Dr Anna Anderson

Profile

I am a physiotherapist currently working as a Project Manager and Research Fellow in Qualitative 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 joined the University of Leeds as a Research Associate in 2018 and completed a Health Education England / NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship between 2019 and 2022. 

My mixed methods PhD project was focused on developing a new website, the ‘Virtual Knee School’, to provide pre-operative education and a prehabilitation exercise programme for patients awaiting total knee replacement. A key focus of my project was ensuring that the Virtual Knee School is accessible and inclusive for a diverse range of patients.

Since completing PhD, I have been involved in projects related to inclusion of under-served groups in research, musculoskeletal conditions, and complex intervention development. My current role involves working a Project Manager for the Assisted Healing and Rehabilitation theme of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care, which spans health and social care. I also work as a Research Fellow on a project aimed at developing and evaluating a remote peer mentorship intervention for people with hip or knee osteoarthritis who are experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.

I 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

I am particularly interested in approaches for making health and social care research more inclusive for underserved groups. This includes areas such as how to make research procedures and resources more accessible for disabled people, and how to meaningfully involve local community groups in co-producing research projects. My other key research interests include complex intervention development, qualitative and mixed methods research, 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