Dr Josie Hamper is a Research Associate in Health Geography with over 12 years of qualitative health research experience. Prior to joining KCL, Josie held academic research roles at the University of Oxford (School of Geography) and Queen Mary University of London (School of Business and Management). She has a PhD (Human Geography) and MSc (Geographies of Health) from Queen Mary University of London, and an MA (Geography) from the University of St Andrews.

Josie is also a visiting researcher at the Visual Studies Lab, Tampere University, and a committee member for the Royal Geographical Society’s Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Group.

Research

• Geographies of health and wellbeing
• Social studies of medicine
• Childhood, care and parenting
• Sexual, reproductive and maternal health
• Urban health and inequalities
• Reproductive and digital health technologies
• Online visual cultures
• Research ethics and qualitative methods

Josie’s research focuses on how lived experiences and knowledges of health intersect with new technologies. She has published widely on people’s everyday encounters with digital health tools, including online health information seeking, fertility and pregnancy apps, and embryo imaging technologies in IVF treatment. As part of this work, Josie has a particular interest in advancing methods for the study of digital images and online visual cultures of health. Currently, Josie is working on the project ‘Multicultural Understandings of Child Development and SEND across North West London’ in collaboration with Brent Council and Parent Carer Forums, the NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board, and other community/voluntary sector organisations.

Expertise and public engagement

Josie has considerable media experience working with news organisations such as The Telegraph and iNews, and her research areas are often covered in the media (including: fertility apps, self-tracking, and social media health advice).