Summary
I am a GP principal in Islington and an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow based at Imperial College London. This Fellowship award will be for 5 years part-time, from September 2017 to August 2022. I am based at the Child Health Unit at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health. My supervision team consists of Professor Sonia Saxena (primary supervisor), Dr Alex Bottle and Professor Helen Ward.
My main research interest is in improving access and delivery of sexual and reproductive healthcare in UK general practice. I have a broad definition of sexual health which includes: contraception, abortion, sexually transmitted infections, HIV as well as sexual well-being and improving experience of LGBT patients.
I have a wider interest in public health, health services and how to influence behaviour of primary care practitioners to improve practice and healthcare delivery.
I was awarded Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2017; my thesis examined behaviour of general practitioners to deliver public health programmes –in short, financial incentive is not the answer!
During my NIHR In-Practice Fellowship (1/12/2014 to 30/11/2016), I conducted a feasibility study using large database of electronic health records from general practice (Clinical Practice Research Datalink - CPRD) to examine trends in abortions in UK general practice. I am building on this for my doctoral research fellowship project. Using the CPRD and focus group interviews, I will examine how we can improve contraceptive care in UK general practice.
Aside from generating research, I am interested in using innovative ways to communicate with the public and professionals. I want to explore using Twitter, YouTube, infographics, theatre and Instagram to do just that. I am quite active on Twitter – my handles are @Richard_GP and @GP_SexualHealth; I am still exploring Instagram – my handle is richard_ma on there.
Publications
Journals
Gillespie D, de Bruin M, Hughes DA, et al., 2022, Between- and Within-Individual Sociodemographic and Psychological Determinants of PrEP Adherence Among Men Who have Sex with Men Prescribed a Daily PrEP Regimen in Wales, Aids and Behavior, ISSN:1090-7165
Ma R, Foley K, Saxena S, 2022, Access to and use of contraceptive care during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK: a web-based survey., Bjgp Open, Vol:6
Gillespie D, Wood F, Williams A, et al., 2022, Experiences of men who have sex with men when initiating, implementing and persisting with HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, Health Expectations, Vol:25, ISSN:1369-6513, Pages:1332-1341
Gillespie D, Couzens Z, de Bruin M, et al., 2022, PrEP Use, Sexual Behaviour, and PrEP Adherence Among Men who have Sex with Men Living in Wales Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Aids and Behavior, Vol:26, ISSN:1090-7165, Pages:2746-2757
Mikulak M, Ryan S, Ma R, et al., 2021, Health professionals' identified barriers to trans health care: a qualitative interview study, British Journal of General Practice, Vol:71, ISSN:0960-1643, Pages:E941-E947