Cornelia Guell
Biographic Data
| ID | 81768 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Cornelia Guell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Cornelia |
| FAMILY NAME | Guell |
| SIGNATURE | GUELL C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Exeter |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0105-410X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 133 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 40 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
The value of adding ‘grey literature’ in evidence synthesis for equity-driven global health
Grey literature, defined as evidence ‘not controlled by commercial publishers’, can enhance the comprehensiveness, timeliness and balance of evidence reviews. It may be particularly important in global health research, where funding inequities and under-representation of local expertise in peer-reviewed research articles—often published by commercial publishers for substantial fees—can lead to evidence gaps in systematic reviews. However, searchi…
Examining food sharing practices in Caribbean Small Island Developing States and their potential for improving health outcomes, through a system-informed lens
Food sharing is an important part of food practices in many settings and contributes to food access and diversity. Food sharing has long been embedded in Caribbean culture, reflecting values of community, care, and social cohesion. These practices are undergoing shifts influenced by various socio-political, economic, and environmental factors. Contemporary trends suggest a decline in food sharing, with increased sharing of convenience-oriented fo…
Manoeuvring rural mobility policy for active and sustainable travel
Promoting "slow mobilities" and low carbon transport alternatives, through supporting active and sustainable travel (AST, including walking, cycling, wheeling, and public transport), is a priority for both public health and net zero strategies. Using a situational analysis drawing on local and national documents and stakeholder interviews, we explore the policy ecology of local authority ambitions and practices for creating and implementing AST p…
An exploratory case study of food sharing practices in Caribbean countries through a transition lens using intergenerational dyad interviews
BACKGROUND: Caribbean populations face complex health issues related to diet and food security as they undergo a rapid nutrition transition, resulting in some of the world's highest number of premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Despite policy efforts to promote local and regional food consumption, reliance on food imports remains high with many Caribbean countries importing more than 80% of their food from larger economies. Pre…
Process and practice in New Zealand Enviroschool implementation
Interest in integrating sustainability and health education in schools is growing. • New Zealand's Enviroschools is a socioecological approach to this integration. • This qualitative interview study explores Enviroschools implementation practices and processes via thematic analysis. • Developing meaningful relationships with people and places is key to Enviroschools. • Enviroschools implementation is an experiential, cognitive and affective journ…
Understanding the links between human health, ecosystem health, and food systems in Small Island Developing States using stakeholder-informed causal loop diagrams
Globalized food systems are a major driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in society. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are particularly sensitive to the negative effects of rapid environmental change, with many also exhibiting a heavy reliance on food imports and high burdens of nutrition-related disease, resulting in calls to (re)localize their food sy…
The shifting baseline syndrome as a connective concept for more informed and just responses to global environmental change
The concept of the ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ has assisted researchers in understanding how expectations for the health of the environment deteriorate, despite known, often widespread, and significant impacts from human activities. The concept has been used to demonstrate that more accurate assessment of historical ecosystem decline can be achieved by balancing contemporary perceptions with other sorts of evidence, and is now widely referred to…
Situating commercial determinants of health in their historical context
BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality across the Caribbean and similar regions. Structural determinants include a marked increase in the dependency on food imports, and the proliferation of processed foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). We focused on Jamaica as a case study and the health challenge of SSBs, and situated contemporary actions, experiences and policies within their historical c…
Changing mobility practices. Can meta-ethnography inform transferable and policy-relevant theory
Social practice theories have attracted attention for their potential insights into how to change transport systems towards "healthier" states. However, most evidence is from small-scale qualitative case studies. We explored whether a synthesis of qualitative evidence on mobility practices in one country, informed by meta-ethnography and a Bourdieusian approach to practice, could produce theory that is of sufficient abstraction to be transferable…
Street trees and mental health
We considered the relationship between street trees and mental health with the aim of developing systems thinking-informed hypotheses to improve the implementation and evaluation of this popular nature-based solution (NBS). We integrated qualitative and quantitative evidence using causal loop diagraming (CLD), and then further analyzed and extended these diagrams with the aid of systems archetypes to identify key system structures. From these CLD…
