We're so glad to have you with us! 🚀

👩‍🎓 Meet Florencia Bathory — our next PhD student we’re introducing in TOUCH.
She’s an Argentinian sociologist doing her doctorate in Demography at CED-UAB. Her thesis looks at mental health status of older people living with chronic conditions, and the ways this relationship can develop.

📖 Worth reading in EJIR (2025): Cross-national relationships between employment quality and mental well-being. The study shows how collective bargaining can reduce mental health inequalities at work. It helps us rethink labour and wellbeing.

https://shorturl.at/xni5r
#TOUCHProgramme

❓Did you know that across the OECD, care workers are more exposed to #mentalhealth risks than other employees — often working under time pressure and dealing with difficult situations with patients. This challenge is key to understanding the links between work, care, and mental health. @uab.cat

Why does my research matter? The care sector is at the heart of today’s social care crisis. By studying precarious work and mental health, I aim to shed light on how power relations shape workers’ wellbeing and the future of care.

#CareWork #PhD #MentalHealth #TOUCHProgramme

What is Francisca's motivation to tackle a PhD programme? To understand the internal dynamics of the care sector — central to sustaining life, yet paradoxically undervalued and marked by poor mental health conditions despite its enormous social value.

#CareWork #PhD #MentalHealth #TOUCHProgramme

❓Did you know: Care workers in Barcelona face high levels of depersonalization — an emotional defense that creates distance from patients and from themselves.

This challenge is key to understanding the links between work, care, and mental health.

#CareWork #TOUCHProgramme #MentalHealth #PhD

👩‍🎓 Meet Francisca Barriga Yumha — the first PhD student we’re introducing. She’s a Chilean economist doing her PhD in Sociology. Her thesis looks at precarious employment and mental health in long-term care, with a focus on gender, labor, and collective resistance. @politiquesuab.bsky.social @uab.cat

Welcome to the TOUCH Programme! Led by the @uab.cat and co-funded by the EU, our new doctoral programme trains the next gen of mental health researchers.
Currently, we’re 13 PhD students from 9 countries, studying mental health from neuroscience to sociology and beyond 💙
https://webs.uab.cat/touch