Dr Carrie Purcell

I am a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, based at the Open University in Scotland. My background is in medical sociology and qualitative research methods.  

Research Interests 

My main research interests are around sexual and reproductive health (SRH), stigma, pain, self-management, reproductive justice, and access to healthcare. I currently lead the Gender Pain Gap study (part of the OU Open Societal Challenges programme), and the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Scotland knowledge exchange project. I also chair the OU's Reproduction, Sexualities and Sexual Health Research Group.  

I have contributed to numerous studies on abortion and contraception in Scotland, the UK, and internationally, inluding leading the Wellcome Trust-funded Sexuality and Abortion Stigma Study (SASS). SASS took a ‘big qual’ qualitative secondary analysis approach to analysing UK datasets on abortion spanning 10+ years, to inform understanding of abortion stigma and normalisation. I was a collaborator on the award-winning Open University engagement project My Body, My Life and was a co-investigator on the Abortion During COVID-19 study.  

In previous roles, I worked on a variety of mixed-method projects relating to health and wellbeing, ranging from process evaluations, to qualitative secondary analysis, to feasibility and implementation studies. As a result, I have a broad range of topical, methodological, and practical research expertise.  

My PhD research (2011) took a phenomenological-narrative inquiry approach to understanding the practice of holistic massage, focusing on embodiment, the senses, and alternative ways of knowing.  

Within the OU, I co-lead the WELS Researcher Group, a faculty-wide initiative to support and develop the careers of staff on research-only contracts. I also sit on the Open University’s Research Concordat Steering Group, which oversees the OU’s adherence to the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.   

I contribute to the wider research community in a number of ways. I am a member (and former co-chair) of the steering group for the Interdisciplinary Research in Sexual Health Network Scotland (IRESH) . I am also Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships , and an Honorary Research Fellow in the School for Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow. I am a member of the editorial board for BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and am a regular reviewer for numerous clinical and social scientific journals. I also contribute to a number of governmental and other advisory groups relating to my research interests.  

OpenLearn article (November 2024): Self-managed abortion in the UK https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/health/self-managed-abortion-the-uk  

BPAS Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication blog (April 2024): Experiences of managing pain with early medical abortions: confusing comparisons and unclear expectations. https://www.bpas.org/our-cause/centre-for-reproductive-research-communication/crrc-blog/experiences-of-managing-pain-with-early-medical-abortions-confusing-comparisons-and-unclear-expectations/ 

Centre for Research on Families and Relationships blog (February 2024): Opportunities for connection and support around self-managed abortion https://www.crfr.ac.uk/opportunities-for-connection-and-support-around-self-managed-abortion/  

British Sociological Association Everyday Society blog (December 2022): Why we need to talk about abortion https://es.britsoc.co.uk/why-we-need-to-talk-about-abortion/