Dr Anna Le Gouais, Senior Researcher Associate at the University of Bristol and Researcher-in-Residence at the University of Bristol and Bristol City Council tells us about her career so far and how she got into public health research.
Can you tell us about your professional background and what made you decide to choose a pathway in public health research?
I started my career in civil engineering in the water and sanitation sector because I wanted to tackle important real-world problems. I then focused on influencing policy and practice in the international water sector, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where there can be limited access to safe water and sanitation.
My research now brings together my interests and background in the built environment with health (although now focusing on non-communicable, rather than infectious disease). This includes consideration of health inequalities, to influence policy and practice for healthier environments and communities.
What do you like about working in public health research?
Public health research seeks to tackle complex real-world challenges. It requires multi-disciplinary skills for applied research, alongside skills to influence others to create impact.
Mental and physical health can be influenced by everything around us – environmental, structural, social, cultural and commercial issues can all affect behaviours and associated risk of disease. Our environments influence whether we want to walk or cycle, whether we eat highly calorific food, whether we have social spaces to meet others, and whether there are local greenspaces, amongst other issues. Understanding environmental and structural issues that affect population health is really important to be able to influence creation of healthier environments.
What particular skills have you gained from your background discipline that you have been able to bring to public health research?
I have worked a lot with multi-disciplinary teams, and this is important for public health, particularly to tackle the wider environmental determinants of health. I’ve experience working in public, private and third sector organisations and this is useful when understanding different contexts and partner organisations. Experience working outside of academia also helps to ground research in reality so that the focus is on meaningful outcomes for communities, not just academic outputs.
What has been the highlight of your career to date?
I’m currently enjoying working as a Researcher-in-Residence with Bristol City Council’s Regeneration team to support healthier urban development. In this role, I can learn more about how to influence healthier place-making while also feeding in research knowledge from academic colleagues.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering stepping into public health research not currently working in a public health discipline?
• Remember that all disciplines affect physical and/or mental health in some way.
• Understanding the challenges and opportunities from working in other disciplines can support public health research and provide new insights.
• Public health research does have particular ways of doing things, which can take time to understand and learn, but it’s an excellent way to address important societal challenges.