Professor Louise Bryant

Profile

Louise Bryant is a Professor of Psychological and Social Medicine at the University of Leeds, and a Chartered Psychologist.

Her applied health research  focuses on prenatal testing for genetic conditions including Down’s syndrome, and in particular, how to enable informed testing choices in practice. She also researches health inequalities experienced by adults with a learning disability.

Louise has leadership roles in the strategic direction of the equality and inclusion goals of the University and the Faculty of Medicine and Health. 

She holds leadership roles for Public Health England in the development, implementation and evaluation of national policy and guidance on fetal anomaly screening and the development and delivery of national training programmes impacting on the delivery and experience of antenatal healthcare. In 2019, she was the first Social Scientist member appointed to the UK National Screening Commitee..

Responsibilities

• Faculty Deputy Dean, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Dean Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, University of Leeds
• Lead for REF 2021 Impact, LIHS

Research interests

Psychosocial aspects of prenatal screening technologies: considering how to improve decision support for women offered prenatal screening and diagnostic testing for Down syndrome in pregnancy. Research on the social context of prenatal testing has investigated how people in different societies view learning disability and screening technologies, and the on social influences these societal factors have on women making decisions. Work on psychological aspects has considered how women make decisions about screening tests, what underlies their choices (attitudes towards testing and disability, experience of disability, religious or cultural influences) and ways to support women making decisions (information development, the informed decision process, staff training).

Current research includes a collaboration with the University of Loughborough and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust using conversation analysis to help midwives facilitate informed choice in practice

https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/mrs-jayne-wagstaff-improving-training-for-midwives/

Qualifications

• PhD Psychology
• BSc(Hons) Psychology First Class

Professional memberships

• Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)
• Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society (CPsychol)