Shape-shifting versions of class in Australia and the pursuit of equity in public health.

The COVID-19 pandemic and current cost of living crisis have highlighted socioeconomically patterned health disparities, bringing renewed focus on equity in public health. Despite political rhetoric invoking cultural narratives of egalitarianism and opportunities for class mobility, social class remains a significant factor in health outcomes in the Australian context. For social scientists, class (despite robust critiques) is a key analytical concept that has been theoretically broadened to encompass social and cultural practices (habitus).

Refusing epigenetics: indigeneity and the colonial politics of trauma.

Environmental epigenetics is increasingly employed to understand the health outcomes of communities who have experienced historical trauma and structural violence. Epigenetics provides a way to think about traumatic events and sustained deprivation as biological "exposures" that contribute to ill-health across generations. In Australia, some Indigenous researchers and clinicians are embracing epigenetic science as a framework for theorising the slow violence of colonialism as it plays out in intergenerational legacies of trauma and illness.

Sober Curiosity: A Qualitative Study Exploring Women's Preparedness to Reduce Alcohol by Social Class.

Background: Urgent action is required to identify socially acceptable alcohol reduction options for heavy-drinking midlife Australian women. This study represents innovation in public health research to explore how current trends in popular wellness culture toward 'sober curiosity' (i.e.

Examining social class as it relates to heuristics women use to determine the trustworthiness of information regarding the link between alcohol and breast cancer risk.

Background: High rates of alcohol consumption by midlife women, despite the documented risks associated with breast cancer, varies according to social class. However, we know little about how to develop equitable messaging regarding breast cancer prevention that takes into consideration class differences in the receipt and use of such information.

Objective: To explore the heuristics used by women with different (inequitable) life chances to determine the trustworthiness of information regarding alcohol as a modifiable risk factor for breast cancer risk.

'I have a healthy relationship with alcohol': Australian midlife women, alcohol consumption and social class.

Alcohol consumption by Australian women during midlife has been increasing. Health promotion efforts to reduce alcohol consumption in order to reduce alcohol-related disease risk compete with the social contexts and value of alcohol in women's lives. This paper draws on 50 qualitative interviews with midlife women (45-64 years of age) from different social classes living in South Australia in order to gain an understanding of how and why women might justify their relationships with alcohol.