Dr Hannah Drysdale (PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons))
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cancer Behavioural Science
Email: h.drysdale@qmul.ac.uk
Profile
I joined the Centre for Cancer Prevention, Screening and Early Diagnosis as an honorary research assistant in 2023, whilst working on my PhD at King’s College London. My PhD evaluated socioeconomic inequalities in cervical cancer screening and considered the impact of introducing HPV vaginal self-sampling into the NHS screening programme.
I am currently working on a Barts Charity funded project which explores the acceptability of HPV self-sampling among Muslim women in East London. I also spend one day a week on the DISTINCT project, in collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research, which aims to improve the collection of demographic data to monitor and improve inclusivity in clinical trials.
I am a behavioural scientist by background and have experience of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Research
Research Interests:
- Understanding inequalities in cervical screening participation and barriers to attendance.
- Understanding attitudes towards, and acceptability of, new screening tests. For example, HPV vaginal self-sampling for cervical screening.
- Exploring attitudes towards being offered a choice of test (e.g. self-collection for cervical screening vs a clinician-taken sample).
- Understanding and improving inclusivity in cancer screening trials
Publications
Please click through to view a complete list of Hannah's publications
- Lidington E, Stiles M, Maudsley J, Ching J, Deutsch A, Lipman N, Williamson E, Synesi G et al. ( 2026 ) . Establishing a set of acceptable demographic questions for use in health research through public consultation . Research Involvement and Engagement vol. 12 , ( 1 )
- Marlow L, Drysdale H, Waller J ( 2024 ) . Attitudes towards being offered a choice of self-sampling or clinician sampling for cervical screening: A cross-sectional survey of women taking part in a clinical validation of HPV self-collection devices . Journal of Medical Screening vol. 32 , ( 2 ) 93 - 99 .
- Drysdale H, Marlow LAV, Lim A, Waller J ( 2024 ) . Experiences of Self‐Sampling and Future Screening Preferences in Non‐Attenders Who Returned an HPV Vaginal Self‐Sample in the YouScreen Study: Findings From a Cross‐Sectional Questionnaire . Health Expectations vol. 27 , ( 4 )