Dr Thomas El-Hoss

Dr Thomas El-Hoss is a Research Fellow in the Department of Health and Community Sciences at the University of Exeter Medical School. He is a mixed-methods applied social scientist whose research focuses on improving the mental health, wellbeing and wider outcomes of children and families. His work examines how inequalities and public-service systems shape childhood outcomes, and how prevention, early intervention and coordinated cross-sector responses can improve outcomes and reduce the need for statutory intervention.

His research has spanned coastal England, Lebanon and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. He completed his PhD in Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath, where his doctoral research examined the development of Lebanon’s child welfare system and the relationships between government, community-based organisations and the religious courts.

Since joining the University of Exeter in 2021, Dr Thomas El-Hoss has worked closely with public-service partners, national charities, practitioners and families. He was initially embedded within Torbay Council’s Children’s Services and Public Health teams, examining the drivers of high rates of children entering care and supporting improvements to local services. His programme has since developed into multi-site research with national reach, combining analysis of administrative data with qualitative, participatory and embedded methods to inform service planning, prevention-oriented commissioning, workforce learning and practical improvements for children and families.

Dr Thomas El-Hoss is Principal Investigator of a £249,218 NIHR Early Career Researcher award, Supporting Reunification: Learning from Applied Research. Working across two sites, the project examines the experiences and service pathways of children and families following reunification, generating evidence to inform national policy, workforce learning and local service development.

Thomas is always happy to hear from researchers, practitioners, policymakers and members of the public interested in possible collaboration.