People

Professor Ewen Speed

Professor
School of Health and Social Care
Professor Ewen Speed
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 872847

  • Location

    2S2.5.11, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    13:00 - 14:00 Monday or by appointment

Profile

Biography

Dr Ewen Speed is Professor of Medical Sociology in the School of Health and Social Care. He has research interests in health policy, particularly in the area of citizenship and the UK National Health Service. He is also interested in critical approaches to understanding engagement and involvement in healthcare, and in critical approaches to psychology and psychiatry. He is a member of the National Institute of Health Research East of England Applied Research Collaboration, contributing directly to the Inclusive Involvement in Research for Practice Led Health and Social Care theme and is Implementation Lead for this theme. He is also a trustee of the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness.

Qualifications

  • B.A.(Hons) Social Sciences Glasgow Caledonian University,

  • M.Sc. Research Methods University of Strathclyde,

  • Ph.D. Sociology University of Dublin Trinity College,

Appointments

Other academic

  • External Examiner, Masters in Public Health (MPH), Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh (20/1/2020 - 20/1/2024)

  • Trustee, Foundation for Sociology of Health and Illness (1/10/2020 - present)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Governance and citizenship in context of health and healthcare

Open to supervise

Neoliberalism, the third sector and health care provision

Open to supervise

Discourse analysis, interpretive policy analysis

Open to supervise

Current research

Building a community of practice to identify strengths, barriers and prioritise solutions to the right of access to healthcare for Travelling Communities

Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme funded by National Institute for Health Research to develop inclusive involvement in accessing health services
More information about this project

Conferences and presentations

Sociology and critique: the Cost of Living blog as a natural experiment in public sociology

British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference, Brighton, United Kingdom, 13/9/2023

The Role of Volunteering in Older Adult Volunteers' Lives

British Society for Gerontology Annual Conference, British Society for Gerontology, Norwich, United Kingdom, 5/7/2023

Rearticulating the Cost of Living crisis as a cost of inequality crisis

Invited presentation, The Cost of Living Crisis – impacts from a multi-disciplinary perspective, Research Centre for Organisations and Society, Durham, United Kingdom, 9/6/2023

Problematising participatory practice in service and policy design: identifying barriers and opportunities

Discourse Theory: Ways Forward (2nd edition), Centre for the Study of Democracy, Signification and Resistance, Brussels, Belgium, 23/3/2023

Celebrating 10 years of the Cost of Living Blog, and looking to the future of Medical Sociology

Invited presentation, British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference, Lancaster, United Kingdom, 15/9/2022

Pandemic policy making affecting older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in the four nations of the UK

50th Anniversary Annual Conference of the British Society of Gerontology, Online event, 9/7/2021

"Uncovering recovery" – The effects of politicizing recovery

Invited presentation, The Politics of Recovery: controversy and co-option in the era of austerity, Norway, 16/6/2021

Who designs Welfare Policy?

British Sociological Association annual conference, 14/4/2021

Populism as a form of Political Performativity

Discourse Theory: Ways Forward, Centre for Study of Democracy, Signification and Resistance, Brussels, Belgium, 7/2/2019

Translational Research and the Politics of Evidence

Invited presentation, Translational research: How to produce research that makes a difference, Translational Research Workshop, London, United Kingdom, 17/10/2018

Integrated care as fragmented care

European Health Policy Group Autumn meeting, London, United Kingdom, 21/9/2018

Populism as political performativity: implications for health policy

British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 12/9/2018

Populism as political performativity: implications for policy

Invited presentation, London Medical Sociology Study group seminar series, London, United Kingdom, 25/1/2018

The rise of populism in Western liberal democracies: implications for health policy

European Health Policy Group Spring meeting, Health Services Management Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 22/9/2017

NHS England as an Arm's Length Body: On Questions of Sponsorship and Accountability

Invited presentation, Governance of Health Conference, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 12/7/2017

This research has implications for policy on... - Why nobody listens to psychologists

British Psychological Society Annual Conference, British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Brighton, United Kingdom, 4/5/2017

Being Informed: ICT as Technique of Governmentality in the NHS

British Socioloigical Association Annual Conference, British Socioloigical Association Annual Conference, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 4/4/2017

Digital Cycling: What's big health data good for?

