Dr Anna Anderson

Profile

I am a Research Fellow in Qualitative Research with a clinical physiotherapy background. I am committed to sharing and advancing inclusive research practices, particularly regarding disability inclusion in health research.

After completing undergraduate degrees at the University of Cambridge in 2010 and Leeds Metropolitan (now Beckett) University in 2013, I worked clinically in a range of settings. I completed a Health Education England (HEE) internship at the University of Leeds in 2016 and then joined the university as a Research Associate in 2018.

Securing a HEE / National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship enabled me to complete a PhD between 2019 and 2022. My mixed methods PhD project was focused on developing an accessible and inclusive website to provide pre-operative education and an exercise plan for patients awaiting total knee replacement.

Since completing my PhD, I have worked on projects spanning areas such as inclusion of under-served groups in research, complex intervention development, and musculoskeletal condition self-management. At present, my main role involves working for the Assisted Healing and Rehabilitation theme of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care.

I established and lead an international, interdisciplinary Disability Inclusion in Research Collaboration (DIRECT), which has published a global call to action for disability inclusion in health research in Nature Medicine. I have also established and lead a national Learning disability and Autism Research Access (LARA) group, am a core team member of the Leeds Unit for Complex Intervention Development (LUCID) and co-lead the LUCID seminar programme and communications.

Research interests

My key interests include advancing disability inclusion in health research and rigorously developing complex interventions, both with a focus on achieving real-world impact. I am also interested in inclusion of under-served groups in research more broadly, musculoskeletal condition self-management, and digital interventions.

Qualifications

• PhD Medicine
• BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
• BA (Hons) Preclinical Veterinary Medicine

Professional memberships

• Health and Care Professions Council
• Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Student education

I currently contribute to teaching on musculoskeletal conditions for the Adult Nursing course in the School of Healthcare.

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine
• Complex interventions