Dr Rebecca French
Associate Professor
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
15-17 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9SH
United Kingdom
I am a Public Health researcher with experience of policy-related research, intervention development and evaluation. I have worked in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Research for 30 years.
In 2020, I was awarded NIHR funding to co-lead (with Prof Kaye Wellings) a major research project, the SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) study, aimed at providing the necessary evidence to reconfigure health services against a backcloth of recent regulatory and therapeutic trends in abortion provision and care. The collaborative international team amassed to carry out this complex study has the potential to endure beyond the time period of the research, and will serve as a pivotal point for future studies into abortion. Also in 2020, I was commissioned by Public Health England to lead a team charged with designing and piloting a Reproductive Health Tracking Survey, aimed at providing a standard research instrument to be used for national tracking as well as by community level agencies. A repetition of the survey has been commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) for 2023. Data from both these surveys will be used to inform the Department of Health and Social Care's 2022 Women's Health Strategy.
Other current or recent studies have focused on ethics and contraceptive use, fertility awareness, young people’s contraceptive use and digital methods of providing sexual health advice. I am a member of the fourth National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-4) Reproductive Health Working Group and have led on papers on contraceptive prevalence and sources of supply for Natsal-2 and 3.
In 2021 I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Health (FSRH). I was Chair of the FSRH Research Group between 2017-22 and continue to be a member of the group.
I also have an honorary contract with OHID.
In 2020, I was awarded NIHR funding to co-lead (with Prof Kaye Wellings) a major research project, the SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) study, aimed at providing the necessary evidence to reconfigure health services against a backcloth of recent regulatory and therapeutic trends in abortion provision and care. The collaborative international team amassed to carry out this complex study has the potential to endure beyond the time period of the research, and will serve as a pivotal point for future studies into abortion. Also in 2020, I was commissioned by Public Health England to lead a team charged with designing and piloting a Reproductive Health Tracking Survey, aimed at providing a standard research instrument to be used for national tracking as well as by community level agencies. A repetition of the survey has been commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) for 2023. Data from both these surveys will be used to inform the Department of Health and Social Care's 2022 Women's Health Strategy.
Other current or recent studies have focused on ethics and contraceptive use, fertility awareness, young people’s contraceptive use and digital methods of providing sexual health advice. I am a member of the fourth National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-4) Reproductive Health Working Group and have led on papers on contraceptive prevalence and sources of supply for Natsal-2 and 3.
In 2021 I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Health (FSRH). I was Chair of the FSRH Research Group between 2017-22 and continue to be a member of the group.
I also have an honorary contract with OHID.
Affiliations
Department of Public Health, Environments and Society
Faculty of Public Health and Policy
Teaching
I give lectures on two 'face-to-face' MSc modules, Family Planning Programmes and Sexual Health, and am a seminar leader for Principles and Practice of Public Health and for Sexual Health. I mark assessments for the latter two modules, and projects for the Public Health MSc. Each year I tutor/supervise projects for around three MSc students.
Between 2017-21 I was Chair of the Distance Learning MSc in Public Health Exam Board. Prior to this, I was Deputy Chair for three years. I was a Distance Learning Project Module Organiser (PMO) between 2012-19. I worked with the other PMO, Dr Anna Foss on developing a mentorship programme where alumni supported current students with their projects. In 2018, we received the Director’s Award for Excellence & Innovation in developing students as researchers.
I am currently supervising three DrPH and one PhD student. Since 2020 I have been one of the Department Research Degree Co-ordinators.
Between 2017-21 I was Chair of the Distance Learning MSc in Public Health Exam Board. Prior to this, I was Deputy Chair for three years. I was a Distance Learning Project Module Organiser (PMO) between 2012-19. I worked with the other PMO, Dr Anna Foss on developing a mentorship programme where alumni supported current students with their projects. In 2018, we received the Director’s Award for Excellence & Innovation in developing students as researchers.
I am currently supervising three DrPH and one PhD student. Since 2020 I have been one of the Department Research Degree Co-ordinators.
Research
Interests include how preferences affect choice in healthcare, specifically around fertility-related decision-making, reproductive health and well-being, and how new technologies can be used to promote better sexual and reproductive health.
Research Area
Bacteria
Behaviour change
Evaluation
Health services research
Public health
Reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health
Country
Canada
United Kingdom
Region
Euro area
North America
Selected Publications
Which Structural Interventions for Adolescent Contraceptive Use Have Been Evaluated in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?
2022
International journal of environmental research and public health
Should COVID-specific arrangements for abortion continue? The views of women experiencing abortion in Britain during the pandemic.
2022
BMJ SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Are we prepared for change? The need for evidence on healthcare practitioner readiness for current and future trends in abortion provision in the UK.
2021
BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
(Not) talking about fertility: the role of digital technologies and health services in helping plan pregnancy. A qualitative study.
2020
BMJ sexual & reproductive health
Attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion among healthcare professionals in Britain: cross-sectional survey data from the SACHA Study.
2024
BMJ sexual & reproductive health
