Dame Sarah Jane Macintyre DBE FRSE FMedSci (born 1949), known as Sally Macintyre, is a British medical sociologist. She is a professor emerita (formerly professor of social and public health sciences) at the University of Glasgow.

Sally Macintyre
Macintyre in 2013
Born
Sarah Jane Macintyre

1949 (age 74–75)
Spouse
Guy Muhlemann
(m. 1980)
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisDecision-Making Processes Following Pre-Marital Conception (1976)
Academic work
DisciplineSociology
Sub-disciplineMedical sociology
Institutions

In 1998 she was awarded an OBE for services to medical sociology,[1] and in 2006 she was awarded a CBE for services to social science. In 2011 she was awarded a DBE for services to science.[2] In 2013 she was one of 12 women to receive the inaugural 'Engineering and Physical Sciences' Suffrage Science award.[3]

Background and education edit

Sally Jane Macintyre was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her father, Angus Macintyre, was the then rector of St James's Scottish Episcopal Church, Leith.[4] Her mother, Evelyn Macintyre, had trained as a nurse and midwife in Oxford before the war. When she was 2, the family moved to Trinity College, Glenalmond in Perthshire (now Glenalmond College) where her father was chaplain until 1967.

Macintyre was schooled at home until the age of 10, when she went to Morrison's Academy, Crieff, for two years. From the ages of 12–16 she went to the Nesta Brooking School of Ballet in London, where she undertook classical ballet training. Having not reached the required height to join a classical ballet company, she went to Chichester College of Further Education to obtain university entrance qualifications.

Macintyre read social theory and administration at the University of Durham, as a member of St Aidan's College, graduating in 1970. She then did an MSc in sociology as applied to medicine at Bedford College, London, and was awarded a distinction in this degree in 1971. She undertook a part-time PhD while working as a research fellow at the University of Aberdeen, on the topic of decision-making processes following premarital conception, the degree being awarded in 1976.[5]

Career edit

In 1971 Macintyre went to a research post at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Aberdeen. From 1975 she was employed at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Medical Sociology Unit in Aberdeen. She was appointed director of the MRC Medical Sociology Unit in 1983,[6] and moved it to the University of Glasgow in 1984. In 1998 she took on the directorship of the Chief Scientist Office-funded Public Health Research Unit, which merged with the MRC Medical Sociology Unit to become the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit.[7] She retired from the directorship in 2013, and was succeeded by Laurence Moore.[8]

From 2011 until 2014, Macintyre was also director of the Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow.[9] She was a member of the council of the UK Medical Research Council from 2008 to 2016.[10][9] In 2014, she chaired the UK Economic and Social Research Council’s working group on the social science agenda for combatting anti-microbial resistance.[11] Between 2014 and 2016, Macintyre co-chaired the expert advisory group advising the Chief Medical Officers of the UK about revised alcohol consumption guidelines.[12]

Macintyre was the inaugural chair of the scientific advisory board of the UK Prevention Research Partnership, from 2016-2019.[13] In this period, she was also a member of the Human Tissue Authority and of the UK Biobank's Ethics and Governance Council.[14][15] Macintyre was appointed as the inaugural chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics governing board in 2017.[16]

Research interests and contributions edit

Macintyre's research was initially in the area of sociological aspects of reproduction and of maternity care. She demonstrated that many of what were thought to be natural aspects of motherhood were actually highly socially constructed and culturally variable.[17][18][19] In the 1980s she took a role in the evaluation of a trial of a new pattern of antenatal care in Aberdeen (involving more delegation to midwives and general practitioners, and fewer scheduled antenatal visits. Involvement in that evaluation, which was a non-randomised trial, triggered her continued interest in evidence-based health care and health and social policy, and how to evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.[20]

Her research interests then moved into the broad field of inequalities in health. Her major contribution has been to further the understanding of socioeconomic, spatial and gender inequalities in health across time and over the life course, using data from individuals, households and areas to improve understanding of the significance of the social and physical environment for health.[21][22][23]

Macintyre has also applied her sociological understandings to a range of emerging contemporary issues, such as HIV and AIDS,[24][25] the development of 'the new genetics',[26][27][28] and food choices, scares and representations of health risks in the media.[29]

