Dr Liz Sillence

Associate Professor

Department: 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.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

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.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Buffering against academic loneliness: The benefits of social media-based peer support during postgraduate study, McLaughlin, C., Sillence, E. 1 Mar 2023, In: Active Learning in Higher Education
Chatbots for embarrassing and stigmatising conditions: Could chatbots encourage users to seek medical advice?, Branley-Bell, D., Brown, R., Coventry, L., Sillence, E. 11 Sep 2023, In: Frontiers in Communication
Communicating knowledge and embodied experiences of personal menstrual cup use through YouTube, Sillence, E., McKellar, K. 30 Jan 2023, In: Qualitative Health Communication
Digital accumulation behaviours and information management in the workplace: exploring the tensions between digital data hoarding, organisational culture and policy, McKellar, K., Sillence, E., Neave, N., Briggs, P. 5 May 2023, In: Behaviour and Information Technology
Examining Healthcare Professionals’ communication around decision-making with internet-informed patients, Walker, L., Sillence, E. 7 May 2023, In: Health Communication
Health Stigma on Twitter: Investigating the Prevalence and Type of Stigma Communication in Tweets about Different Conditions and Disorders, Brown, R., Sillence, E., Coventry, L., Branley-Bell, D., Murphy-Morgan, C., Durrant, A. 2023, In: Frontiers in Communication
People with long-term conditions sharing personal health data via digital health technologies: A scoping review to inform design, Rathbone, A., Stumpf, S., Claisse, C., Sillence, E., Coventry, L., Brown, R., Durrant, A. 24 May 2023, In: PLOS Digital Health
Perceptions of control over different causes of death and the accuracy of risk estimations, Brown, R., Sillence, E., Pepper, G. 14 Apr 2023, In: Journal of Public Health

PGR Supervision

Matt Dixon The Self-Extended Smartphone: Implications for Privacy and Security Start Date: 06/09/2022
Lauren Bussey The use and integration of online information in health decision making Start Date: 01/10/2015 End Date: 10/05/2019
Kerry McKellar Developing a brief online sexual health intervention for low Socio Economic Status female teenagers Start Date: 08/04/2016 End Date: 26/03/2018
Emma Kemp Understanding the information needs of perinatal women: The role of technology support tools for new mothers Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 23/06/2023
Emma Kemp Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 28/09/2019

Qualifications

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

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