Dr Rebecca French
MSc PhD
Associate Professor
of Sexual and Reproductive Health Research
LSHTM
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. 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 SRH.
I am Chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' SRH Clinical Studies Group, housed in the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Health (FSRH). In 2021, I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the FSRH.
I also have an honorary contract with Public Health England.
Affiliations
Teaching
I give lectures on two MSc modules, Family Planning Programmes and Sexual Health, and am a seminar leader on Principles and Practices of Public Health and Sexual Health. Each year I tutor/supervise projects for around three MSc students.
Since 2017 I have been Chair of the Distance Learning MSc in Public Health Exam Board.
Research
In 2020, I was awarded NIHR funding to co-lead the SACHA study with Prof Kaye and a collaborative international team, which aims to provide the necessary evidence to reconfigure health services against a backcloth of recent regulatory and therapeutic trends in abortion provision and care. 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.
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.
I am currently supervising four doctoral students and am a Department Research Degrees Co-ordinator.
Selected Publications