Open University and Cost of Living Blog workshop, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, 27/4/2016

Transforming a public good into a private bad: Political legitimacy, wilful deceit and the reform of the English NHS

Invited presentation, Workshop on Decentering Health Policy: Narratives, Resistance, Practices, Berkeley, United States, 14/1/2016

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Clinical Research 2 (HS773)

  • Clinical Applications 3 (HS782)

  • Social Determinants of Health (HS869)

  • Qualitative Health Research (HS948)

  • Dissertation (HS982)

  • Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Context (LW930)

Previous supervision

Lois Sofocleous Khoo
Lois Sofocleous Khoo
Thesis title: Political, Horrific and Beatific Heroism: Compliance and the Nhs During Covid-19, a Post-Structuralist Discourse Analysis
Degree subject: Clinical Psychology (D Clin Psych)
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 13/2/2024
Kathryn Ann Chard
Kathryn Ann Chard
Thesis title: Exploring Social Inclusion and Participation: Assessing the Impact of the Care Act (2014) on the Social Experience of Being a Carer.
Degree subject: Health and Organisational Research
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 17/10/2022
Krisztina Nemeth
Krisztina Nemeth
Thesis title: A Qualitative Study of the Transition From Unemployment and Benefits to Working Whilst Carrying the Label of Depression in England.
Degree subject: Clinical Psychology (D Clin Psych)
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 5/7/2022
Maria Olufunmilayo Shittu
Maria Olufunmilayo Shittu
Thesis title: A Qualitative Exploration of the Experiences of Service Users and Carers Involved in Health and Social Care Education
Degree subject: Clinical Psychology (D Clin Psych)
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 22/4/2022
Paul Michael Galbally
Paul Michael Galbally
Thesis title: Connected Disconnections Negotiating Family Separation, Membership and Conflict: A Discourse Analysis
Degree subject: Applied Psychology
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 4/5/2021
Timothy Giles Goodchild
Timothy Giles Goodchild
Thesis title: Logics of Technology Enhanced Learning in the Context of Nurse Education
Degree subject: Health Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 27/1/2021
Anna Rachel Pettican
Anna Rachel Pettican
Thesis title: 'Getting Together to Play Football' a Participatory Action Research Study with the Positive Mental Attitude Sports Academy
Degree subject: Occupational Therapy
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 2/4/2019
Nicola Jane Rooke
Nicola Jane Rooke
Thesis title: Patient Involvement in the Assessment of Pre-Registration Adult Nursing Students Practice
Degree subject: Nursing Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 10/8/2018
Laura Jane Knight
Laura Jane Knight
Thesis title: Problematising 'Happiness': A Critical Explanation of the Uk's Happiness Agenda
Degree subject: Social Policy
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 11/7/2017
Adam Churchill Flintoff
Adam Churchill Flintoff
Degree subject: Clinical Psychology (D Clin Psych)
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 20/10/2016

Publications

Journal articles (49)

Grotz, J., Armstrong, L., Edwards, H., Jones, A., Locke, M., Smith, L., Speed, E. and Birt, L., (2024). Pandemic policymaking affecting older adult volunteers during and after the COVID-19 public health crisis in the four nations of the UK. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults

McPherson, S., Oute, J. and Speed, E., (2023). Quality-of-life measurement in depression trials: A consumerist relic. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine. 27 (5), 647-663

Speed, E. and Reeves, A., (2023). Why is Lived Experience Absent from Social Security Policymaking?. Journal of Social Policy, 1-16

