Staff Member Biography

Carol Emslie

position: Senior Investigator Scientistprogramme: Gender and Health

Contact Details

email:
phone: 0141 357 3949 (switchboard)

Address

MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit
4 Lilybank Gardens
Glasgow G12 8RZ

Biography and Interests

Carol graduated from Glasgow University in 1992 (1st class Honours, Sociology) and gained her PhD from this Unit in 1997. Her quantitative PhD examined the health of men and women within a British Bank in order to explore whether gender differences in minor morbidity persist amongst men and women working in similar jobs. She then worked as a Research Fellow for the Department of General Practice at Glasgow University on a qualitative project which investigated people's perceptions of a family history of heart disease.

Her current research interests focus on gender and alcohol use and include a focus group study exploring early mid-life drinking among men and women and a geographical analysis of alcohol-related death rates across Scotland. Since returning to the Unit in 1999, her work has used a variety of different methods (including RCT, secondary qualitative and quantitative analysis and systematic reviews of qualitative literature). Previous work includes examining men's gendered experiences of coronary heart disease, analysing gender differences (and similarities) in narratives about cancer and depression in the DIPEx study (now renamed healthtalkonline) and examining changes in men’s and women's drinking over time in the Twenty-07 Study. Carol has been on the BSA Medical Sociology Committee, was book review editor for Sociology of Health & Illness and was on the Operational Management Group for the Men’s Health Forum Scotland. Her work has also been selected for virtual special issues of Social Science & Medicine and Sociology of Health & Illness designed to showcase key papers in gender and health published over the last 15 years.

Publications

Emslie C, Hunt K, Gough B, Lyons A. The role of alcohol in forging and maintaining friendships amongst Scottish men in mid-life. Health Psychology [in press].

Batty GD, Bhaskar A, Emslie C, Benzeval M, Der G, Lewar H, Hunt K. Association of life course socioeconomic disadvantage with problem and heavy drinking: gender differentials in the west of Scotland. International Journal of Public Health 2012;57:119-126.

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Emslie C, Hunt K, Lyons A. Older and wiser? Men’s and women’s accounts of drinking in early mid-life. Sociology of Health & Illness 2012;34:481-496.

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Ridge D, Emslie C, White A. Understanding how men experience, express and cope with mental distress: where next? Sociology of Health and Illness 2011; 33:145-59.

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Green G, Emslie C, O'Neill D, Hunt K, Walker S. Exploring the ambiguities of masculinity in accounts of emotional distress in the military among young ex-servicemen. Social Science & Medicine 2010; 71:1480-88.

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Batty GD, Hunt K, Emslie C, Lewars H, Gale C. Alcohol problems and all-cause mortality in men and women: predictive capacity of a clinical screening tool in a 21 year follow-up of a large, UK-wide, general population-based survey. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2009; 66:317-21.

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Batty GD, Lewars H, Emslie C, Gale C, Hunt K. Internationally recognised guidelines for 'sensible' alcohol consumption: is exceeding them actually detrimental to health and social circumstances? Evidence from a population-based cohort study. Journal of Public Health 2009; 31:360-5.

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Emslie C, Browne S, MacLeod U, Rozmovits L, Mitchell E, Ziebland S. ‘Getting through’ not ‘going under’: a qualitative study of men’s and women’s experiences of spousal support after diagnosis with colorectal cancer. Social Science & Medicine 2009;68:1169-76.

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Emslie C, Lewars H, Batty GD, Hunt K. Are there gender differences in levels of heavy, binge and problem drinking? Evidence from three generations in the west of Scotland. Public Health 2009; 123:12-14.

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Emslie C, Mitchell R. Are there gender differences in the geography of alcohol-related mortality in Scotland? An ecological study. BMC Public Health 2009; 9:58.

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Hilton S, Emslie C, Hunt K, Chapple A, Ziebland S. Disclosing a cancer diagnosis to friends and family: a gendered analysis of young men and women’s experiences. Qualitative Health Research 2009; 19:744-54.

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Emslie C, Hunt K. 'Live to work' or 'work to live'? A qualitative study of gender and work-life balance among men and women in mid-life. Gender, Work and Organization 2009; 16:151-72.

Emslie C, Hunt K. Men, masculinities and heart disease: a systematic review of the qualitative literature. Current Sociology 2009; 57:155-91.

Batty GD, Deary IJ, Schoon I, Emslie C, Hunt K, Gale C. Childhood mental ability and adult alcohol intake and alcohol problems: The 1970 British Cohort study. American Journal of Public Health 2008: 98; 2237-43.
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Batty GD, Lewars H, Emslie C, Benzeval M, Hunt K. Problem drinking and exceeding guidelines for 'sensible' alcohol consumption in Scottish men: associations with life course socioeconomic disadvantage in a population-based cohort study. BMC Public Health 2008; 8:302.
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Emslie C, Hunt K. The weaker sex? Exploring lay understandings of gender differences in life expectancy: a qualitative study. Social Science & Medicine 2008; 67:808-16.
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Hilton S, Hunt K, Emslie C, Salinas M, Ziebland S. Have men been overlooked? A comparison of young men and women's experiences of chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Psycho-Oncology 2008; 17:577-83.
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Emslie C, Ridge D, Ziebland S, Hunt K. Exploring men's and women's experiences of depression and engagement with health professionals: more similarities than differences? A qualitative interview study. BMC Family Practice 2007; 8:43.
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Emslie C, Whyte F, Campbell A, Mutrie N, Lee L, Ritchie D, Kearney N. "I wouldn't have been interested in just sitting round a table talking about cancer"; exploring the experiences of women with breast cancer in a group exercise trial. Health Education Research: Theory and Practice 2007; 22:827-838.
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Hunt K, Lewars H, Emslie C, Batty GD. Decreased risk of death from coronary heart disease amongst men with higher 'femininity' scores: a general population cohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology 2007; 36:612-620.
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Mutrie N, Campbell A, Whyte F, McConnachie A, Emslie C, Lee L, Kearney N, Walker A, Ritchie D. Benefits of supervised group exercise programme for women being treated for early stage breast cancer: pragmatic randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal 2007;334:517-520.

