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Dr Liz Sillence

Associate Professor

School: Psychology

Dr Liz Sillence completed her PhD At Birmingham University in 2003 and joined the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University later that year. She is a founding member of the PaCT (Psychology and Communication Technologies) Lab. Liz leads undergraduate modules in eHealth and research placements on the MRes programme and contributes to research supervision of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students. Liz’s current research interest centre on ehealth and she is currently investigating the trust and privacy issues associated with the technological sharing of personal health data. Liz is also a member of the hoarding research group within the department investigating the cybersecurity issues related to digital hoarding.

Liz Sillence

Liz is an eHealth researcher, examining psychological aspects of users’ online interactions around eHealth information. She works at the intersection of psychology and digital technology and her research has a strong focus on trust and identity. She seeks to understand how people interact with digital information and advice and how they use it to inform their health decision-making and improve their wellbeing. There is a strong practical element to her research, in which she strives to see her findings applied to positive effect in the design and development of online resources for patients.  

Understanding the interaction between users and their digital information is at the heart of Liz's research and the application of psychology to risky informational settings has allowed her to examine trust, identity and wellbeing around digital information management in relation to security and the hoarding of digital data.

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • A thematic analysis of an online discussion forum for people with problematic hoarding behaviours, Sillence, E., Murphy-Morgan, C. 6 Mar 2026, In: Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
  • Digital hoarding and personal use digital data, Sillence, E., Dawson, J., Brown, R., McKellar, K., Neave, N. 2 Jan 2026, In: Human-Computer Interaction
  • "It is not our job to educate you": Exploring Perceptions of AI-Integrated Menstrual Tracking Apps Through Speculative Reflection, Doughty, F., Sillence, E., Harrison, D., Smith, M. 20 Feb 2026, Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26) , ACM
  • Understanding the challenges of using digital health technologies for menopause information, Sillence, E., Osborne, A., Claisse, C., Durrant, A. 1 Jan 2026, In: Patient Education and Counseling
  • AcademAI: Investigating AI Usage, Attitudes, and Literacy in Higher Education and Research, Brown, R., Sillence, E., Branley-Bell, D. 1 Sep 2025, In: Journal of Educational Technology Systems
  • Accessing information on menopause transition and the role of digital health technologies: a narrative review, Osborne, A., Sillence, E. 14 Jul 2025, In: Women and Health
  • A Model of Trust in Online COVID-19 Information and Advice: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study, Sillence, E., Branley-Bell, D., Moss, M., Briggs, P. 13 Feb 2025, In: JMIR Infodemiology
  • Evaluating mobile apps for sun protection: content analysis and user preferences in a two-part study, Rodrigues, A., Doughty, F., Charlton, C., Woodhouse, S., Sillence, E. 31 Dec 2025, In: Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine
  • Exploring Alternative Socio-Technical Systems for Careful Data Work in Recovery Contexts, Claisse, C., Osborne, A., Sillence, E., Glascott, A., Cameron, A., Durrant, A. 25 Apr 2025, CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, New York, United States, ACM
  • Menopause apps: personal health tracking, empowerment and epistemic injustice, Sillence, E., Osborne, A., Kemp, E., McKellar, K. 27 Apr 2025, In: Digital Health

  • Computer Studies PhD December 12 2003
  • Design Studies MSc September 01 1998


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