Baxter, V., Speed, E., Ioakimidis, V. and Ross, M., (2023). Lessons learnt while integrating services for children: qualitative interviews with professional stakeholders. BMC Health Services Research. 23 (1), 323-

Green, J., McLaren, L., Colvin, C., Dew, K., Haines-Saah, R., Speed, E., Bell, K. and Bunton, R., (2023). Moving on in uncertain times: a goodbye. Critical Public Health. 33 (5), 503-505

McPherson, SJ. and Speed, E., (2022). NICE rapid guidelines: exploring political influence on guidelines. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. 27 (3), 137-140

Kapilashrami, A., Otis, M., Omodara, D., Nandi, A., Vats, A., Adeniyi, O., Speed, E., Potter, JL., Eder, B., Pareek, M. and Bhui, K., (2022). Ethnic disparities in health & social care workers’ exposure, protection, and clinical management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Critical Public Health. 32 (1), 68-81

Pettican, A., Speed, E., Bryant, W., Kilbride, C. and Beresford, P., (2022). Levelling the playing field: Exploring inequalities and exclusions with a community‐based football league for people with experience of mental distress. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 69 (3), 290-300

Speed, E., Carter, S. and Green, J., (2022). Pandemics, infection control and social justice: challenges for policy evaluation. Critical Public Health. 32 (1), 44-47

Hoorens, V., Scambler, S., Deschrijver, E., Coulson, NS., Speed, E. and Asimakopoulou, K., (2022). Comparative Optimism, Self-Superiority, Egocentric Impact Perception and Health Information Seeking: A COVID-19 Study. Psychologica Belgica. 62 (1), 152-165

Ioakimidis, V., O’Connell, L., Baxter, V., Chard, K., Speed, E. and White, G., (2022). Challenge and opportunity: Making sense of the ‘first lockdown’ experience of families with young children and health and social care practitioners in Southend-on-Sea (the United Kingdom). International Social Work. 65 (3), 406-420

Speed, E. and McLaren, L., (2022). Towards a theoretically grounded, social democratic public health. Critical Public Health. 32 (5), 589-591

Pettican, A., Goodman, B., Bryant, W., Beresford, P., Freeman, P., Gladwell, V., Kilbride, C. and Speed, E., (2022). Doing together: reflections on facilitating the co-production of participatory action research with marginalised populations. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 15 (2), 202-219

Mehta, J., Taggart, D., Clifford, E. and Speed, E., (2021). “They say jump, we say how high?” conditionality, sanctioning and incentivising disabled people into the UK labour market. Disability and Society. 36 (5), 681-701

De Cleen, B. and Speed, E., (2021). Getting the Problem Definition Right: The Radical Right, Populism, Nativism and Public Health Comment on "A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe". International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 10 (8), 523-527

Pettican, A., Speed, E., Kilbride, C., Bryant, W. and Beresford, P., (2021). An occupational justice perspective on playing football and living with mental distress. Journal of Occupational Science. 28 (1), 159-172

Mannion, R. and Speed, E., (2021). Populism, pestilence and plague in the time of Coronavirus. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare. 14 (2), 175-181

Speed, E. and Gabe, J., (2020). The reform of the English National Health Service: professional dominance, countervailing powers and the buyers’ revolt. Social Theory and Health. 18 (1), 33-49

Speed, E. and Mannion, R., (2020). Populism and health policy: three international case studies of right-wing populist policy frames. Sociology of Health and Illness. 42 (8), 1967-1981

Asimakopoulou, K., Hoorens, V., Speed, E., Coulson, NS., Antoniszczak, D., Collyer, F., Deschrijver, E., Dubbin, L., Faulks, D., Forsyth, R., Goltsi, V., Harsløf, I., Larsen, K., Manaras, I., Olczak‐Kowalczyk, D., Willis, K., Xenou, T. and Scambler, S., (2020). Comparative optimism about infection and recovery from COVID‐19; Implications for adherence with lockdown advice. Health Expectations. 23 (6), 1502-1511