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Emslie C. Kvinder, mænd og iskæmisk hjertesygdom : review af kvalitative studier - sekundærpublikation. Tidsskrift for Sygelplejeforskning (Journal of Nursing Research) 2007; 23:15-29.

Gurney S, Emslie C, Macintyre S. Perceptions of work-life balance in 'ResearchOrg'. Glasgow: MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, 2007.

Emslie C, Hunt K. Genetic Susceptibility. In: Clarke A, Ticehurst F, eds. Living With The Genome. Ethical and Social Aspects of Human Genetics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006:102-7

Emslie C, Ridge D, Ziebland S, Hunt K. Men's accounts of depression: Reconstructing or resisting hegemonic masculinity? Social Science and Medicine 2006; 62:2246-2257.
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Emslie C. Women, men and coronary heart disease: A review of the qualitative literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2005; 51:382-395.
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Craig J, Bradbury I, Collinson P, Emslie C, Findlay I, Hunt K, Kohli H, Kulkarni U, Macpherson K, Riches E, Single A, Tochel C. The organisation of troponin testing services in acute coronary syndromes. Glasgow: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, 2004.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. Gender, work-home conflict and minor morbidity amongst white-collar Bank employees in the UK. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine 2004; 11:127-134.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, O'Brien R. Masculinities in older men: a qualitative study in the West of Scotland. Journal of Men's Studies 2004; 12:207-226.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Watt G. A chip off the old block? Lay understandings of inheritance amongst men and women in mid-life. Public Understanding of Science 2003; 12:47-65.

Emslie C, Hunt K. Genetic Susceptibility. Encyclopedia of the Human Genome. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2003:947-950.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Watt G. Invisible women? The importance of gender in lay beliefs about heart problems. In: Nettleton S, Gustafsson U, eds. The Sociology of Health and Illness Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002:146-161.

Emslie C, Fuhrer R, Hunt K, Macintyre S, Shipley M, Stansfeld S. Gender differences in mental health: evidence from three organisations. Social Science & Medicine 2002; 54:621-624.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. How similar are the smoking and drinking habits of men and women in non-manual jobs? European Journal of Public Health 2002; 12:22-28.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, Watt G. "I'd rather go with a heart attack than drag on". Lay images of heart disease and the problems they present for primary and secondary prevention. Coronary Health Care 2001; 5:25-32.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Watt G. Invisible women? The importance of gender in lay beliefs about heart problems. Sociology of Health & Illness 2001; 23:201-231.

Hunt K, Emslie C, Watt G. Lay constructions of a 'family history' of heart disease: potential for misunderstandings in the clinical encounter? Lancet 2001; 357:1168-1171.

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Hunt K, Emslie C. Commentary: the prevention paradox in lay epidemiology - Rose revisited. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2001; 30:442-446.

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McConnachie A, Hunt K, Emslie C, Hart C, Watt G. 'Unwarranted survivals' and 'anomalous deaths' from coronary heart disease: prospective survey of general population. British Medical Journal 2001; 323:1487-1491.

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Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. Perceptions of body image amongst working men and women. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2001; 55:406-407.
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Hunt K, Emslie C, Cornwallis L, Crawford F. Real people talking about heart disease: making sense of the messages and moving forward: Health Promotion Department, Greater Glasgow Health Board, 2001.

Hunt K, Davison C, Emslie C, Ford G. Are perceptions of a family history of heart disease related to health-related attitudes and behaviours? Health Education Research: Theory and Practice 2000; 15:131-143.

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Hunt K, Emslie C, Watt G. Barriers rooted in biography: how interpretations of family patterns of heart disease and early life experiences may undermine behavioural change in mid-life. In: Graham H, ed. Understanding Health Inequalities. Buckingham: Open University Press, 2000:113-126.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Watt G. "It's a family affair". Lay understandings of a family history of heart disease: Findings from the ESRC Health Variations Programme, 2000.

Richards H, Emslie C. The 'doctor' or the 'girl from the University'? Considering the influence of professional roles on qualitative interviewing. Family Practice 2000; 17:71-75.
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Watt G, McConnachie A, Upton M, Emslie C, Hunt K. How accurately do adult sons and daughters report and perceive parental deaths from coronary disease? Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2000; 54:859-863.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. Gender differences in health amongst full-time employees of a British University. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 1999; 53:465-475.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. Gender or job differences? Working conditions amongst men and women in white-collar occupations. Work, Employment and Society 1999; 13:711-729.

Emslie C, Hunt K, Macintyre S. Problematizing gender, work and health: the relationship between gender, occupational grade, working conditions, and minor morbidity in full-time bank employees. Social Science and Medicine 1999; 48:33-48.
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Emslie C, Hunt K, Fuhrer R, Stansfeld S, Macintyre S. Gender differences in minor morbidity amongst bank employees, civil servants, and university employees (Abstracts from the Society of Social Medicine Conference 1998). Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 1998; 52:699.

Hunt K, Emslie C. Men's work, women's work? Occupational sex ratios and health. In: Orth-Gomer K, Chesney M, Wenger N, eds. Women, Stress and Heart Disease. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998:87-107.

Emslie C. Banking on good health? Gender differences in minor morbidity amongst men and women working full-time in a British Bank [PhD]. MRC Medical Sociology Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 1997.