health intervention using community engagement and community-based projects to increase physical activity, healthy eating and mental health and well-being in 20 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in London.10 No earmarked resources to support the development of these measures and associated data collection …
Falling into a routine
In line with the concept of 'nudging' people to change their behaviour, there has been increased attention on habit as a focus for psychologically-based health interventions. It is hoped that behaviours initiated by interventions not only become so regular that they are normalised into people's everyday lives, but that through repetition they may eventually become fixed and habitual. In this paper we draw on people's accounts of participating in …
Well London Phase-1
BACKGROUND: We report the main results, among adults, of a cluster-randomised-trial of Well London, a community-engagement programme promoting healthy eating, physical activity and mental well-being in deprived neighbourhoods. The hypothesis was that benefits would be neighbourhood-wide, and not restricted to intervention participants. The trial was part of a multicomponent process/outcome evaluation which included non-experimental components (se…
Diverse bodies
In recent years, medical anthropology has benefited a great deal from debates in science studies, and in particular, the focus on knowledge practices (Pickering, 1995) and epistemic cultures (Knorr Cetina, 1999).At the same time, within anthropology, work exploring post-human orientations-for example, the focus on materiality and the role of objects, human-animal relations, and environmental approaches -have invigorated debate not only about how …
In the loop
Self-monitoring, by which individuals record and appraise ongoing information about the status of their body in order to improve their health, has been a key element in the personal management of conditions such as diabetes, but it is now also increasingly used in relation to health-associated behaviours. The introduction of self-monitoring as an intervention to change behaviour is intended to provide feedback that can be used by individuals to b…
The unfairness of place
Free breakfasts in schools
An overview of the methods used for the evaluation is presented, providing an example of the feasibility of conducting robust evaluations of policy initiatives using a randomised trial design with nested process evaluation. Details are provided of response rates and the flow of participants. Reflection is offered on methodological issues encountered at various stages through the course of the study, focusing upon issues associated with conducting…
Associations between deprivation, attitudes towards eating breakfast and breakfast eating behaviours in 9–11-year-olds
Objectives To examine school-level relationships between deprivation and breakfast eating behaviours (breakfast skipping and the healthfulness of foods consumed) in 9–11-year-old schoolchildren and to examine whether attitudes towards eating breakfast mediated these relationships. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting One hundred and eleven primary schools in Wales. Subjects Year 5 and 6 pupils within the 111 primary schools. Measures were compl…
Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN68175121
Complaints about dog faeces as a symbolic representation of incivility in London, UK
During a 'Well London' study, residents were asked about their neighbourhood and its environment. Above all other complaints, 'dog poo' was mentioned as a key concern. Despite low rates of infection and disease among the human population resulting from contact with canine faecal matter, the concerns of the public continue to rate it as a serious public health issue. Most public health studies, therefore, seek to identify processes of transmission…
OP07 What Shapes Participation in a Community-Based Intervention? Evidence from a Qualitative Evaluation of the Well London Project
Background This paper examines how individual and area-level contextual factors shape participation in a community-based development and health promotion intervention. Well London was a 3-year community development and health promotion programme for improving health behaviours (physical activity and healthy eating) and mental health and wellbeing in areas of high deprivation. The programme aimed to improve individual level health outcomes through…
Well London Phase-1
BACKGROUND: We report the main results, among adults, of a cluster-randomised-trial of Well London, a community-engagement programme promoting healthy eating, physical activity and mental well-being in deprived neighbourhoods. The hypothesis was that benefits would be neighbourhood-wide, and not restricted to intervention participants. The trial was part of a multicomponent process/outcome evaluation which included non-experimental components (se…
Measures of exposure to the Well London Phase-1 intervention and their association with health well-being and social outcomes
In this paper, we describe the measures of intervention exposure used in the cluster randomised trial of the Well London programme, a public health intervention using community engagement and community-based projects to increase physical activity, healthy eating and mental health and well-being in 20 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in London.10 No earmarked resources to support the development of these measures and associated data collection …
In the loop
Self-monitoring, by which individuals record and appraise ongoing information about the status of their body in order to improve their health, has been a key element in the personal management of conditions such as diabetes, but it is now also increasingly used in relation to health-associated behaviours. The introduction of self-monitoring as an intervention to change behaviour is intended to provide feedback that can be used by individuals to b…