Flintoff, A., Speed, E. and McPherson, SJ., (2019). Risk assessment practice within primary mental health care: A logics perspective. Health. 23 (6), 656-674

Goodchild, T. and Speed, E., (2019). Technology enhanced learning as transformative innovation: a note on the enduring myth of TEL. Teaching in Higher Education. 24 (8), 948-963

Hammond, J., Speed, E., Allen, P., McDermott, I., Coleman, A. and Checkland, K., (2019). Autonomy, accountability, and ambiguity in arm’s-length meta-governance: the case of NHS England. Public Management Review. 21 (8), 1148-1169

Speed, E. and Taggart, D., (2019). Stigma and Mental Health: Exploring Potential Models to Enhance Opportunities for a Parity of Participation. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health. 10 (VI)

Speed, E. and Mannion, R., (2018). The Politics and Power of Populism: A Response to the Recent Commentaries. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 6 (4), 365-366

Green, J. and Speed, E., (2018). Critical analysis, credibility, and the politics of publishing in an era of ‘fake news’. Critical Public Health. 28 (2), 129-131

Walker, C., Speed, E. and Taggart, D., (2018). Turning psychology into policy: a case of square pegs and round holes?. Palgrave Communications. 4 (1), 108-108

Pavolini, E., Kuhlmann, E., Agartan, T., Burau, V., Mannion, R. and Speed, E., (2018). Healthcare governance, professions and populism: Is there a relationship? An explorative comparison of five European countries. Health Policy. 122 (10), 1140-1148

Walker, C., Artaraz, K., Darking, M., Davies, C., Fleischer, S., Graber, R., Mwale, S., Speed, E., Terry, J. and Zoli, A., (2018). Building spaces for controversial public engagement – Exploring and challenging democratic deficits in NHS marketization. Journal of Social and Political Psychology. 6 (2), 759-775

Carter, S., Green, J. and Speed, E., (2018). Digital technologies and the biomedicalisation of everyday activities: The case of walking and cycling. Sociology Compass. 12 (4), e12572-e12572

Mehta, J., Clifford, E., Taggart, D. and Speed, E., (2018). When your mental health disappears overnight: Constant anxiety of benefit sanctions is toxic for mental health of disabled people. Clinical Psychology Forum. 312 (312), 4-6

Georgiadis, A., Corrigan, O. and Speed, E., (2017). Frontline Healthcare Staffs’ Experience of Organizing Complex Hospital Discharges: An Ethnographic Study. Ethics & Behavior. 27 (4), 335-350

Speed, E. and Mannion, R., (2017). The Rise of Post-truth Populism in Pluralist Liberal Democracies: Challenges for Health Policy. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 6 (5), 249-251

Madden, M. and Speed, E., (2017). Beware Zombies and Unicorns: Toward Critical Patient and Public Involvement in Health Research in a Neoliberal Context. Frontiers in Sociology. 2

Speed, E., (2016). A note on the utility of austerity. Critical Public Health. 26 (1), 1-3

Speed, E., Davison, C. and Gunnell, C., (2016). The anonymity paradox in patient engagement: reputation, risk and web-based public feedback.. Med Humanit. 42 (2), 135-140

Barratt, C., Green, G. and Speed, E., (2015). Mental health and houses in multiple occupation. Journal of Public Mental Health. 14 (2), 107-117

Glynos, J., Speed, E. and West, K., (2015). Logics of marginalisation in health and social care reform: Integration, choice, and provider-blind provision. Critical Social Policy. 35 (1), 45-68

Goffey, A., Pettinger, L. and Speed, E., (2014). Politics, Policy and Privatisation in the Everyday Experience of Big Data in the NHS. Studies in Qualitative Methodology. 13, 31-50

