Professor Catherine Meads

Catherine is a senior systematic reviewer and has published numerous systematic reviews and health technology assessments, including music for recuperation after surgery, therapeutic writing in long-term conditions, and in sexual orientation, gender identity and health and wellbeing.

[email protected]

Background

Previously, Catherine was Research Leader at RAND Europe in Cambridge, Reader in Health Technology Assessment at Brunel University, Senior Lecturer at Bart’s and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and University of Birmingham.

Research interests

• Sexual orientation, gender identity and health and wellbeing research
• Leading and managing systematic reviews and health technology assessments
• Systematic reviews in complex interventions
• Systematic reviews of devices and diagnostics
• Systematic reviews of prognosis, causality and health service delivery

Catherine has been conducting research into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health since 1992, She has been conducting research into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health since 1992 and has published a number of ground-breaking papers in this area. Recently she completed a best-evidence review for Public Health England on health and healthcare experiences of UK sexual minority women. She has also delivered numerous public lectures, spoken at a Select Committee and All-Party Parliamentary Groups, taught undergraduate medical and nursing students and helped develop an eLearning package for GPs. She has been on several LGBT conference steering committees and study advisory committees. She was until recently a member of the UK Government Equalities Office LGBT Advisory Panel.

Areas of research supervision

• Systematic reviews and health technology assessment
• Sexual orientation, gender identity and health

Catherine has supervised 6 PhD theses, 1 MD thesis and numerous MSc dissertations to completion. She has also facilitated students to publish their work in high-impact journals. She would welcome new research students with appropriate topics to her research interests. Past and current student PhD topics include:

• Biological Sciences in Advanced Nursing Practice
• Education of health and care staff in LGBT issues
• Links between hormonal contraception and mental health
• Associating dietary micronutrient density with body fat
• Nutritional profile of meals and their glycaemic load on mood of older adults in care homes
• Participatory arts for promoting wellbeing and quality of life in healthy older people
• Art therapy and participatory art for the well-being of refugees
• Saudi women’s sexual and health information needs
• Prediction and prevention of foetal growth restriction. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses with model-based economic evaluation

Teaching

Catherine has taught systematic review, meta-analysis and critical appraisal skills across a range of courses including MSc, undergraduate levels and for continuing professional development in the UK and abroad. She was previously Director of the MSc in Evidence Based Healthcare and Health Technology Assessment at the University of Birmingham. She has no current teaching responsibilities and focuses mainly on research and research supervision.

Qualifications

• Medical Degree in 1983 (University of Leicester Medical School)
• Masters’ Degree in Information Technology for Management in 1994 (Coventry University)
• PhD in Psychology in 2006 (Thesis on emotional disclosure in health) (University of Birmingham)
• Masters’ Degree in Public Health in 2010 (University of Birmingham)

Memberships, editorial boards

• Editorial board member – International Journal of Technology assessment in healthcare
• East of England Public Health Research and Evaluation Hub Steering Group
• Public Health England Reproductive Health Expert Reference Group

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Relevant grants up to 2021 include:

• Alcohol use amongst gender and sexual minorities, for Drinkaware charity
• LGBT Health Education and Training Research, for NHS England
• Association between sexual orientation and health equity in women: systematic review and evidence mapping, for Public Health England
• Systematic review and evidence of middle- and high-income countries’ community-based social innovations for healthy ageing, for the World Health Organisation
• What Works for Wellbeing in Culture and Sport, for ESRC
• Smoking Toolkit Study, sexual orientation data, for Cancer Research UK

Selected recent publications

Miani C, Martin A, Exley J, Doble B, Wilson E, Payne R, Avery A, Meads C, Kirtley A, Morgan Jones M, King S. Clinical and cost effectiveness of issuing longer versus shorter duration (3 month vs. 28 day) prescriptions in patients with chronic conditions. Systematic review and economic modelling. Health Technology Assessment 2017 (In press)

Daykin, N., Mansfield, L., Kay, T., Meads, C., D’Innocenzo G, Burnett A, Dolan, P., Julier, G., Longworth, L., Payne, A., Tomlinson, A., Victor, C. What Works for Wellbeing in Culture and Sport? Report of a Delphi process to establish principles and parameters of an evidence review. Journal of the Royal Society of Public Health entitled 'Perspectives in Public Health' 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1757913916674038

