Professor Catherine Meads

Catherine is a senior systematic reviewer and has published numerous systematic reviews and health technology assessments, including music for recuperation after surgery, therapeutic writing in long-term conditions, and in sexual orientation, gender identity and health and wellbeing.

[email protected]

Background

Previously, Catherine was Research Leader at RAND Europe in Cambridge, Reader in Health Technology Assessment at Brunel University, Senior Lecturer at Bart’s and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and at the University of Birmingham.

Research interests

• Sexual orientation, gender identity and health and wellbeing research
• Interface between research and policy, particularly in LGBTQ+ health
• Leading and managing systematic reviews and health technology assessments, including in complex interventions, devices and diagnostics and of prognosis, causality and health service delivery

Catherine has been conducting research into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender queer and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) health since 1992, and has published a number of ground-breaking research papers in this area. Recently she completed a review of education of health professionals in LGB&T health issues for Dr Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health at NHS England, and assisted on a review of LGBTQ+ health inequalities. She also completed a best-evidence review for Public Health England on health and healthcare experiences of UK sexual minority women.

Catherine has also delivered numerous public lectures, spoken at a Select Committee and All-Party Parliamentary Groups, taught undergraduate medical and nursing students and helped develop an eLearning package for GPs. She has been on several LGBT conference steering committees and study advisory committees. She was a member of the UK Government Equalities Office LGBT Advisory Panel (2018-21).

Areas of research supervision

• Sexual orientation, gender identity and health
• Systematic reviews and health technology assessment

Catherine has supervised 76 PhD theses, 1 MD thesis and numerous MSc dissertations to completion. She has also facilitated students to publish their work in high-impact journals. She is an experienced external examiner. She would welcome new research students with appropriate topics to her research interests. Past and current student PhD topics include:

• Exploring the impact of Section 28 of the Local Government Act, (which banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’) on LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in education and later life
• Biological Sciences in Advanced Nursing Practice
• Education of health and care staff in LGBT issues
• Links between hormonal contraception and mental health
• Associating dietary micronutrient density with body fat
• Nutritional profile of meals and their glycaemic load on mood of older adults in care homes
• Participatory arts for promoting wellbeing and quality of life in healthy older people
• Art therapy and participatory art for the well-being of refugees
• Saudi women’s sexual and health information needs
• Prediction and prevention of foetal growth restriction. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses with model-based economic evaluation

Teaching

Catherine has taught systematic review, meta-analysis and critical appraisal skills across a range of courses including MSc, undergraduate levels and for continuing professional development in the UK and abroad. She also teaches sessions on LGBTQ+ health. She was previously Director of the MSc in Evidence Based Healthcare and Health Technology Assessment at the University of Birmingham. She has few current teaching responsibilities and focuses mainly on research, management and supervision.

Qualifications

• Medical Degree in 1983 (University of Leicester Medical School)
• Masters’ Degree in Information Technology for Management in 1994 (Coventry University)
• PhD in Psychology in 2006 (Thesis on emotional disclosure in health) (University of Birmingham)
• Masters’ Degree in Public Health in 2010 (University of Birmingham)

Memberships, editorial boards

• Editorial board member – International Journal of Technology assessment in healthcare
• East of England Public Health Research and Evaluation Hub Steering Group
• Public Health England Reproductive Health Expert Reference Group

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Relevant grants up to 2026 include:

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Project, for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
• Alcohol use amongst gender and sexual minorities, for Drinkaware charity
• LGBT Health Education and Training Research, for NHS England
• Association between sexual orientation and health equity in women: systematic review and evidence mapping, for Public Health England
• Systematic review and evidence of middle- and high-income countries’ community-based social innovations for healthy ageing, for the World Health Organisation
• What Works for Wellbeing in Culture and Sport, for ESRC
• Smoking Toolkit Study, sexual orientation data, for Cancer Research UK

Selected recent publications

Meads, C. and Morrison, C. (2026) 'Review of UK and Ireland Surveys of Health Professional Educators on Teaching of Sexual- and Gender-Minority Health', Behavioral Sciences, 16(1), pp. 75.

Abdulmohdi, N., Edmonds, M., Prothero, L., Shaw, S. and Meads, C. (2025) 'Challenges, opportunities, and organisational readiness for simulation-based education in pre-registration nursing: A national survey across the United Kingdom', Nurse Education Today, 155, 106881.

Sharma, Y., Deraz, O., Meads, C., Rosendale, N. and Caceres, B. (2025) 'Sexual minority populations and disparities in cardiovascular healthcare', European Heart Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf597

Choong, E., Barry, P., Bewley, S. and Meads, C. (2025) 'Comparing the outcomes of in-vitro fertilisation in lesbians using their partner’s egg versus their own egg: a systematic review', Journal of Homosexuality. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2025.2537837

Connolly, D. J., Meads, C. A., Wurm, A., Brown, C., Bayliss, J., Oakes-Monger, T. and Berner, A. M. (2025) 'Transphobia in the United Kingdom: A public health crisis', International Journal for Equity in Health, 24(155), pp. 1-8. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02509-z

O’Reilly, L., Abdulmohdi, N., Cumberbatch, M. and Meads, C. (2025) 'Qualified nurses’ knowledge of the biosciences: a systematic scoping review of mixed study designs', Nurse Education Today, 144, 106455.