Exploring ways to respond to rising obesity and diabetes in the Caribbean using a system dynamics model
Diabetes and obesity present a high and increasing burden of disease in the Caribbean that have failed to respond to prevention policies and interventions. These conditions are the result of a complex system of drivers and determinants that can make it difficult to predict the impact of interventions. In partnership with stakeholders, we developed a system dynamics simulation model to map the system driving diabetes and obesity prevalence in the …
Sharing believable stories
Case study examples can inform policy recommendations and action to create healthy environments. This qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews with nine cross-sectoral stakeholders in England, explored the role of context in case study examples. We found that case studies can not only be a 'practical example' but also used as a 'believable story' with the power to influence decision-making. Case studies may be deemed believable if simi…
"We used to get food from the garden." Understanding changing practices of local food production and consumption in small island states
Making sense of the evidence in population health intervention research
To effectively tackle population health challenges, we must address the fundamental determinants of behaviour and health. Among other things, this will entail devoting more attention to the evaluation of upstream intervention strategies. However, merely increasing the supply of such studies is not enough. The pivotal link between research and policy or practice should be the cumulation of insight from multiple studies. If conventional evidence sy…
Reach, Recruitment, Dose, and Intervention Fidelity of the GoActive School-Based Physical Activity Intervention in the UK
School-based multi-component physical activity (PA) promotion is advocated; however, research has indicated that a multi-component approach may not always be effective at increasing adolescent PA. Evaluation of the GoActive 12-week multi-component school-based intervention showed no effect on adolescent PA. A mixed-methods process evaluation was embedded to facilitate greater understanding of the results, to elicit subgroup perceptions, and to pr…
What is the evidence base for integrating health and environmental approaches in the school context to nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people? A systematic scoping review of glo…
Communal therapeutic mobility in group walking
Title
Cancer risk in socially marginalised women
Women in this study were at high risk of cancer, but it would be better to understand these risk factors as markers of distress and duress. Without appreciating the wider determinants of health and systemic disadvantage of marginalised groups, and addressing these with a structural rather than an individual response, we risk increasing cancer inequities by failing those who are in the greatest need
"Group walking as a "lifeline
Organised walking groups are increasingly widespread in the UK and elsewhere and have been shown to have many benefits for participants. They tend to attract more women than men, but little is known about how and why walking groups 'recruit' women. This is of particular importance given observed inequalities in physical activity participation by gender, in favour of men. To explore women's participation in walking groups, we conducted ethnographi…
Towards co‐designing active ageing strategies
BACKGROUND: Physical activity levels decline in later life despite the known benefits for physical, cognitive and mental health. Older people find it difficult to meet activity targets; therefore, more realistic and meaningful strategies are needed. We aimed to develop a typology of older people's motivations and lifelong habits of being active as a starting point to co-designing active ageing strategies in a workshop. METHODS: We conducted semi-…
Health and other impacts of community food production in Small Island Developing States
Evidence of impacts of CPFIs in Small Island Developing States is limited and the approaches taken are inconsistent. This review demonstrates the need and provides a basis for developing a coherent body of methods to examine the impacts of CFPIs and provide evidence to guide policy, especially as it relates to health
Evaluating policy responses to noncommunicable diseases in seven Caribbean countries
Regional collaboration and political support across sectors are essential to accelerating the pace of action to support healthy eating and active living environments. Policy "blueprints" could accelerate the process of development. Regional "NCD champions" could spearhead such responses and approaches
Toward Understanding How Social Factors Shaped a Behavioral Intervention on Healthier Infant Formula-Feeding
As part of a process evaluation, we explored in semi-structured interviews the experiences of 19 mothers who had taken part in a trial to reduce infant formula-milk intake and promote healthy weight gain, and reflections of three facilitators who delivered the intervention and control group protocols. Mothers appreciated the nonjudgmental support provided during the trial, after experiencing stigma and receiving limited advice on how, how much, a…
Negotiating multisectoral evidence
This case study of stakeholders' experiences indicates that multisectoral research, practice and policymaking requires the ability and capacity to locate, understand and communicate complex evidence from a variety of disciplines, and integrate different types of evidence into clear business cases beyond sectoral boundaries