Scambler, G., Scambler, S. and Speed, E., (2014). Civil society and the Health and Social Care Act in England and Wales: Theory and praxis for the twenty-first century. Social Science & Medicine. 123, 210-216

Speed, E. and Gabe, J., (2013). The Health and Social Care Act for England 2012: The extension of ‘new professionalism’. Critical Social Policy. 33 (3), 564-574

Harper, DJ. and Speed, E., (2012). Uncovering recovery: The resistible rise of recovery and resilience. Studies in Social Justice. 6 (1), 9-26

Glynos, J. and Speed, E., (2012). Varieties of co-production in public services: time banks in a UK health policy context. Critical Policy Studies. 6 (4), 402-433

Taggart, D. and Speed, E., (2012). It’s your problem but you need us to help you fix it: The paradox at the heart of the IAPT agenda. , Asylum Magazine for Democratic Psychiatry-Special Issue on Anti-Capitalism and Mental Health,. 19 (3), 23-24

Harper, DJ. and Speed, E., (2012). Uncovering recovery: The resistible rise of recovery and resilience. Studies in Social Justice. 6 (1), 9-26

Speed, E., (2007). Discourses of consumption or consumed by discourse? A consideration of what “consumer” means to the service user. Journal of Mental Health. 16 (3), 307-318

Speed, E., (2006). Patients, consumers and survivors: A case study of mental health service user discourses. Social Science & Medicine. 62 (1), 28-38

Speed, E., (2002). Irish Mental Health Social Movements: A Consideration of Movement Habitus. Irish Journal of Sociology. 11 (1), 62-80

West, P., Sweeting, H. and Speed, E., (2001). We Really Do Know What You Do: A Comparison of Reports from 11 Year Olds and Their Parents in Respect of Parental Economic Activity and Occupation. Sociology. 35 (2), 539-559

Books (1)

(2014). De-Medicalizing Misery II. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 9781137304650

Book chapters (11)

Mannion, R. and Speed, E., (2023). The rise of right-wing populism and the implications for health care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In: Social Justice in a Turbulent Era. Editors: Craig, G., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 10- 23. 1803926147. 9781803926148

Speed, E., Crawford, L. and Rutherford, A., (2022). Voluntary Action and the Pandemic across the UK. In: Mobilising Voluntary Action in the UK Learning from the Pandemic. Editors: Hardill, I., Grotz, J. and Crawford, L., . Policy Press. 19- 39. 1447367227. 9781447367222

Acheson, N., Crawford, L., Grotz, J., Hardill, I., Hayward, D., Hogg, E., Jones, RD., Linning, M., Rees, S., Rutherford, A., Speed, E., McGarvey, A., Goodall, C., Stuart, J. and Maltman, D., (2022). Mobilising the voluntary sector: Critical reflections from across the four UK nations. In: COVID-19 and the Voluntary and Community Sector in the UK: Responses, Impacts and Adaptation. 17- 29. 9781447365501

Grotz, J., Hogg, E., Jochum, V. and Speed, E., (2022). Foreword. In: Mobilising Voluntary Action in the UK: Learning from the Pandemic. Editors: Hardill, I., Grotz, J. and Crawford, L., . Policy Press. xv- xix. 9781447367222

Speed, E. and Mannion, R., (2021). Performing Populist Health Policy: The Case of the English National Health Service. In: Managing Healthcare Organisations in Challenging Policy Contexts. Editors: Kislov, R., Burns, D., Mørk, BE. and Montgomery, K., . Palgrave Macmillan. 49- 66. 9783030810931

Speed, E., McPherson, S. and Beresford, P., (2020). Questioning the Patient Participation Imperative. In: Health and Wellbeing: The University of Essex Reader. Editors: Boncori, I. and Loughran, T., . Editoriale Scientifica. 169- 186. 9788893916639

Speed, E., (2020). Social Value. In: Critical Reflections on the Language of Neoliberalism in Education Dangerous Words and Discourses of Possibility. Editors: Themelis, S., . Routledge. 28- 34. 0367629569. 9780367629564

