Fellow's Profile
Emily Lewis
Fellow's Profile
Emily Lewis
The overlooked risk: physical illness and suicide
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
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Strengthening suicide prevention for people living with physical illness
- Countries
- Fellowship year
-
2026
- Locality
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South East
Contact
Biography
I work in public health at Buckinghamshire Council and have a background in mental health, including as a clinician in talking therapies. Through my work leading on suicide prevention, I became aware that people living with chronic or terminal illness are two to three times more likely to die by suicide, yet are often overlooked in prevention approaches.
With an ageing population and the number of people living with major illnesses set to rise, addressing this gap is becoming increasingly urgent. My Fellowship will explore how this issue is understood and addressed internationally, focusing on South Korea and Australia. In South Korea, I will learn from leading research on suicide and physical illness, including challenges associated with an ageing population. In Australia, I will meet policymakers and researchers to understand how physical illness has been incorporated into suicide prevention strategies in practice.
I hope to use this learning to strengthen how we identify and support people at risk in the UK, helping to ensure suicide prevention approaches better reflect the realities of living with physical illness.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
