Alisha presented findings from her PhD at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2025, held in Bristol. The conference brought together researchers, practitioners, and clinicians working at the intersection of behavioural science and population health, with this year’s focus on “Addressing Inequalities Through Behavioural Science.”
Drawing on her prior work and longitudinal data from Understanding Society (UKHLS), Alisha’s talk explored how health-risk behaviours—such as smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and poor diet—cluster together in the adult population, and how these behavioural patterns relate to the development of multimorbidity over time. The study identified seven distinct behaviour patterns linked to different socio-demographic profiles and levels of multimorbidity. Strikingly, more deprived groups faced greater health burdens even with fewer risky behaviours—highlighting the need for tailored, equity-focused interventions.
The conference’s interdisciplinary sessions—ranging from primary care to digital health and simulated supermarket environments—provided valuable opportunities to connect behavioural science with real-world public health strategies, particularly those aimed at tackling structural inequalities in health.
