77: Experiences of UK Somali adults with visible facial differences
Appearance Matters: The Podcast!Show Notes
This month our very own Appearance Matters the podcast co-host, Bruna Costa, joins us to share insights from her doctoral research project, conducted as part of her Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology.
Bruna discusses the importance of increasing representation of marginalised groups within visible difference research and working closely with community partners. Bruna also shares novel insights from her research focussed on the experiences of UK Somali adults with visible facial differences.
A message from Bruna: Thank you to the individuals who took part in this research, and shared their experiences so openly, and our community collaborators, who were instrumental to the project. Thank you to the funders of this work, the Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) Foundation. Thank you to my doctoral supervisors, Heidi Williamson, Diana Harcourt and Habib Naqvi.
To find out more about Bruna's research, her thesis will soon be available on the UWE repository.
To find out more about Nura Aabe's work: BBC news article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-57684958
Bristol TEDxBristol talk: https://tedxbristol.com/about/person/nura_aabe
To find out more about similar research: South Asian perceptions and experiences of Cleft Lip and Palate phttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1748681510002317?casa_token=jMz0v96LLW4AAAAA:KT8CKBNXrq-Azy2Z8iUOfPeBbCSShZNJf1pnjCpLLFddlaxcwgepzV2NjoGnRINIyp_WFN3X7A
Bangladeshi women's perceptions and experiences of neurofibromatosis. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10897-007-9097-0
South Asian women's perceptions and experiences of vitiligo. https://academic.oup.com/bjd/article/163/3/481/6642583
Chinese women's perceptions and experiences of skin conditions. https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142734/2/Thompson.%20Cultural%20nuances%20of%20skin%20shame.pdf
South Asian women perceptions and experiences of breast cancer. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pon.4187?casa_token=6U6uTSKsSrsAAAAA%3ANZ3BSF0S_Wb3pYcKk1Mb0LBefd2dP0YjQEFMjRhdvlQfpQUQb7kYtqQ1xvPcNkD-Y9FWhUMk7RAU7zQ
More from Appearance Matters: The Podcast!
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What support is available for adults living with a visible difference? In the first episode of our Visible Difference Matters mini-series, Dr Maia Thornton and Dr Emma Waite discuss support for adults with a visible difference. This includes free, evidence-based interventions developed at the Centre for Appearance Research, from apps to podcast-based programmes.
In this month’s episode, we bring you Phyllida Swift’s Keynote speech from the Appearance Matters 11 Conference, which took place in Bristol in June 2026.
Welcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast.