International Keynote
Prof. Philip Wilson
Professor Emeritus, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen
Professor of Child Health in Primary Care, University of Copenhagen
Phil is an academic GP based in Inverness in the north of Scotland. After a PhD in neurochemistry, medical school, and training in paediatrics and general practice, he became a GP partner in Glasgow in 1988 where he worked for 23 years. From 1995 he also worked part-time at the University of Glasgow as a researcher. Inspired by clinical observations of trajectories of child development and wellbeing, he became increasingly fascinated by the early factors influencing adult health. In 2003 he received a primary care research career award from the Chief Scientist Office, with a programme of research involving the role of primary care in improving the mental health of young children. In August 2012 he was appointed University of Aberdeen professor of primary care and rural health and in 2017 he became a visiting professor in child health in primary care at the University of Copenhagen.
He retired from clinical work as a GP in 2020 and from the University of Aberdeen in 2022, but continues his active programme of research in child health based in Copenhagen. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, most of them addressing early childhood mental wellbeing.
Mental health promotion begins at birth – or earlier
This talk will begin with a brief overview of the mechanisms by which in-utero factors and exposures in early life can influence brain development and thereby later mental and physical health. Epidemiological studies of mental health trajectories will be discussed critically, along with their implications for primary care developmental screening, opportunistic child consultations, health promotion and early intervention. Much of the content of the presentation will be based on my own work and that of my colleagues in Glasgow, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and further afield.