Towards a differentiated understanding of active travel behaviour
Fostering physical activity is an established public health priority for the primary prevention of a variety of chronic diseases. One promising population approach is to seek to embed physical activity in everyday lives by promoting walking and cycling to and from work ('active commuting') as an alternative to driving. Predominantly quantitative epidemiological studies have investigated travel behaviours, their determinants and how they may be ch…
Self-Care at the Margins
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in 2006 and 2007, this article examines Turkish migrants' everyday practices of diabetes self-management in Berlin, Germany. To avoid diabetes complications, Turkish Berliners became self-carers who altered food choices, cooking and eating practices, and made their self-care practices visible with the help of blood sugar self-testing. Rather than representing the common image of the disadvantaged migrant patient …
Picturing commuting
We used participant-produced photography to investigate everyday commuting practices in Cambridge, UK. Photovoice served as an observational method for producing ethnographically rich data. A total of 19 participants produced over 500 photos about their journeys to and from work and took part in photo-elicitation interviews. Three themes emerged. First, many images depicted 'well-being' in commuting, for example, beautiful landscapes. Second, dur…
"Group walking as a "lifeline
Organised walking groups are increasingly widespread in the UK and elsewhere and have been shown to have many benefits for participants. They tend to attract more women than men, but little is known about how and why walking groups 'recruit' women. This is of particular importance given observed inequalities in physical activity participation by gender, in favour of men. To explore women's participation in walking groups, we conducted ethnographi…
Healthy travel and the socio-economic structure of car commuting in Cambridge, UK
Painful Childhood
In this article the author explores the everyday life and coping of children living with juvenile arthritis. The author considered the children as experts on their illness who can give valuable insights into illness management from a patient's perspective. This is in contrast to most research, which lets others, such as caregivers, speak in the place of children. She used an ethnographic approach with open-ended interviews and participant observa…
Candi(e)d Action
In this article, I explore Turkish migrants' responses to diabetes in Germany. Anthropological studies on health inequalities tend to theorize "social suffering" as passive experiences; those that analyze active social engagement by patient groups as "biosociality" do so solely in the realm of biotechnologies and suggest that social disadvantage prevent active engagement. This article draws on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Berlin from 20…
Walking groups in socioeconomically deprived communities
Walking groups can benefit health but uptake is more likely amongst those who are socially well-situated and need them least. This study worked with a new walking group in a community in England with poor health and socio-economic indicators to understand non-participation and barriers to involvement. It used a qualitative approach. Participant generated photographs captured the physical and social environments in which they walked and these were…
Communal therapeutic mobility in group walking
Changing mobility practices. Can meta-ethnography inform transferable and policy-relevant theory
Social practice theories have attracted attention for their potential insights into how to change transport systems towards "healthier" states. However, most evidence is from small-scale qualitative case studies. We explored whether a synthesis of qualitative evidence on mobility practices in one country, informed by meta-ethnography and a Bourdieusian approach to practice, could produce theory that is of sufficient abstraction to be transferable…
Sharing believable stories
Case study examples can inform policy recommendations and action to create healthy environments. This qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews with nine cross-sectoral stakeholders in England, explored the role of context in case study examples. We found that case studies can not only be a 'practical example' but also used as a 'believable story' with the power to influence decision-making. Case studies may be deemed believable if simi…
"We used to get food from the garden." Understanding changing practices of local food production and consumption in small island states
What is the evidence base for integrating health and environmental approaches in the school context to nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people? A systematic scoping review of glo…
Cancer risk in socially marginalised women
Women in this study were at high risk of cancer, but it would be better to understand these risk factors as markers of distress and duress. Without appreciating the wider determinants of health and systemic disadvantage of marginalised groups, and addressing these with a structural rather than an individual response, we risk increasing cancer inequities by failing those who are in the greatest need
Toward Understanding How Social Factors Shaped a Behavioral Intervention on Healthier Infant Formula-Feeding
As part of a process evaluation, we explored in semi-structured interviews the experiences of 19 mothers who had taken part in a trial to reduce infant formula-milk intake and promote healthy weight gain, and reflections of three facilitators who delivered the intervention and control group protocols. Mothers appreciated the nonjudgmental support provided during the trial, after experiencing stigma and receiving limited advice on how, how much, a…
