From Industry to Inequality: Mental Health in the Wake of Deindustrialisation

This project will establish the impact of historical deindustrialisation on contemporary mental health and wellbeing in the UK, using the case study of the city of Sunderland in the post-industrial North East of England. This region possesses a significant industrial legacy, having been a global leader in coal mining, shipbuilding, and associated industries. It also contains significant health inequalities relating to mental health, including the highest rates of adolescent self-harm and the highest levels of heavy alcohol use and substance-related deaths in England. This research will explore and explain how the process of deindustrialisation in the latter half of the 20th century contributed to poorer mental health outcomes today, not only among those directly impacted by the loss of industrial employment, but also their families, descendants, and those in the wider community. This qualitative inquiry will involve affected communities at all stages, utilising oral history interviews with older residents, a programme of peer research led by community members, and participatory workshops with residents of different generations. Together, these complementary strands of research will create a holistic picture of how historic deindustrialisation has impacted contemporary mental health outcomes, and how further harm might be prevented through policy change and community action.