Dr. Gemma Pearce's research focus is on long-term conditions, women's health, physical activity promotion and co-creation. She specialises in research on hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). She currently has funding with multidisciplinary teams to co-create tools to improve maternity care for people with hEDS/HSD (Coventry University) and to co-create a physical activity programme for people with POTS (PULSE project - British Heart Foundation).

She is currently the UK PI for the Erasmus+ Co-Creating Welfare project developing and delivering co-creation training and tools across welfare settings in Europe, including embedding co-creation within NHS England practice. During 2013-2015, she had an embedded knowledge mobilisation post in the Public Health Department at Coventry City Council.

Her previous job was at Queen Mary University of London collaborating with a team to produce a systematic overview of the evidence for self-management support interventions in people with long-term conditions. This involved developing a Taxonomy of Self-Management Support. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham examining the role of menopausal symptoms on body image concerns, physical activity behaviour and psychological well-being, and developed a synchronous text-based online interviewing tool.

She previously worked as a researcher in sport and education at the University of Roehampton, after earning an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Chichester. Her previous research includes publications in the field of doping and supplemenation in sport, participation of sport and exercise across the lifespan, gifted and talented education and sport pedagogy / coaching.

Self-Management Support ; Long-Term Conditions ; Co-creation ; Systematic Reviewing ; Patient Involvement ; Implementaion ; Impact; hypermobility; Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome; Physical Activity

My research focuses on supporting self-management for people with long-term conditions, co-creation, implementation and impact. I have a special interest in patient involvement, systematic reviewing and using innovative methods.