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Annie Irvine - March 2023

Dr Annie Irvine

Research Fellow

Contact details

Biography

Dr Annie Irvine joined the Centre for Society and Mental Health in September 2020. Prior to this, she worked for many years in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York, where her research focused on ill health, disability and employment in the context of UK social security policy.

Annie has a particular interest in mental health as it relates to employment, job retention and return to work. In 2015 she was awarded a PhD by Publication, drawing on her empirical research on the complexities of managing common mental health problems in the workplace.

She has also conducted research on media technology and loneliness, Street Triage collaborations between police officers and mental health professionals, and telephone delivery of psychological therapies within the NHS IAPT programme.

Research

  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Work and employment
  • Welfare and social security
  • Precarity
  • Qualitative research methods

Annie uses primarily qualitative research methods, including interviews and conversation analysis, and has contributed to advances in methodological knowledge through the comparative study of telephone and face to face research interviews.

Annie is currently working on qualitative research around the themes of work, welfare reform and mental health.

The research is exploring the relationships between precarious employment and mental health, the impact of conditional welfare benefits on mental health, and lived experiences of precarity.

Further details

See Annie's research profile

    Research

    mental health app_promo
    Mental Health & Society research group

    Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.

    180416_24
    Keyworker perspectives on employment support for people with mental health problems

    This qualitative project explored employability keyworkers experiences of supporting unemployed and economically inactive people from Action Towards Inclusion.

    Project status: Completed

    Thumbnail- Mid-Term Report
    Work, Welfare and Mental Health: Transitions Over Time

    Qualitative longitudinal research exploring journeys between work and welfare for people with experience of mental health problems.

    Project status: Ongoing

    Jobcentre-plus-
    Understanding mental health in the UK welfare system: representations of distress among working-age benefit claimants and their implications for assessment and support

    A qualitative exploration of UK benefits claimants' understanding of mental distress and how this affects interactions with welfare and employment systems.

    Project status: Ongoing

    News

    New paper brings together evidence linking precarious employment and poor mental health

    The concise overview illuminates precisely how and why it is that precarious employment has negative implications for mental health, with the aim of...

    Woman with her head in her hands

    New report explores the long-term impacts of COVID-19

    Members of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health have contributed to a British Academy report exploring the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19.

    People walking up stairs.

    Features

    We need a ceasefire in the welfare system

    An insight from ongoing research into how the welfare benefits system could be improved to better support people with health conditions and disabilities.

    mental-health-assessment-hero-banner

    What is mental health as a human experience?

    Dr Annie Irvine reflects on her own journey with mental health and how she came to ask the question, ‘what is mental health?’ in her research.

    New podcast explores relationship between societal changes and mental health

      Research

      mental health app_promo
      Mental Health & Society research group

      Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.

      180416_24
      Keyworker perspectives on employment support for people with mental health problems

      This qualitative project explored employability keyworkers experiences of supporting unemployed and economically inactive people from Action Towards Inclusion.

      Project status: Completed

      Thumbnail- Mid-Term Report
      Work, Welfare and Mental Health: Transitions Over Time

      Qualitative longitudinal research exploring journeys between work and welfare for people with experience of mental health problems.

      Project status: Ongoing

      Jobcentre-plus-
      Understanding mental health in the UK welfare system: representations of distress among working-age benefit claimants and their implications for assessment and support

      A qualitative exploration of UK benefits claimants' understanding of mental distress and how this affects interactions with welfare and employment systems.

      Project status: Ongoing

      News

      New paper brings together evidence linking precarious employment and poor mental health

      The concise overview illuminates precisely how and why it is that precarious employment has negative implications for mental health, with the aim of...

      Woman with her head in her hands

      New report explores the long-term impacts of COVID-19

      Members of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health have contributed to a British Academy report exploring the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19.

      People walking up stairs.

      Features

      We need a ceasefire in the welfare system

      An insight from ongoing research into how the welfare benefits system could be improved to better support people with health conditions and disabilities.

      mental-health-assessment-hero-banner

      What is mental health as a human experience?

      Dr Annie Irvine reflects on her own journey with mental health and how she came to ask the question, ‘what is mental health?’ in her research.

      New podcast explores relationship between societal changes and mental health