Painful Childhood
In this article the author explores the everyday life and coping of children living with juvenile arthritis. The author considered the children as experts on their illness who can give valuable insights into illness management from a patient's perspective. This is in contrast to most research, which lets others, such as caregivers, speak in the place of children. She used an ethnographic approach with open-ended interviews and participant observa…
Commuting and health in Cambridge
Addressing the unresolved research and policy questions in this area is not straightforward. The challenges include those of effectively combining different disciplinary perspectives on the research problems, developing common methodological ground in measurement and evaluation, implementing robust quantitative measurement of travel and physical activity behaviour in an unpredictable 'natural experiment' setting, defining exposure to the interven…
Diabetes management as a Turkish family affair
Family and other social relationships are inherently tied to efforts of diabetes self-care. While research often focuses simplistically on family as 'social support' or a 'barrier', families share complex lifeworlds and negotiate shared practices to make these experiences habitable
Physical activity and the transition to retirement
Background Physical activity is seen as important for preventing disease and maintaining mobility and independence in later life. The transition to retirement often results in changes in lifestyle including physical activity behaviour. Interventions aimed at promoting physical activity need to be based on an understanding of the impacts of retirement as well as on people's attitudes towards physical activity in retirement. Aims To review existing…
How and why do people commute by car? A mixed-methods investigation
Background Reducing car use and promoting physically active travel would be expected to decrease air pollution, traffic crashes and diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles. Objective To investigate how and why people commute by car. Design Mixed-methods cross-sectional study, integrating qualitative data from in-depth interviews with quantitative data from questionnaires. Setting Cambridge, UK. Participants Commuters to Cambridge. 47 partic…
Candi(e)d Action
In this article, I explore Turkish migrants' responses to diabetes in Germany. Anthropological studies on health inequalities tend to theorize "social suffering" as passive experiences; those that analyze active social engagement by patient groups as "biosociality" do so solely in the realm of biotechnologies and suggest that social disadvantage prevent active engagement. This article draws on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Berlin from 20…
Policy initiatives, culture and the prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean
OBJECTIVE: To explore interactions between disease burden, culture and the policy response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) within the Caribbean, a region with some of the highest prevalence rates, morbidity and mortality from NCDs in the Americas. METHODS: We undertook a wide ranging narrative review, drawing on a variety of peer reviewed, government and intergovernmental literature. RESULTS: Although the Caribbean is highly diverse, linguist…
Towards a differentiated understanding of active travel behaviour
Fostering physical activity is an established public health priority for the primary prevention of a variety of chronic diseases. One promising population approach is to seek to embed physical activity in everyday lives by promoting walking and cycling to and from work ('active commuting') as an alternative to driving. Predominantly quantitative epidemiological studies have investigated travel behaviours, their determinants and how they may be ch…
Healthy travel and the socio-economic structure of car commuting in Cambridge, UK
Self-Care at the Margins
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in 2006 and 2007, this article examines Turkish migrants' everyday practices of diabetes self-management in Berlin, Germany. To avoid diabetes complications, Turkish Berliners became self-carers who altered food choices, cooking and eating practices, and made their self-care practices visible with the help of blood sugar self-testing. Rather than representing the common image of the disadvantaged migrant patient …
How do couples influence each other’s physical activity behaviours in retirement? An exploratory qualitative study
Interventions should aim to create supportive spousal environments for physical activity in which spouses encourage each other to pursue their preferred forms of physical activity; should address gender-specific needs and preferences, such as chances for socialising and relaxation for women and opportunities for personal challenges for men; and rather than solely focusing on promoting structured exercise, should also encourage everyday physical a…
Walking and cycling to work despite reporting an unsupportive environment
Participants report walking and cycling to work despite adverse environmental conditions. Understanding this resilience might be just as important as investigating 'barriers' to cycling. These findings suggest that developing knowledge of safe walking and cycling routes, improving cycling confidence and restricting workplace parking may help to encourage walking and cycling to and from work
Exploring breast cancer screening barriers among Barbadian women
