Entwined Systems - Inaugural Professorial Lecture of Professor Helen Lloyd

In her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, Helen explores the pervasive societal inequalities that significantly impact our health and social outcomes and life experiences.

Our world has become increasingly more divided based on wealth and access to resources. People from lower social and economic backgrounds tend to suffer from ill health for longer and die younger than those who have access to resources and wealth. Our public and private sectors often fail to tackle these issues and, in some cases, make them worse. At a personal level, our life experiences shape how we see ourselves, our families and the wider public. These views strongly influence how we experience health and illness and if we seek help when in need. Health equity and inequality are therefore directly shaped by complex interactions between the self and the socio-political and economic environments in which we find ourselves.

For over thirty years in her research career, Helen has focused on understanding these issues' complex relationships and intersections. As a multidisciplinary researcher, she does not belong to any particular academic tribe. In her lecture, Helen reflects on how this has helped her combine methods, tools, and knowledge from various disciplines to tackle persistent problems related to societal inequality. She also considers the power of not belonging and the role of bricolage in designing equitable research processes and outcomes. She emphasises the importance of ethnographic knowing and the power of narrative for creative curiosity and co-design to address epistemic injustice.