GREAT MINDS
SHAPING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING Suicide is a leading cause of premature death with over 800,000 people dying by suicide globally each year. There is rarely a single reason why someone takes their own life. It is best understood through each individuals’ life circumstances, in a complex interplay of risk factors and adverse experiences. Nevertheless, suicide is potentially preventable using a public health approach across sectors such as schools and health, professionals and the public. Professor Ann John is a clinical epidemiologist with a background in public health and general practice. Her research focuses on suicide and self-harm prevention and the risks, protective factors and life course outcomes of children and young adults’ mental health. She leads the MQ funded Adolescent Mental Health Data Platform and the Suicide Information Database-Cymru. She is a Principal Investigator of the National Centre for Mental Health and the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health. “There’s a theory in suicide prevention research to explain why people engage in suicidal behaviour which includes the concept of thwarted belongingness and not feeling accepted. I wonder if the experience of growing up in North London as the child of immigrants, of the otherness of the sitting between two worlds and not quite belonging in either gave me a small insight and a real acceptance of those feelings in others and an appetite to defend and advocate for the vulnerable."
Ann leads a team of dedicated researchers interested in how anonymised 'Big Data' – such as school attendance records, medical appointments, social media and media reporting – can be used to identify behaviour patterns and indicators of potential risk and then uses these markers to inform policy and protocols developed to help inform and train professionals in contact with those who self-harm or are at risk of suicide. "It is the translation of that research is the translation of that research into policy and practice that drives us – be that developing guidance for all schools in Wales on self-harm, advising on TV storylines like Coronation Street, or drafting strategy documents." The information gathered and interpreted by Professor John and her team has been used to inform Government Policy Development and provide guidance for teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals responding to those with thoughts of suicide or who self-harm. She also co-led a global suicide study and the living systematic review during the COVID-19 pandemic that were pivotal to our understanding of the impact of the pandemic on suicide and suicidal behaviours globally.
Being an academic allows for the freedom of independent scientific advice and the development of deep knowledge of an area. It’s a gift of a career.
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