
Dr Dawn Holford
Bacc / BBM, MSc, PhD
Current positions
Lecturer
School of Psychological Science
Contact
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Research interests
I am a socio-cognitive and behavioural science researcher with an interest in the psychology of communication, particularly how people process social and linguistic information when making decisions. My research background is in experimental psychology.
My current research focuses on understanding the roots of misinformed beliefs and the importance of empathy and building trust when communicating about facts and evidence. I have developed interventions to help with conversations addressing misconceptions and misinformations about different health and socio-political topics, for example vaccination. I also study how healty equity initiatives that are community-led and use creative, participatory methods can build and leverage trust.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Building Research by Communities to Address Inequities Through Expression(led by LSTM)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/02/2024 to 31/01/2027
Publications
Recent publications
21/01/2026Impact of a community-led intervention on the uptake of childhood vaccines in Liverpool
BMJ Open
Measuring outcomes of training in Empathetic Refutational Interviewing (ERI) for vaccine communication
Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
Patient and public involvement, engagement, and participation in practice
Research Involvement and Engagement
Piloting short Empathetic Refutational Interview modules in clinical training
PEC Innovation
Smartphone use and loneliness in life transitions
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health



