Public health faces many challenges today and this will intensify in the future across many different areas - cost, technology, lifestyles, expectations and so on. In this lecture, Dr Joe Ravetz proposes that we need new ways of thinking to deal with these challenges. The work undertaken by the Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology, Manchester University, over the last ten years has involved developing new ways of thinking in relation to urban policy, environment and climate policy, technology and innovation policy, etc. It is these new ways of thinking which Dr Ravetz proposes could offer more to the public health debate, for example, if we broaden the debate we can see it’s not just about health it’s about well-being, if we look at well-being it’s about communities, how they are functioning, and it’s about the people in those communities. This lecture explores the first steps in this thinking process.

How will a basic income affect the health of individuals, families and communities? Will reducing poverty have an impact on mental health? Will enhancing income security improve family wellbeing? How do communities change when their most marginalised members are guaranteed a basic income? In this seminar, Evelyn Forget will share the story of how she tracked down the data from a then little-known Canadian experiment called Mincome to evaluate the impact of a basic income guarantee to some individuals in a larger city and, more importantly, to all members of a small town. The original experiment was concerned with a key question: would people continue to work if they received a basic income? Evelyn combined the original design and experimental data with health administration data not available to the original researchers to examine broader questions of individual, family and community health and wellbeing. The findings have been used to shape a new Canadian experiment and fuel other investigations of basic income around the world. As we begin to pilot basic income here in Scotland, Prof Forget’s work provides important guidance on how we might assess the impact of an ambitious, complex and wide-ranging initiative. Evelyn L Forget is professor of economics and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba Canada, and author of ‘The Town with No Poverty’, a re-examination of the Mincome Basic Income experiment. Her most recent work examines the relationships between poverty, inequality, health and social outcomes. She is a member of the Ontario Basic Income evaluation team, and is widely called upon by governments, First Nations and international bodies for advice on basic income, social security and social experimentation.

Despite the strength of the evidence, and the clear health benefits for taking action; health professionals have been reluctant and inconsistent in framing climate change and unsustainable development as health issues. The science concerning the problems of pollution, loss of biodiversity, and dangerous climate change grows daily. However, this seems not to be matched by the science of how best to implement what actually works best in protecting all living systems at the same time as promoting health, wellbeing and social justice across time and space. David used specific case studies to illustrate both the problems and opportunities associated with the transformational change that is needed at all levels of society. He highlighted the more creative, diverse methods and business models being used – legally, economically, and behaviourally, both within health and care systems, and more broadly. These case studies are largely drawn from the first ten years’ experience of the NHS / Public Health England Sustainable Development Unit, and some from more global initiatives.

Drawing on recent research on learning-through-doing, and on projects that bridge craft and health, this lecture explores what craft contributes to wellbeing and flourishing lives.

In her inaugural Professorial Lecture, Professor Cassidy explores the potential of Personal Music Technology as a powerful tool for wellbeing in everyday life and health-care contexts including dementia. The talk draws upon a growing body of evidence, including Professor Cassidy’s own research and insights through projects such as the Playlist for Life app for wellbeing in dementia, RockBand and musical identity, and the SingFit app for singing in healthy aging. Professor Cassidy argues that to maximise potential wellbeing benefits of Personal Music Technologies, we need to increase multidisciplinary dialogues and develop co-designed and evidence-based technologies. Such technologies, she argues, should also be evaluated for their impact in contemporary health-care contexts, and related to both existing and novel frameworks of care.