Breast cancer affects women worldwide. Early detection strategies, notably mammography, aim to reduce mortality from breast cancer. However, mammography is a costly screening tool, generates controversy in terms of its impact and adverse effects, and its uptake remains low among some populations. This qualitative study (12 focus groups with 110 participants) explored experiences with mammography among Barbadian women by investigating how barriers…
Picturing commuting
We used participant-produced photography to investigate everyday commuting practices in Cambridge, UK. Photovoice served as an observational method for producing ethnographically rich data. A total of 19 participants produced over 500 photos about their journeys to and from work and took part in photo-elicitation interviews. Three themes emerged. First, many images depicted 'well-being' in commuting, for example, beautiful landscapes. Second, dur…
Walking groups in socioeconomically deprived communities
Walking groups can benefit health but uptake is more likely amongst those who are socially well-situated and need them least. This study worked with a new walking group in a community in England with poor health and socio-economic indicators to understand non-participation and barriers to involvement. It used a qualitative approach. Participant generated photographs captured the physical and social environments in which they walked and these were…
Negotiating multisectoral evidence
This case study of stakeholders' experiences indicates that multisectoral research, practice and policymaking requires the ability and capacity to locate, understand and communicate complex evidence from a variety of disciplines, and integrate different types of evidence into clear business cases beyond sectoral boundaries
Towards co‐designing active ageing strategies
BACKGROUND: Physical activity levels decline in later life despite the known benefits for physical, cognitive and mental health. Older people find it difficult to meet activity targets; therefore, more realistic and meaningful strategies are needed. We aimed to develop a typology of older people's motivations and lifelong habits of being active as a starting point to co-designing active ageing strategies in a workshop. METHODS: We conducted semi-…
Health and other impacts of community food production in Small Island Developing States
Evidence of impacts of CPFIs in Small Island Developing States is limited and the approaches taken are inconsistent. This review demonstrates the need and provides a basis for developing a coherent body of methods to examine the impacts of CFPIs and provide evidence to guide policy, especially as it relates to health
Evaluating policy responses to noncommunicable diseases in seven Caribbean countries
Regional collaboration and political support across sectors are essential to accelerating the pace of action to support healthy eating and active living environments. Policy "blueprints" could accelerate the process of development. Regional "NCD champions" could spearhead such responses and approaches
Toward Understanding How Social Factors Shaped a Behavioral Intervention on Healthier Infant Formula-Feeding
As part of a process evaluation, we explored in semi-structured interviews the experiences of 19 mothers who had taken part in a trial to reduce infant formula-milk intake and promote healthy weight gain, and reflections of three facilitators who delivered the intervention and control group protocols. Mothers appreciated the nonjudgmental support provided during the trial, after experiencing stigma and receiving limited advice on how, how much, a…
Title
Cancer risk in socially marginalised women
Women in this study were at high risk of cancer, but it would be better to understand these risk factors as markers of distress and duress. Without appreciating the wider determinants of health and systemic disadvantage of marginalised groups, and addressing these with a structural rather than an individual response, we risk increasing cancer inequities by failing those who are in the greatest need
"Group walking as a "lifeline
Organised walking groups are increasingly widespread in the UK and elsewhere and have been shown to have many benefits for participants. They tend to attract more women than men, but little is known about how and why walking groups 'recruit' women. This is of particular importance given observed inequalities in physical activity participation by gender, in favour of men. To explore women's participation in walking groups, we conducted ethnographi…
Making sense of the evidence in population health intervention research
To effectively tackle population health challenges, we must address the fundamental determinants of behaviour and health. Among other things, this will entail devoting more attention to the evaluation of upstream intervention strategies. However, merely increasing the supply of such studies is not enough. The pivotal link between research and policy or practice should be the cumulation of insight from multiple studies. If conventional evidence sy…
Reach, Recruitment, Dose, and Intervention Fidelity of the GoActive School-Based Physical Activity Intervention in the UK
School-based multi-component physical activity (PA) promotion is advocated; however, research has indicated that a multi-component approach may not always be effective at increasing adolescent PA. Evaluation of the GoActive 12-week multi-component school-based intervention showed no effect on adolescent PA. A mixed-methods process evaluation was embedded to facilitate greater understanding of the results, to elicit subgroup perceptions, and to pr…
Medicine (25 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Political science (21 works) · Psychology (20 works) · Gerontology (13 works) · Qualitative research (13 works) · Geography (11 works) · Nursing (11 works) · Environmental health (10 works) · Social science (10 works)