She is an advocate for robust approaches and methods for evaluating public health policies and interventions,[30][31] and in doing so has contributed to guidelines for the evaluation of public health policies.[32][33][34]

Fellowships and awards edit

Macintyre was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1998,[35] and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the same year.[36] In 2003, she was made an honorary fellow of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.[37]

She has honorary Doctorates of Science from the University of Aberdeen (2006), University College London (2012) and Lancaster University (2012). From 1995 to 2004 she was editor-in-chief of the international journal Social Science & Medicine.[38]

In 1994 she was president of the Sociology and Social Policy Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2001 was president of its Medical Sciences Section. She was chair of the Society for Social Medicine in 2005. She was inaugural chair of the MRC's Population Health Sciences Research Network from 2005 to 2009.[39]

Personal life edit

Macintyre is a hill walker, climber, mountaineer and skier. In 1978 she was moderator (president) of the Aberdeen Mountaineering Club, and in 1986 she became a member of the Pinnacle Club, a rock climbing club for women. She completed her Munros (the 282 peaks over 3,000-foot high in Scotland) in 2002.[40] She has participated in several expeditions in the Karakoram range in Pakistan, including one all-woman expedition which completed two first ascents of 6000 m peaks.[41][42]

References edit

  1. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette 31st December 1997". The London Gazette. Retrieved 11 December 2013. cited as: "Professor Sarah Jane MACINTYRE, Director, MRC Sociology Unit, Glasgow. For services to Medical Sociology."
  2. ^ "The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2011". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Suffrage Science 2013". MRC Clinical Sciences Centre. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. ^ Steven, Alasdair (22 January 2001). "Rev Angus Macintyre". HighBeam Research. Cengage Learning. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  5. ^ Who's Who. A&C Black Publishers. 2012. p. 1461. ISBN 978-1-408-15491-5.
  6. ^ "Our research". Medical Research Council. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Research Units". Chief Scientist Office – NHS Scotland. Chief Scientist Office. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Leading social scientist to direct MRC Unit at Glasgow University". News & publications. Medical Research Council. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Institute of Health and Wellbeing". University of Glasgow, research units. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  10. ^ "MRC Annual Report and Accounts 08/09" (PDF). 11 November 2009 – via publishing.service.gov.uk.
  11. ^ "Anti-Microbial Resistance: Setting the Social Science Agenda".
  12. ^ "Alcohol Guidelines Review – Report from the Guidelines development group to the UK Chief Medical Officers" (PDF).
  13. ^ Medical Research Council, M. R. C. (11 July 2018). "UKPRP expert review group panel members". mrc.ukri.org. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  14. ^ "The HTA welcomes five new Authority members | Human Tissue Authority". www.hta.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Professor Dame Sally Macintyre appointed first Chair of the Governing Board of The Nuffield Council of Bioethics". Nuffield Foundation. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Professor Dame Sally Macintyre appointed first Chair of the Governing Board of The Nuffield Council of Bioethics". Nuffield Foundation. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  17. ^ Macintyre, Sally (1977). Single and Pregnant. London: Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0856644023.
  18. ^ Macintyre, Sally (1976). "Who Wants Babies? The Social Construction of Instincts". In Barker, D.L.; Allen, S. (eds.). Sexual Divisions in Society: Process and Change. London: Tavistock Publications. ISBN 978-0422748308.
  19. ^ Macintyre, Sally; Cunningham-Burley, S. (1993). "Teenage Pregnancy as a Social Problem: A perspective from the UK". In Lawson, A.; Rhodes, D.L. (eds.). The Politics of Pregnancy: Adolescent Sexuality and Public Policy. Yale: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300065480.
  20. ^ Hall M. Macintyre, S.; Porter M. (1985). Antenatal Care Assessed. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press. ISBN 978-0080324272.