Beyond the person
Many studies of blood donation have looked at the motives of donors, their relationship with the wider society and corresponding values such as gift-giving, altruism and responsibility. These underpin a rhetorical representation of person-to-person donation that neglects the many technical processes that take place between donation and eventual use and the material nature of blood itself. This ethnographic study, conducted in four UK blood donati…
Posthuman perspectives
In this special issue of Critical Public Health the papers collectively explore how certain theoretical perspectives in the social sciences, often termed ‘posthumanism’, might productively be appli
Falling into a routine
In line with the concept of 'nudging' people to change their behaviour, there has been increased attention on habit as a focus for psychologically-based health interventions. It is hoped that behaviours initiated by interventions not only become so regular that they are normalised into people's everyday lives, but that through repetition they may eventually become fixed and habitual. In this paper we draw on people's accounts of participating in …
Diverse bodies
In recent years, medical anthropology has benefited a great deal from debates in science studies, and in particular, the focus on knowledge practices (Pickering, 1995) and epistemic cultures (Knorr Cetina, 1999).At the same time, within anthropology, work exploring post-human orientations-for example, the focus on materiality and the role of objects, human-animal relations, and environmental approaches -have invigorated debate not only about how …
How do health behaviour interventions take account of social context? A literature trend and co-citation analysis
In recent years, health behaviour interventions have received a great deal of attention in both research and policy as a means of encouraging people to lead healthier lives. The emphasis of such interventions has varied over time, in terms of level of intervention (e.g. individual vs community) and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Recently, a number of critiques have focused on how health behaviour interventions sometimes sideline …
Co-circulation of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses in Colombia from 2008 to 2018
Objective. This study aimed to identify the co-circulation patterns of three viruses (dengue, Zika, and chikungunya) in Colombia from 2008 to 2018 by using notification reports provided to the national surveillance system. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted through a review of data for 2008 through 2018 from Colombia’s Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA). Results. In 2015, when chikungunya was first detected, it had a hig…
Authors’ response to the letter to the editor entitled
Parent recommendations to support physical activity for families with young children
BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early childhood is a critical period when healthy behaviours can be instilled for a future active lifestyle. We explored community, societal and environmental factors affecting child and family physical activity and sought parent recommendations to support physical activity in families with young children. METHODS: We interviewed 61 parents expecting a child or wi…
Apocalyptic futures
In the context of Covid-19, anthropologists of medicine and religion alike may be tempted to join with the media in declaring that humanity is facing the end of the world as we know it. Indeed, as
Living in the end of days
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Trinidad, this paper examines how the framing of a particular apocalyptic future provided a moral commentary and model for wellbeing in contemporary everyday life. Changing social, political, and economic circumstances and relations had brought a range of new risks and anxieties into daily life. These more recent problems originating from beyond the village (such as climate change, criminality, inequality, pol…
The (failed) promise of multimorbidity
Multimorbidity has become an increasingly prominent lens through which public health focuses on the 'burden' of ill health in ageing populations, with the promise of a more upstream and holistic approach. We use a situational analysis (drawing on documentary analysis and interviews with service providers, policy actors and people living with multiple conditions) in south London, UK, to explore what this lens brings into focus, and what it obscure…
Rethinking chronicity
Epidemics of chronic disease are widely recognized as deeply rooted in economic, social, and political structures and their histories. Yet strategies to address them continue to drift further downstream, to the ‘modifiable risk factors’ associated with conditions such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension (Glasgow & Schrecker 2016). In the context of this seemingly intractable gulf between evidence and policy, this Special Section highlights some …
The unfairness of place
(Self)care by Numbers
In an era of increasing interest in self-monitoring technologies to improve population health, this article considers how participants in a public health trial engaged with such technologies. Exploring how their engagement sits with the logic of self-monitoring and the technology of the trial highlights that the trial's blackboxing of its objects of study obscure the deeply contextualized care practices through which such technologies "work." Att…
Medicine (14 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Political science (9 works) · Public health (9 works) · Environmental health (7 works) · Nursing (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Psychological intervention (6 works)