Crowe, A., Hogan, P., Morrison, C., Meads, C. and Bailey, D. (2024) 'Towards Inclusive Healthcare: Evaluating knowledge, confidence and awareness of LGBTQ+ health among Internal Medicine Trainees in London', BMC Medical Education, 24, pp. 851.

Bashir, S., Whittaker, W. and Meads, C. (2024) 'What are the economic arguments for mandating LGBT+ health training for healthcare providers? An economic evaluation of the impacts of LGBT+ health training on cervical screening', Behavioural Sciences (special edition), 14, pp. 260. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14030260

Gawronska, J., Meads, C., Smith, L., Cao, C., Wang, N. and Walker, S. (2024) 'Association of oral contraceptive pill use and depression among US women', Journal of Affective Disorders, 344, pp. 132-140.

Meads, C. (2024) 'Sexual and gender minority women'. In: Bambra, C., Davies, H., Munford, L., Pickett, K. et al. (Eds). (2024) 'Woman of the North'. Report, Health Equity North: Northern Health Science Alliance.

Harrison, N., Edmonds, M., Meads, C., Abdulmohdi, N., Prothero, L. and Shaw, S. (2024) 'Simulation in Nursing Education: An Evidence Base for the Future', Report to the Council of Deans of Health.

Cross, H., Bremner, S., Meads, C., Pollard, A. and Llewellyn, C. (2023) 'Bisexual people experience worse health outcomes in England: Evidence from primary care', The Journal of Sex Research, 61(9), pp. 1342-1350. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2220680

Meads, C. and Morrison, C. (2023) 'LGBTQ+ Health Education and Training Research'. Report to Dr Michael Brady, NHS England.

Meads, C., Zeeman, L., Sherriff, N. and Aranda, K. (2023) 'Prevalence of alcohol use amongst sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) communities in the UK; a systematic scoping review', Alcohol and Alcoholism, 58(4), pp. 346-356. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agad029

Berner, A. and Meads, C. (2022) 'LGBT populations and cancer in the UK'. In: Böhmer, U. and Dennert, G. (Eds) LGBT populations and cancer in the global context. Cham: Springer. ISBN: 978-3-031-06584-2

Zeeman, L., Meads, C., Sherriff, N. and Aranda, K. (2022) 'A systematic scoping review of alcohol use amongst gender and sexual minorities'. Final report to Drinkaware.

Dahlen, S., Meads, C. and Bewley, S. (2022) 'Rapid response to: WPATH Standards of Care: A new edition using outdated methods weakens the trustworthiness of content', BMJ Open, 11(4). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048943

Crowe, S., Barker, E., Roberts, M., Lloyd, L., Meads, C. and Saunders, C. L. (2021) 'Are we asking the right questions? Working with the LGBTQ+ community to prioritise healthcare research', BMC Research Involvement and Engagement, 7(1), pp. 64.

Meads, C., Thorogood, L.-R., Lindemann, K. and Bewley, S. (2021) 'Why are the proportions of in-vitro fertilisation interventions for same sex female couples increasing?', Healthcare, 9(12), pp. 1657. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121657

Mansfield, L., Victor, C., Meads, C., Daykin, N., Tomlinson, A., Lane, J., Gray, K. and Golding, A. (2021) 'A conceptual review of loneliness in adults: qualitative evidence synthesis', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 11522. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111522

Saunders, C., MacCarthy, S., Meads, C., Massou, E., Mant, J., Saunders, A. and Elliott, M. N. (2021) 'Long-term conditions among sexual minority adults in England', BJGP Open. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0067

McGowan, V., Lowther, H. and Meads, C. (2021) 'Life under Covid-19 for LGBT+ people in the UK: Systematic review of UK research on the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and gender minority populations;, BMJ Open, 11(7), e050092. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050092

Booker, C. L. and Meads, C. (2021) 'Sexual orientation and the incidence of COVID-19: Evidence from Understanding Society, the UK Longitudinal Household Study', Healthcare, 9, pp. 937. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9080937

Bewley, S., McCartney, M., Meads, C. and Rogers, A. (2021) 'Sex, gender, and medical data', BMJ, 372, n735.

Dahlen, S., Connolly, D., Araf, I., Junejo, M., Bewley, S. and Meads, C. (2021) 'International Clinical Practice Guidelines for Gender Minority/Trans People: Systematic Review and Quality Assessment', BMJ Open, 11(4), e048943. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048943

Daykin, N., Mansfield, L., Meads, C., Gray, K., Golding, A., Tomlinson, A. and Victor, C. (2021) 'The role of social capital in participatory arts for wellbeing: findings from a qualitative systematic review', Arts & Health, 13(2), pp. 134-157. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2020.1802605

Komashie, A., Ward, J., Bashford, T., Dickerson, T., Kaya, G. K., Liu, Y., Kuhn, I., Gunay, A., Kohler, K., Boddy, N., O’Kelly, E., Masters, J., Dean, J., Meads, C. and Clarkson, P. J. (2021) 'A systems approach to health service design, delivery and improvement: A systematic review and meta-analysis', BMJ Open 11(1), e037667. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037667

