UN SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Our research
Cancer Research UK has awarded funding to a team of researchers in Glasgow and Cambridge to help unlock answers to the questions of what happens in the decades between initial exposure to asbestos and diagnosis of mesothelioma.
Co-led by Professor Daniel Murphy at the University’s School of Cancer Sciences and the CRUK Beatson Institute, the team are focused on new molecular features that could make it easier to diagnose and treat mesothelioma earlier than is currently possible. Patients that are at risk of developing mesothelioma typically develop non-specific symptoms that resemble non-cancer-related illness, such as shortness of breath or even fluid on the lungs. Professor Murphy’s team are investigating how asbestos-driven inflammation combines with commonly detected mutations to drive cancer development leading to mesothelioma.
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We welcomed ‘therapets’ from Paws Against Stress onto campus: a practical opportunity to put our Wellbeing Strategy into action.
Learning & teaching
Our School of Health & Wellbeing has a strong community of world-renowned interdisciplinary scientists, social scientists, economists, statisticians and clinical investigators. With a mission to prevent disease, improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities, we are well placed to offer students research which makes the world a better place in which to live and work. The school offers a range of programmes focusing on physical and mental health, including Neuropsychology, Public Health and Global Mental Health.
In May 2023 the University hosted the Deep End student conference, organised by the Glasgow University General Practice Society in partnership with Dr David Blane from our School of Health & Wellbeing. The Scottish Deep End project brings together general practitioners working in 100 general practices serving the most socio-economically deprived populations in Scotland. The conference was a great opportunity to discuss topics including homelessness health, prison health, mental health in the Deep End, social prescribing and multidisciplinary teams in the Deep End.
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University operations
We strive to make the University a place where all colleagues feel balanced, respected, trusted and supported. To this end, we recently launched a Colleague Wellbeing Strategy and an accompanying Health & Wellbeing Hub online. Our strategy recognises the different kinds of wellbeing: social, financial, physical, mental, and spiritual, and the Hub provides practical support, contact information and material in each of these areas.
There is substantial evidence that physical activity can greatly improve our mental health. Our Occupational Health (OH) and UofG Sport colleagues have collaborated to create a referral pathway whereby colleagues who have been referred to OH in the context of low mood, anxiety or depression can be referred to our UofG Sport team. Sport offer a six-week ‘Active Lifestyle Wellbeing’ programme specifically designed to improve the activity levels of the University community with the aim of enhancing mental wellbeing.
We were thrilled to welcome some furry friends to our Gilmorehill campus this year for a wellbeing event. Organised by our Health & Wellbeing Advisor Margaret Thomson, ‘therapets’ from Paws Against Stress spent time on campus meeting colleagues and students. The use of dogs to reduce stress is well-established, and it was a great opportunity to put our Wellbeing Strategy into action while providing the opportunity for colleagues to connect and to get away from their desks.
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Civic engagement
The Scottish Ambulance Service and the University of Glasgow have entered into a new strategic partnership that will see the two prominent organisations collaborate in order to address key healthcare challenges.
The partnership is focused on working together to improve the health and wellbeing of the population of Glasgow, Scotland and beyond, as well as bringing wider community and economic benefits.
Our academics from MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit have contributed to evaluation studies on the Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland, informing Public Health Scotland’s final report on the impact of the legislation. MUP was implemented in May 2018 and set the minimum price below which alcohol cannot be sold in licensed premises in Scotland at £0.50 per unit. The study showed that MUP has had a positive impact on health outcomes, including addressing alcohol-related health inequalities. It has reduced deaths directly caused by alcohol consumption by an estimated 13.4% and hospital admissions by 4.1%, with the largest reductions seen in men and those living in the 40% most deprived areas. There was no clear evidence of substantial negative impacts on the alcohol industry or social harms at the population level.
These findings by UofG academics Peter Craig, Alastair Leyland and Vittal Katikireddi will play a critical role in the Scottish Government’s decision-making on the future operation of MUP.
Find out about our progress towards the 17 SDGs:
