About
Lauren is a lecturer at the University of Southampton, and the Research Lead for Sexual Health within Solent NHS Trust. Her interests centre broadly around sexual health and sexuality, with a special interest in women's health, sexual desire and pleasure, and health and social inequalities.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Sexual Health
- Sexuality
- Health and Social Inequalities
Publications
Biography
After graduating from my BSc at the University of Kent, I began working as a Chlamydia Screening Outreach Support worker in Dorset. I decided to undertake an MSc in Health Psychology based on my experiences of the challenges faced by young people when it comes to dealing with their sexual health.
During my time on the MSc and prior to starting my PhD, I completed a research project concerned with the acceptability of a novel condom use intervention for young women, and an evaluation of online sexual health screening services for young people.
My PhD involved 31 qualitative interviews with older adults regarding their sexuality and sexual health, and I produced two empirical studies covering social aspects of sexuality (such as body image and age-related stigma), and personal and relational aspects (meanings of sex and its importance in later life). During my PhD I also worked on Germ Defence, an online infection control intervention which aimed to help people stay safe and well at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More recently, I have worked alongside the UK Health Security Agency on an mpox project, and I'm planning on setting up a few new studies as part of my new role at the University of Southampton.