Health & Wellbeing Research

Research in health and wellbeing is one of the University’s priorities. It is strategically important within all of the University’s Faculties and Units. Open University researchers conduct research in health and wellbeing across various disciplines and areas including healthcare management, ageing studies, reproductive and sexual rights, assistive technologies, patient data management, mental health and biological health sciences. The scope of University expertise ranges from the science underpinning health and disease through to the medical humanities. The Open University is committed to working towards social justice specialising in participative and inclusive research methods with marginalised and vulnerable communities. In the latest UK research assessment exercise (Research Excellence Framework, 2014), nearly three quarters (72%) of the OU’s research was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance and e-learning solutions. Since its establishment in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 180,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas.

The Health and Wellbeing Strategic Research Area has a YouTube Channel which includes seminar recordings of invited presentations focusing on various topics and disciplines aligned to this Pan-University initiative.