Fitzpatrick, R. and Speed, E., (2018). Society and Changing Patterns of Health and Disease. In: Sociology as Applied to Health and Medicine. Editors: Scambler, G., . Palgrave Macmillan. 3- 22. 1137577398. 9781137577399

Speed, E., (2017). Transforming a Public Good into a Private Bad: Political Legitimacy, Wilful Deceit and the Reform of NHS in England. In: Decentring Health Policy: Learning from British Experiences in Healthcare Governance. Editors: Bevir, M. and Waring, J., . Routledge. 187- 204. 9781138232990

Speed, E., (2011). Discourses of acceptance and resistance: Speaking out about psychiatry. In: De-Medicalizing Misery: Psychiatry, Psychology and the Human Condition. 123- 140. 9780230242715

Speed, E., (2011). Applying Soft Bureaucracy to Rhetorics of Choice: UK NHS 1983-2007. In: Managing Modernity: The End of Bureaucracy?. Editors: Clegg, SR., Harris, M. and H�pfl, H., . Oxford University Press. 9780199563647

Reports and Papers (6)

Mehta, J., Clifford, E., Taggart, D. and Speed, E., "Where your mental health disappears overnight: Disabled people's experiences of the Employment and Support Allowance Work Related Activity Group

O'Connell, L., Baxter, V., Ioakimidis, V. and Speed, E., The impact of COVID-19 on families and services in Southend

Thiel, D., Speed, E. and Cristo, SM., (2015). The Impact of Welfare Reform in Essex: A Report for the Essex Housing Officers' Group

Anderson, B. and Speed, E., (2010). Social Media And Health: Implications For Primary Health Care Providers

Glynos, J., Howarth, D., Norval, AJ. and Speed, E., (2009). Discourse Analysis: varieties and methods

Anderson, B. and Speed, E., (2009). An Evidence-Based Approach To Digital Inclusion for Health

Grants and funding

2023

LCRN Host Organisation Contract

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Pursuing Independent Paths KTP

Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)

2022

Evaluation of the impact of COVID 19 on methodological innovation: An analysis of ESRC/UKRI social science research projects (July 2020 � July 2021)

Northumbria University

Building a community of practice to identify strengths, barriers and prioritise solutions to the right of access to healthcare for Travelling Communities

National Institute for Health Research

2021

Summative Evaluation of the A Better Start Southend programme

Southend Borough Council

2020

Exploring access to healthcare with people and communities living on Traveller sites in the East of England

SHI Foundation (Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Ilness)

Mobilising Voluntary Action in the four UK jurisdictions: Learning from today, prepared for tomorrow.

UK Research and Innovation

NIHR CRN Eastern Social Care Research Readiness Project

National Institute for Health Research

2019

Patient Outcomes Project

Alzheimer's Research UK

Engagement �values�: theory, policy and practice in comparative perspective

SHI Foundation (Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Ilness)

Community engagement and scoping exercise to identify possible collaborative partners and to assess the extent of cultural, social, economic and other barriers to participation in Thurrock and surrounding area

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

2018

Self care programme bid

Eastern Academic Health Science Network

2016

Timebanking in Essex: Developing an Impact Evaluation Methodology

Colchester Community Voluntary Services

67% - The design and development of a scalable, avatar based, digital healthcare platform, driven by AI and Machine Learning technology.

Technology STrategy Board

2014

Hospital Discharge

Healthwatch Essex

2013

To map the impacts of social welfare reform and produce a dynamic digital map of welfare support service provision

Colne Housing Society Ltd

2010

PEBL

Secretary of State for Health

2009

Digital Inclusion & Social Knowledge

Solihull Care Trust

Contact

esspeed@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 872847

Location:

2S2.5.11, Colchester Campus

Academic support hours:

13:00 - 14:00 Monday or by appointment