Dr Annalise Weckesser

Annalise leads a project for Plan International UK’s and Brook’s Let’s Talk. Period initiative, creating a series of evidence-based resources for the menstruation education, health, policy, and advocacy sector. The series entails four reports:

• Centring the Voices of Young People
• Best Practices & Latest Innovations in UK Period Poverty Initiatives
• Inclusivity & Diversity – UK Expert Views
• Evidencing & Evaluating Period Poverty Initiatives for Impact

In collaboration with Dr Stella Bullo and The Language of Endometriosis project, Annalise is undertaking a study of health professionals’ experiences of providing care for patients with suspected or diagnosed endometriosis. See the Discover Society article, ‘It’s a Challenge’: Doctors’ Perspectives on Diagnosing Endometriosis and Improving Care, for preliminary findings from the project. She is also collaborating on an ESRC funded project led by Gemma Williams on period poverty in the UK during the Covid19 pandemic.

Annalise leads two research projects for Umbrella Sexual Health. One study entails improving the return rates of STI home testing kits ordered online. The other study examines the use of the ‘mystery shopper’ method in evaluating sexual health services within community pharmacy settings.

Annalise has and is disseminating findings from a number of NIHR-HTA funded qualitative research projects.  These include an examination of women’s post caesarean section recovery experiences as part of the PREPS (Vaginal Preparation at caesarean section to Reduce Endometriosis and Prevent Sepsis) feasibility trial. With Professor Emeritus Elaine Denny, she explored women’s experiences of pregnancy while living with epilepsy as part of the EMPiRE (Anti-Epileptic drug Monitoring in PREgnancy) Trial. Annalise and Denny also examined women’s experiences of medical treatments for endometriosis for the PRE-EMPT (Preventing Recurrence of Endometriosis by Means of long acting Progestogen Therapy) Trial.

• Gender and reproductive, menstrual and sexual health
• Chronic health conditions (such as endometriosis and epilepsy)
• Young people and (menstrual and sexual) health
• Patient experiences and engagement
• Qualitative methods in health research 

• HEA Fellowship
• PhD, Medical Anthropology, School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick
• MA, Social Anthropology, York University, Canada 

• Postgraduate Certificate in Research – Qualitative Research Methods
• Advanced Qualitative Research Design seminars
• Lectures in the following areas: Anthropology/Sociology of Childhoods; Feminist Theory; Gender and Health; Research Techniques with Children and Young People; Anthropology of Humanitarian Aid & Philanthropy; Global Childhood(s)

• Andrea Anastassoui:  Teen Sexting, Gender and the Individualisation of Risk
• Amie Randhawa: Teenage Girls’ Experiences and Awareness of Endometriosis
• Tamara Shiboleth: Teenagers’ Experiences of Sexual Assault Support Services 
• Gemma Williams: Menstrual Equity and Chronic Illness
• Louisa Clifford: Experiences of/Improving Services for Parents of Preterm Multiples

Abbott, Weckesser & Egan (forthcoming) ‘“Everyone knows someone in an unhealthy relationship”: Young people’s talk about intimate heterosexual relationships in England’ in Sex Education

Denny & Weckesser (2019)‘Women’s Experiences of Endometriosis’ in Routledge International Handbook of Women’s Seuxal and Reproductive Health.

Weckesser et al. (2019) ‘Women’s perspectives on caesarean section recovery, infection and the PREPS trial: a qualitative pilot study’ in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth

Hodgetts-Morton, Hewitt,Wilson, Farmer, and Weckesser, et al. (2019) ‘Vaginal preparation with chlorhexidine at cesarean section to reduce endometritis and prevent sepsis: A randomized pilot trial (PREPS)’ in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

Thangaratinam, Marlin, Newton, Weckesser, et al. (2018) AntiEpileptic drug Monitoring in PREgnancy (EMPiRE): a double-blind randomised trial on effectiveness and acceptability of monitoring strategies. NIHR-HTA Final Report. Health Technology Assessment, No. 22.23.

Denny, Weckesser, et al. (2018) ‘Women’s experiences of medical treatment for endometriosis and its impact on PRE-EMPT trial participation: a qualitative study’ in Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 4 (1).

Denny & Weckesser (2018) ‘Qualitative research: what it is and what it is not’ in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Jørgensen,Weckesser, et al. (2018) ‘Young people’s views on sexting education and support needs: findings and recommendations from a UK-based study’ in Sex Education.

Lee,Hewett,Jørgensen, Turner,Wade, and Weckesser (2018) ‘Children and sexting: The case for intergenerational co-learning’in Childhood.

Weckesser & Denny (2017) ‘Reworking Biographies: Women’s Experiences of Pregnancy Whilst Living with Epilepsy’ in Social Science and Medicine, 185, July: 110-117.

Middleton, Daniels, Weckesser, and Bhattacharya (2017) ‘Preventing Recurrence of Endometriosis by Means of Long-Acting Progestogen Therapy (PRE-EMPT): Report of an Internal Pilot, Multi-Arm, Randomised Controlled Trial Incorporating Flexible Entry Design and Adaption of design Based on Feasibility of Recruitment’ in Trials, 18 (21).

Weckesser and Denny (2013) ‘Women Living with Epilepsy, Experiences of Pregnancy and Reproductive Health: A Review of the Literature’ in Seizure, 22(2): 91-8

Dr Weckesser is available to speak to the media about her research and public engagement work. 

Examples of previous work:

• Refinery 29 (2019)‘Every Single Reason Why Women Aren’t Taken Seriously about Endometriosis’
• The New Statesmen (2018) ‘Why the “Gender Data Gap” Means Doctors Don’t Take Women’s Pain Seriously’ 
• The Independent (2017) ‘Endometriosis: Millions of Women Suffering from Chronic Lack of Research’