
Dr Gemma Lasseter
PhD (Bristol), MSc, BSc (Hons), ACMI, MIBMS
Current positions
Research Fellow - Programme Manager for Health Protection Research Unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Media contact
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Research interests
I am an applied social scientist with interests in primary care, digital health and infectious disease research. I am predominantly a qualitative researcher, but also have experience with quantitative methods and mixed methods approaches (i.e. realist evaluation). Much of my work focuses on understanding 'what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why' by involving and capturing the opinions of healthcare staff, patients and members of the public.
In addition to my academic work, I also manage the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behaviour Change and Evaluation, which is a partnership between the UOB and Public Health England in collaboration with the Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit at Cambridge University and the University of the West of England. I oversee the work of the unit by coordinating existing and new HPRU funded and affiliated projects, offering support to work stream leads and HPRU researchers and identifying new projects for the HPRU business plan.
Prior to joining the HPRU I project managed a realist evaluation in the Centre of Academic Primary Care (CAPC), this study was designed to assess the end-of-life services offered by Marie Curie in the South West of England.
Prior to working at CAPC, I was the Project Manager and researcher at the Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England), Primary Care Unit. Whilst in this role I successfully managed and contributed to numerous mixed-methods research studies based in primary care, specialising on controlling infectious diseases and the use of antibiotics in the community. Study topics include, but are not limited to, Helicobacter pylori surveillance in England, MRSA nasal carriage in care home, catheterisation in care home, evaluation of rapid antigen detection tests for group B streptococcal sore throat and management of fungal infections in general practice.
Before starting my academic career, I was a state registered clinical micrioblogist at North Bristol NHS Trust. The experiance that I gained in this role set the foundation for my academic passion in infectious disease research.
My NIHR School of Primary Care funded PhD thesis examined general practice patients’ opinions about researchers accessing their identifiable medical records for research purposes and the feasibility of introducing a streamlined research recruitment process into primary care.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Can the past inform the present? Exploring attitudes and approaches to the management of common infections
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/03/2020 to 31/07/2021
From Folk to Pharma: Unlocking the medicine cabinet to understand lay approaches for managing common infections in the past and present
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Description
In 1929 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, but the importance of this first antibiotic was not fully realised until the early 1940s when large scale manufacturing processes were developed. This…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
09/01/2020 to 31/07/2020
Evaluation of patient access to medical test result services in General Practice
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Description
Patients are increasingly being offered the opportunity to access their
medical test results electronically through online access. This could
benefit both patients and GP practices, by patients being able to access
the information…Managing organisational unit
Dates
16/04/2018 to 16/04/2020
Publications
Recent publications
26/04/2022Exploration of attitudes regarding uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccine hesitant adults in the UK: a qualitative analysis
BMC Infectious Diseases
Exploring the impact of shielding advice on the wellbeing of individuals identified as clinically extremely vulnerable amid the COVID-19 pandemic
BMC Public Health
Unintended consequences of patient online access to health records: a qualitative study in UK primary care
British Journal of General Practice
Novel multi-virus rapid respiratory microbiological point-of-care testing in primary care
Family Practice
Understanding patterns of adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures
Journal of Public Health (United Kingdom)