Juliet Wakefield

Dr. Juliet Wakefield is a Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), specializing in Social Identity Theory and its implications for health and well-being. She holds a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Dundee (2011), where her research explored help-seeking as a tool for group image management. After four years as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Dundee, she joined NTU in 2015. Her work examines how group memberships influence health behaviors, particularly in contexts like healthcare access, food insecurity, and immigration detention. She investigates 'Social Cure' and 'Social Curse' processes, focusing on vulnerable populations such as migrants, those experiencing poverty, and individuals with mental health challenges.

• Research Groups: Groups, Identities, and Health (NTU); Social Identity Research Group
• External Roles: Editor for Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology and Cogent Psychology, active on Twitter, and collaborates with organizations like The Trussell Trust and ImROC.
• Grants/Sponsors: ESRC, NIHR, Economic and Social Research Council, Scottish Crucible.
• Key Projects: Exploring community identification's role in vaccine uptake, mental health benefits of volunteering, and healthcare challenges in immigration removal centers.

Her research emphasizes the dual role of social groups in enhancing or hindering well-being, with recent focus on social prescribing initiatives and loneliness reduction strategies. She advocates for systemic policy changes to address healthcare inequities and improve social connectedness.