HealthTALK

Spotlight on Care

Black Nurses and Maternal Mental Health

Maternal mental health affects families at every level, yet the disparities facing Black women in the United Kingdom remain profound and often overlooked.

One in ten women experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the year after birth, but Black women are more likely to face poorer outcomes, less likely to be heard and too often left undiagnosed or unsupported.

This feature honours the Black nurses, midwives and mental health professionals who continue to hold the line. They provide culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care while advocating fiercely for mothers who deserve to be safe, believed and properly supported.

Clean Air, Clear Mind:

How Air Pollution, Poor Housing and Inequality Impact

In a recently published paper in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open, researchers, led by Professor Kam Bhui at the University of Oxford, have highlighted a critical link between air pollution and mental illness. While we’ve long understood the risks posed by air pollution to physical health, the connection to mental well-being is only now gaining the attention it deserves. Despite this awareness, progress in understanding and addressing these impacts has been too slow.

In the context of climate change, the stakes are higher than ever. Air pollution, poor housing conditions, noise pollution, and other social determinants of illness disproportionately affect marginalised communities, amplifying rates of mental illness and contributing to premature mortality. The researchers urge a collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach to accelerate research and create effective solutions.

Let’s break down the key issues and explore how we can move forward with suggested…

Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month we pause, reflect and celebrate life while raising awareness for breast cancer, a condition that touches millions of women across the globe. Louise Hay often reminded us that our bodies are always speaking to us and that loving attention is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is not only about ribbons, campaigns, or statistics, it is a sacred reminder to listen deeply, to honour our health and to choose life by making check-ups a priority.

Breast cancer is now the most common cancer in the world. In the UK alone, around 55,000 women are diagnosed each year and in the U.S. over 280,000 cases are reported annually. Yet the truth is, when found early, survival rates increase dramatically. Screening and self-examination are not acts of fear, but acts of self-love. They whisper to the body “I am worth saving.…

The Crisis in Black Maternity

Addressing Disparities and Paving the Way for Change in Healthcare

The numbers are stark and undeniable. In the UK, Black women continue to face a maternal mortality crisis that exposes the deep-rooted inequities in the healthcare system. But what do these statistics really tell us about the state of healthcare for Black women and how can we leverage the rise of AI and digital healthcare solutions to shift the narrative?

Key Statistics That Demand Our Attention