Adam Coutts

I am a Senior Research Fellow at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge and a Research Associate in the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge.

Overall my research focuses on the social and political determinants of health looking at how non-health sector public policies such as active labour market programmes (ALMPs) and social protection policies affect health and wellbeing. This research covers the United Kingdom, Europe, United States and the Middle East.

My current research project (supported by the Health Foundation, 2017-2020) is a Randomised Control Trial evaluation to test how an Active Labour Market Programme (ALMP) called Group Work / JOBS II can be used to protect the mental health and wellbeing of the unemployed as well as return people to work. I explore how and why the intervention works, who is most responsive and what are the active elements that generate changes in health, wellbeing and job search behaviours. The research also examines how health and wellbeing outcomes can be better integrated and tangibly measured in order to complement existing methodologies of assessing policy effectiveness; and how a large scale social policy intervention and experimental evaluation is implemented by government and what are the key challenges. In order to conduct the research, I am undertaking a research placement with the newly established Work and Health Joint Unit, Department for Work and Pensions, UK Government.

My previous research on Active Labour Market Programmes and back-to-work interventions has formed the evidence base for a number of policy reports and academic projects: My PhD research formed the evidence base for the Economics Task group for the Marmot Review and also the Policy Objective C 'Create fair employment and good work for all' in Fair Society Healthy Lives review. More recently this evidence review is featured in the Social determinants of health and the health divide section 6.2.3 Active labour-market policies.

I also collaborate with academics and policy-makers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan to examine the political economy of health in the Arab region, the Syrian refugee health crisis and humanitarian response. I currently co-lead the political economy of health in conflict component of a new four year Global Challenges Research Fund project. Overall the project is lead by Professor Richard Sullivan at Kings College, London and involves partnerships with colleagues at Imperial College, The American University of Beirut, The King Hussain Cancer Centre (Jordan) and Hacettepe University (Turkey).

I hold a PhD from the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge and have held post-doctoral fellowships (ESRC and Mellon Foundation) at Cambridge and the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford and Nuffield College. I am a research associate at the Centre for Business Research, Cambridge and an Honorary Research Fellow at ECOHOST, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I have held visiting research positions at the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the Institute of Health Equity, University College, London.

I welcome inquiries from interested students wishing to pursue related postgraduate and postdoctoral research topics.