  21. ^ Macintyre, Sally; MacIver S.; Sooman A. (April 1993). "Area, Class and Health: Should we be focusing on places or people?". Journal of Social Policy. 22 (2): 213–234. doi:10.1017/s0047279400019310. S2CID 145760764. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  22. ^ Macintyre, Sally (1986). "The Patterning of Health by Social Position in Contemporary Britain: Directions for Sociological Research". Social Science and Medicine. 23 (4): 393–415. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(86)90082-1. PMID 3529428.
  23. ^ Macintyre, Sally; Hunt K.; Sweeting H. (1996). "Gender differences in health: are things as simple as they seem?". Social Science & Medicine. 42 (4): 617–624. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00335-5. PMID 8643986.
  24. ^ West, P.; Wight D.; Macintyre, S. (1993). "Heterosexual behaviour of eighteen year olds in the Glasgow Area". Journal of Adolescence. 4. 16 (4): 367–396. doi:10.1006/jado.1993.1031. PMID 8138606.
  25. ^ Carter, S.; Horn, K.; Hart, G.; Dunbar, M.; Scoular, A. & Macintyre S. (May 1997). "The sexual behaviour of international travellers at two Glasgow GUM clinics". International Journal of STD & AIDS. 8 (5): 336–338. doi:10.1258/0956462971920055. PMID 9175658. S2CID 32880539.
  26. ^ Macintyre, Sally (1997). "Social and psychological issues associated with the new genetics". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Series B (Biological Sciences). 352 (1357): 1095–1101. Bibcode:1997RSPTB.352.1095M. doi:10.1098/rstb.1997.0090. PMC 1691988. PMID 9304676.
  27. ^ Macintyre, Sally (July 1995). "The public understanding of science or the scientific understanding of the public? A review of the social context of 'the new genetics'". Public Understanding of Science. 4 (3): 223–232. doi:10.1088/0963-6625/4/3/001. S2CID 143042792.
  28. ^ Davison, C.; Macintyre, S; Davey Smith, G. (1994). "The potential social impact of predictive genetic testing for susceptibility to common chronic disorders: a review and proposed research agenda". Sociology of Health & Illness. 16 (3): 340–371. doi:10.1111/1467-9566.ep11348762. PMID 11660089.
  29. ^ Macintyre, Sally; Reilly J.; Miller D. & Eldridge J. (1998). "Food choice, food scares, and health: the role of the media". In Murcott, A. (ed.). The Nation's Diet: The Social Science of Food Choice. London: Longmans. pp. 228–249. ISBN 978-0582302853.
  30. ^ Macintyre, Sally (July 2011). "Good intentions and perceived wisdom are not good enough: the need for controlled trials in public health". Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 65 (7): 564–567. doi:10.1136/jech.2010.124198. PMID 21148137.
  31. ^ Macintyre, Sally; Chalmers I; Horton R; Smith R (27 January 2001). "Using evidence to inform health policy: a case study". BMJ. 322 (7280): 222–225. doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7280.222. PMC 1119477. PMID 11159625.
  32. ^ Craig, P.; Cooper C; Gunnell D; Haw S; Lawson K; Macintyre S; Ogilvie D; Petticrew M; Reeves B; Sutton M; Thompson S. (December 2012). "Using natural experiments to evaluate population health interventions: new Medical Research Council guidance". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 66 (12): 1182–1186. doi:10.1136/jech-2011-200375. PMC 3796763. PMID 22577181.
  33. ^ Ogilvie, D.; Craig P; Griffin S; Macintyre S; Wareham NJ (2009). "A translational framework for public health research". BMC Public Health. 9 (116): 116. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-116. PMC 2681470. PMID 19400941.
  34. ^ Craig, P.; Dieppe P; Macintyre S; Michie S; Nazareth I; Petticrew M. (29 September 2008). "Developing and evaluating complex interventions: the new Medical Research Council guidance". British Medical Journal. 337:a1655: a1655. doi:10.1136/bmj.a1655. PMC 2769032. PMID 18824488.
  35. ^ The Royal Society of Edinburgh. "Current RSE Fellows". RSE Fellows as at 20/12/2013. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. p. 30. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  36. ^ Academy of Medical Science. "Fellows". Ordinary Fellows. Academy of Medical Science. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  37. ^ London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London (2003). "Annual Report 2002-03" (PDF). Review of the Year. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  38. ^ "Editorial Board". Social Science & Medicine. 202: ii. 1 April 2018. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(18)30145-X. ISSN 0277-9536.
  39. ^ "- PHRC". www.phrc.online. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Scottish Mountaineering Club". www.smc.org.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  41. ^ "The Alpine Journal" (PDF). 1987. p. 220. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  42. ^ "The Alpine Journal" (PDF). 1998. p. 299. Retrieved 21 August 2014.