Saunders, C., Massou, E., Waller, J., Meads, C., Marlow, L. A. and Usher-Smith, J. (2021) 'Cervical screening attendance and cervical cancer risk among women who have sex with women', Journal of Medical Screening 28(3), pp. 349-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969141320987271

Meads, C. (2021) 'Rapid response to: How covid-19 has exacerbated LGBTQ+ health inequalities', BMJ, 372, m4828. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4828

Tomlinson, A., Lane, J., Julier, G., Grigsby-Duffy, L., Payne, A., Mansfield, L., Kay, T., John, A., Meads, C., Daykin, N., Golding, A. and Victor, C. (2020) 'Visual Arts and Subjective Wellbeing: A Systematic Review of the Outcomes of Engagement with the Visual Arts for Adults with Mental Health Conditions', Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 11(3) pp. 281-297.

Harris, A., Bewley, S. and Meads, C. (2020) 'Sex hormone levels in lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women: systematic review & exploratory meta-analysis', Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(7), pp. 2405-2420. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s1050 8-020-01717-8

Ghiga, I., Pitchforth, E., Lepetit, L., Miani, C., Ali, G.-C. and Meads, C. (2020) 'The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based social innovations (CBSIs) for healthy ageing in middle- and high-income countries: a systematic review', Health Policy and Planning, 25(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819619888244

Meads, C. (Ed.) (2020) Health and wellbeing in sexual orientation and gender identity. Basel: MDPI.

Meads, C. (2020) 'Health and wellbeing among sexual minority people'. In: Zimmermann, K. F. (Ed.) (2020) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Cham: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_36-1

View a full list of Catherine's publications to date

Recent presentations and conferences

Morrison, C. and Meads, C. (2025) 'Training in LGBTQ+ health issues to health professionals'. Poster, NHS Grampian Medical Education Conference, Aberdeen Altens Hotel, 7 November.

Meads, C. (2025) Human library on LGBT health inequalities. Cambridge City Council Engage Autumn 2025, Meadows Community Centre, Cambridge, 20 October.

Greenfield, M., Meads, C., Zuri, E. K., Thorogood L.-R., Levene, I., Bainbridge, A., McLeish, J. and Darwin, Z., on behalf of the James Lind Alliance LGBTQIA+ Perinatal Care Priority Setting Partnership Steering Group (2025) 'LGBTQIA+ perinatal care: reporting research priorities from a multi-stakeholder James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership', SRIP 45th Annual Conference, University of Liverpool, 26-28 August.

Meads, C. and Morrison, C. (2025) 'Training in LGBTQ+ health issues to health professionals'. Poster, Health and Care Inequalities: Research, Impact, Action Conference, Riding School, Hatfield House, 18 June.

Meads, C. (2025) 'Ethics and methodology in research' (session 4). Presentation, LGBTQ+ Health, Lets Care, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, 21-23 May.

Meads, C. (2025) 'Funding and Sustainability of LGBTIQ+ Health Research' (session 33). Presentation, LGBTQ+ Health, Lets Care, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, 21-23 May.

Meads, C. (2023) 'Why it is important not to ignore LGB&T health inequalities'. Poster, Health Equity Network National Conference, Council House, Birmingham, 5 October.

Sherriff, N., Zeeman, L., Meads, C. and Aranda, K. (2022) 'Alcohol use amongst gender and sexual minorities in the UK', Presentation, University of Verona panel discussion on mental health in LGBTQ+ people: unmet needs and future perspectives, Mental health for all conference, Naples, Italy, 26-28 September.

Media experience

'People from sexual minorities really do die younger, new data suggests', The Conversation, 26 January 2026.

Donor-egg pregnancies may come with higher rates of serious complications – here’s what you need to know', The Conversation, 14 July 2025.

Video interview by PSLondon/ARU on LGBT+ health research, 16 January 2025.

Interviewed by Patsy Westcott for a piece on listening to music post-operation in Saga Magazine, October 2024.

#InnovationMonth – A Journey through Simulation in Nursing Education', Council of Deans blog, 20 May 2024 (with Mary Edmonds, Naim Abdulmohdi, Louise Prothero and Siân Shaw).

'Closet, crisis and conscience: the untold journey of LGBTQ+ doctors and dentists', GLADD, 2024 (with Kit Tigwell, Martin Hamilton-Farrell, Jolyon Oxley, Susan Bewley, Richard Copeland, Colin Brewer and Robert George).

Interviewed by Mari Greenfield for a podcast series by Pinter and Martin, about the Pregnancy in SMW systematic review, 27 October 2021.

'Below the radar', The Fabian Society blog, 27 October 2021.

Interviewed by Theo Bove about LGBT health inequalities work, August 2021.

Interviewed by Ashley Cowburn for The Independent newspaper (online) on lack of Covid-19 data in LGBT people, June 2021.

'Hormones and Lesbians: What We Still Don’t Know', BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health blog, 30 June 2020.

Featured in DIVA Magazine as a Health Hero, March 2020.