Dr Nicola Boydell is a THIS (The Healthcare Improvement Studies) Institute Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Centre for Biomedicine Self and Society and Usher Institute. Nicola’s work focuses on exploring social and cultural dimensions of sexual and reproductive health and care.
Her work sits at the intersection of medical sociology and healthcare improvement studies, and she is passionate about interdisciplinary health research that works collaboratively with third sector, clinical and health policy partners.
Nicola’s current project is exploring how participatory approaches can be used and extended within sexual and reproductive health care, with a particular focus on abortion care. The project is exploring questions around what “good” looks like in the provision of telemedicine abortion care and contraceptive provision, and how users of services are involved in quality improvement efforts.
Nicola loves exploring and discussing innovations in qualitative methods, and reading around diverse areas of medical sociology and humanities scholarship – everything is interesting!
Qualifications
- 2015 PhD “Personal communities and safer sex: A qualitative study of young gay and bisexual men in Scotland”, University of Glasgow
- 2011 MSc Social Science Research, University of Glasgow
- 2010 PgCert Public Health Studies, Queen Margaret University
- 2008 BSc (Hons) Sociology and Psychology (First Class), Queen Margaret University
Teaching
- Dr Boydell supervises undergraduate students (BMedSci, BMTO Honours programmes), Masters’ level students on Master of Public Health Programmes (on-campus and online) and PhD students within CMVM at the University of Edinburgh.
- Dr Boydell is currently a course co-ordinator on the Master of Public Health Programme (on-campus) at the University of Edinburgh.
- Dr Boydell is also a guest lecturer on the Intercalated BMedSci in Bioethics, Law and Society and tutors on SEAM (Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine) modules as part of the MBChB undergraduate medical programme within the University of Edinburgh Medical School.