Paul Crawford, Professor of Health Humanities, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health.

Professor Crawford, of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been recognised for his work in pioneering the field of Health Humanities and conducting multiple investigations relevant to public health.

As part of his work, Professor Crawford recently completed a £1.5m AHRC-funded programme entitled ‘Creative Practice as Mutual Recovery’, making the findings available in a digital showcase in association with the Mental Health Foundation.

Professor Crawford is currently Co-Investigator on a £1.25m ESRC/UKRI Cross-Council Network Plus programme called ‘MARCH’ which seeks to increase social and cultural assets for mental health, and Principal Investigator for a £840K AHRC-funded project on Florence Nightingale who was an early and significant contributor to the development of public health.

Learning of the award, he commented:

“I am delighted to receive this recognition for my work. I take seriously the potential for the arts and humanities to be a kind of ‘shadow health service’ for the public. While it is a personal feather in my cap to be elected, the honour reflects the tremendous energy and enthusiasm for health humanities among colleagues across the University of Nottingham.”

Professor John Atherton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “The Faculty and University are very proud to have this honour bestowed on someone who has contributed so strongly to the public good and to academic excellence within the University.

“Paul is a major national and international leader in building synergy between health and the humanities to the great benefit of both. We congratulate him!”