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Dr Christina Derksen, PhD

Christina

Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Health Psychology (CanDetect)

Email: christina.derksen@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

I hold a PhD in Psychology and joined the Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health in May 2023. My focus is on using quantitative and qualitative methods to develop and refine a Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Platform for the detection of upper gastrointestinal cancers, as part of the CanDetect project. I also serve as Patient and Public Involvement academic lead at the Centre, helping guide the centre's PPIE strategy and ensure best practice.

My training was at the University of Marburg (MSc in Clinical Psychology) and Constructor University Bremen (PhD in Psychology), where I completed my PhD on behavioural influences on communication and patient safety in maternity care. In my PhD research, I actively involved patients and the public in the development and evaluation of both live and mHealth interventions.

Research

Research Interests:

In my research, I use psychological and behavioural theories to understand determinants of health and illness, such as illness perceptions, self-efficacy, and behavioural planning. An important part of my previous research has been the patient-provider relationship and communication to improve patient safety. I aim to bridge the gap between research and healthcare, focusing on implementation strategies and patient and public involvement to reduce inequalities in healthcare systems worldwide. One of my interests is emerging technology in primary care and early cancer detection, such as AI scribes or internet use data. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked on facilitating psychosocial support and digital interventions for patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndromes.

I use co-creative and multi-method approaches, including quantitative surveys and randomised controlled trials, as well as qualitative interviews and focus groups, to improve and adapt interventions. I am also interested in conducting systematic reviews. I aim to work in multidisciplinary teams to link changes in health behaviour and help-seeking to objective outcomes such as preventable adverse events and earlier cancer diagnosis.

Publications

  • Schmeising‐Barnes N, Derksen C, Jones CK et al. (2026). How has Acceptability Been Defined and Measured in Cancer Screening Research? A Scoping Review. nameOfConference


  • Blake HA, Li SJ, Derksen C et al. (2026). Ecological analysis of breast screening uptake and coverage in East London.. nameOfConference


  • Derksen C, Round T, Walter FM et al. (2026). Authors’ response. nameOfConference


  • Derksen C, Yekezare M, Round T et al. (publicationYear). Use of AI scribes in UK primary care: a survey of general practitioners. nameOfConference


  • Derksen C, Ramasawmy M, Arora S et al. (publicationYear). Willingness to Share Internet Use Data for Research on Early Disease Detection: Cross-Sectional Survey. nameOfConference


  • Gradwell NC, Ramasawmy M, Arora S et al. (publicationYear). Acceptability of Sharing Internet Browsing History for Cancer Research: Think-Aloud and Interview Study. nameOfConference


  • Lidington E, Stiles M, Maudsley J et al. (publicationYear). Establishing a set of acceptable demographic questions for use in health research through public consultation. nameOfConference


  • Derksen C, Le Noury KA, Akbar AB et al. (2026). Why aren't they used? Systematic review of barriers to implementation of Clinical Decision Support Systems for early cancer detection in primary care. nameOfConference


  • Gao L, Rinn R, Dahmen A et al. (2026). Online Screening to Detect Postacute/Long-COVID Syndrome. nameOfConference


  • Standen L, Aslam A, Curran R et al. (publicationYear). Can cognitive function tests discriminate between patients with glioma and healthy controls prior to treatment? A systematic review. nameOfConference


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