Hodson K, Meads C, Bewley S. Lesbian and bisexual women’s likelihood of becoming pregnant: a systematic review. BJOG 2016 DOI:10.1111/1471-0528.14449

Robinson C, Galloway KY, Bewley S, Meads C. Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Gynaecological Conditions: A Systematic Review. BJOG 2016 DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.14414

Nyssen OP, Taylor SJC, Wong G, Steed L, Bourke L, Lord J, Ross CA, Hayman S, Field V, Higgins A, Greenhalgh T, Meads C. Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic considerations. Health Technology Assessment 2016;20(27)

Yilmaz FM, Kahveci R, Aksoy A, Kucuk E, Akin T, Mathew J, Meads C, Zengin N. Strategies to reduce healthcare costs through appropriate use of laboratory tests: collaboration between the hospital-based HTA unit and the laboratory. Plos One 2016;11(4): e0153693

Meads C, Glover M, Pokhrel S. Parafricta Bootees and Undergarments to reduce skin breakdown in people with or at risk of pressure ulcers: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy 2016;14(6):635-646. DOI 10.1007/s40258-016-0245-2

Catley MJ, Gibson W, Wand BM, Meads C, O’Connel NE. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for chronic pain - an overview of Cochrane reviews. Protocol. 2015 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011890

Whaley P, Halsall C, Ågerstrand M, Aiassa E, Benford D, Bilotta G, Coggon D, Collins C, Dempsey C, Duarte-Davidson R, FitzGerald R, Galay-Burgos M, Gee D, Hoffmann S, Lam J, Lasserson T, Levy L, Lipworth S, Mackenzie Ross S, Martin O, Meads C, Meyer-Baron M, Miller J, Pease C, Rooney A, Sapiets A, Stewart G, Taylor D. Implementing systematic review techniques in chemical risk assessment: Challenges, opportunities and recommendations. Environment International. December 2015 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.002

Lord J, Longworth L, Singh J, Onyimadu O, Fricke J, Bayliss S, Meads C. Oral Health Guidance – Economic analysis of oral health promotion approaches for dental teams. Birmingham and Brunel Consortium EAC report to NICE Centre for Public Health Excellence. London 2015

View a full list of Catherine's publications to date

Recent presentations and conferences

Meads C. Reproductive and sexual health of sexual minority women. All Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health. House of Lords 11th March 2020

Meads C. Five challenges in LGBT Health. Presentation. Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Trust. 16 June 2021

Meads C. Systematic review of UK research on the impact of COVID-19 on LGBT+ people. Presentation. LGBT Partnership conference on Research into LBT Women's Health Virtual, 11th March 2021

Meads C. Keynote address. International Women’s Week 2020 – Discussing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Women’s Health Inequalities. City Hall London, 10th March 2020

Meads C. Reproductive and sexual health of sexual minority women. PHE Reproductive Health System Leadership Forum (RHSLF) meeting. Wellington House, London. 7th February 2020

Meads C. More information please! Why better research drives more inclusive policy. Royal Society of Medicine, London. Pride in medicine: LGBTQ+ healthcare on 29th June 2019

Meads C, Hodson K, Robinson C, Galloway KY, Bewley C. Lesbian and bisexual women’s likelihood of becoming pregnant and Lesbian and bisexual women’s' gynaecological disorders: a systematic review

Presentation. Evidence Live. University of Oxford. 22-24th June 2016

Meads C. The health of sexual minority women. Equality and Diversity Conference, Brunel University, Uxbridge. 20th April 2016

Shabib L, Brown J, West R, Meads C. Gender differences in the association of sexual orientation with smoking status and smoking characteristics: findings from a representative population survey. Society for Research on nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) 16th Annual conference, Chicago USA, 2-5th March 2016

Meads C. Lesbian Health. GLADD annual conference. London 14th November 2015

Media experience

Interview on The Naked Scientist radio programme, about the Walking in Groups systematic review publication. 4th Feb 2018