"People with severe mental illness face one of the greatest health inequalities of our time," said Professor Matthew Hotopf CBE of @kingshealth.bsky.social

Read the research in full ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/life-ex...

And while a majority of the public see mental and physical health as equally important, they’re less convinced the healthcare system treats them this way – even if there has been a notable increase since 2019 in the belief that the two have parity

More generally, mental health and cancer are now tied as the biggest perceived health problem facing the nation, with 45% and 44% respectively listing it among their top three concerns

However, public opinion is more mixed on whether this is achievable or a priority for the healthcare system, with younger people particularly sceptical

There is broad support for improving healthcare for those with SMI, with two-thirds (67%) saying more needs to be done to improve life expectancy among this group

And just 14% of the public correctly recognise the prevalence of SMI is higher among Black African and Black Caribbean British communities

Another misperception is that suicide is the most common factor reducing the life expectancy in those with SMI.

Half the public (50%) believe this to be the case, when it in fact accounts for roughly 9% of excess mortality among this group

The public's median guess is that severe mental illness (SMI) reduces lifespans by just seven years on average, when the true figure is 15 to 20 years – cutting lives shorter than diabetes, severe obesity and even smoking

Read the findings from our latest culture war study with @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social, which shows tensions and divisions have grown in recent years ⬇️

You can also join us, @hepi-news.bsky.social, and a panel of expert guests – including Professor Shitij Kapur, Professor Jackie Labbe, Professor Baroness Alison Wolf DBE, Richard Salter and Nick Hillman – at 1pm today as we dive deeper into this research

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/events/broke...

"The TRAC data shows a £5bn black hole in academic research funding. The government acknowledges that publicly funded research may need to be resourced at a higher rate, but its main solution seems to be for universities to do less research"

@elielcohen.bsky.social, co-author of the paper

"There is an opportunity for a step-change in the sector's data maturity to enable financial sustainability to be more effectively measured, monitored and managed – which will benefit all stakeholders."

Richard Salter, co-author of the paper

🌍 Drawing on international examples, the report highlights how sector-wide agreements on financial transparency – such as those in Ontario, Canada – can build trust between institutions and regulatory bodies

💡 The report comes as the government's post-16 education and skills white paper commits to working with the sector to improve universities’ cost-recovery and the use of TRAC data – a crucial opportunity for reform, the authors argue

🔬 However, current TRAC data does reveal a £5.4bn black hole due to under-funding of research, which is systemic across all types of research grant, with cost recovery rates averaging just 68% for research council-funded projects