Kate Thomson
Dr Kate Thomson is Director of Postgraduate Research Degrees for Health and leads on all aspects of recruitment, oversight and student experience for PhD (Health). She is also a member of the Public Health & Therapies department.
Kate completed her postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham with a PhD on learning disability services and welfare development in Russia. She has more than 15 years’ experience of teaching health policy, sociological aspects of health and research skills at undergraduate, postgraduate and post-qualifying levels. Her main interests lie in health and welfare systems, global health and sociological public health.
Qualifications
BA (Jt Hons) (Bangor), MSocSc, PhD (Birmingham), PG CertHE (UCE), FHEA
Memberships
British Sociological Association
Teaching
As well as supporting the Health PhD students and supervisors, Kate's main teaching contributions are to Public Health BSc (Hons) and Public Health MSc. She is also Programme Leader for MSc Health and Social Care. She also contributes to other undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD programmes, including BSc Nursing.
Particular teaching interests:
- health service reform/ politics of health
- public health policy
- health inequalities/diversity
- global health
- disability
- research and dissertation skills
Research
Kate's academic background is in Russian and East European Studies. She completed postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham, with a PhD (ESRC studentship) on learning disability services and welfare development in Russia. She previously taught sociology/social policy at two Scottish universities before moving to Birmingham City University in 2004.
Kate's interests lie in health and welfare in the post-socialist region; globalisation and health systems; public health and doctoral education.
Her current research work involves a team project on Aggression as a Public Health Issue and investigation of Doctoral Education in the Digital Age. Her interest in social media and scholarship spans several years. She co-founded Public Health Twitter Journal Club and has contributed to blogs such as Healthy Policies.
Kate was also involved in working towards the Birmingham Charter which was developed in partnership with health activist groups and community partners across the UK, with a focus on health equity. The highlight of this work was a national conference hosted at BCU in November 2016.
Postgraduate Supervision
Kate is interested in supervising research students in areas related to sociology of health, health policy and systems and sociological public health.
Her current PhD students are researching the following topics:
- Community, culture and meat consumption
- Off-cycle experiences amongst male steroid users; implications for Public Health practice
- A Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) Facilitating Device used within a Mother-Infant Dyad: Exploring its Acceptability, Usage and Effect on Health Outcomes in the Postnatal Period
She supervises a number of Master's students, with a particular interest in qualitative research studies, and systematic reviews of qualitative evidence.
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles /book chapters
(with PhD student): Ehiwe, E., McGee, P., Thomson, K., Filby, M. (2013) How black West African migrants perceive cancer, Diversity and Equality in Health and Care, 10 (2): 115-121
(with PhD student): Ehiwe, E., McGee, P., Filby, M., Thomson, K. (2012) Black African migrants' perceptions of cancer: are they different from those of other ethnicities, cultures and races? Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, 5 (1): 5-11
Thomson, K. (2011) Making Sense of Welfare at the Micro Level: Reflections on Disability Research in Russia. In: M. Jappinen, M. Kulmala and A. Saarinen (editors) Gazing at Welfare, Gender & Agency in Post-socialist Countries. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars
Thomson, K (2006) Disability Organizations in the Regions. In: Evans, A.B, Henry, L. and Sundstrom, L.M. (eds) Russian Civil Society: A Critical Assessment. NY: M.E. Sharpe
Thomson, K. (2002) Regional Welfare System Developments in Russia: Community Social Services, Social Policy and Administration 36 (2)
Thomson, K. (2002) Differentiating Integration: Special Education in the Russian Federation, European Journal of Special Needs Education 17 (1)
Textbook chapter
Thomson, K. (2016) Policy in Health. In E.Denny, S. Earle & A. Howison (eds) Sociology for Nurses (3e). Cambridge: Polity
Presentations and posters
Thomson, K. (2013) ‘Health care modernization in Russia and the concept of equity’. Paper for Round Table on The Politics of Health and Health Care, EuroICCEES: European Congress of the International Council for Central & East European Studies, Cambridge, 5- 8 April 2013 (Session 5.3 - link to abstract)
Thomson, K. (2012) ‘Modernisation po-russkii: discourses of Russian health system reform’. MedSoc: British Sociology Association Medical Sociology Annual Conference, University of Leicester, 5-7 September 2012
Thomson, K. (2012) Ethics of Twitter Research. Poster presented at Interdisciplinary Ethics, Birmingham City University, 21 June 2012.
Thomson, K. (2011) Official discourses of Russian health system reform. Paper presented at Faculty of Health Annual Research Conference, Birmingham City University 23 November 2011.
Thomson, K. (2008) Keynote Address:' Researching the local welfare arena in Russia'. Aleksanteri Institute Annual Conference: Gender, Welfare and Agency in Russia and Eastern Europe, University of Helsinki, 10-12 December 2008.
Book reviews
Thomson, K. (forthcoming) Disability in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: History, Policy and Everyday Life, edited by Michael Rasell and Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova. Slavic Review, 74
Thomson, K. (2014) Free Market Tuberculosis: Managing Epidemics in Post-Soviet Georgia, by Erin Koch. Slavic Review, 73 (1): 230-231
Links and Social Media
Twitter: @ThomsonKate11