Abigail McNiven

I co-lead the PURSUE study on patient experiences of urogynaecological health conditions and health services with Dr Fran Toye, funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme. In addition, I am the main researcher on a study funded by the Oliver Bird Fund, the Nuffield Foundation, about decision-making for knee replacement surgery by patients over the age of 70 with multiple long term health conditions. 

I also provide research support to three additional studies with forthcoming Healthtalk.org outputs (diverse experiences of COVID-19; stillbirth; burn injuries), and a project generating a priority list of unmet women's healthcare technology needs.

I joined the Medical Sociology and Health Experiences Research Group in 2014 to work on a study about young people and skin conditions (acne, eczema, psoriasis and alopecia). Since then, I have also worked on studies about: pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure in pregnancy; the experiences of research nurses, midwives and allied health professionals; participation in cohort studies; healthcare professionals' perspectives on communication about serious illness with children and parents; antenatal and newborn screening; and GP perspectives on supporting patients with suspected endometriosis.

I am a social geographer by background and completed my PhD in the Department of Geography at Durham University on the topic of pregnancy loss experiences.

My research interests include reproductive health, geographies of the body, emotional geographies, feminist scholarship, death and bereavement studies, and qualitative research methodologies.