Dr Rebecca WebsterAcademic
Lecturer in Health Psychology
University of Sheffield, School of Psychology
University of Sheffield, School of Psychology is based in Sheffield Central (Sheffield)
Cited in UK press coverage of health & social care
1 citation
Across 1 topic, first on 27 Aug 2026.
Biography
Dr Rebecca Webster is a Lecturer in Health Psychology at the University of Sheffield's School of Psychology, based at the ICOSS Building. She completed her undergraduate degree at Durham University, her MSc and PhD at King's College London, and held a postdoctoral position at King's within the Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response before joining Sheffield in 2020. Her research focuses on placebo and nocebo effects, risk communication, and health behaviour in the context of public health emergencies. During the Covid-19 pandemic her rapid reviews informed UK government guidance on quarantine adherence, and two of her reviews were included in the WHO's 2019 novel Coronavirus Research Roadmap list of essential references. She has also published on how nocebo effects influence medication side-effects — including oral contraceptives — and on healthcare discrimination as a driver of nocebo responses across ethnic groups in the UK.
References
- 1.Dr Rebecca Webster | Psychology | The University of Sheffield — Current role, institutional address (S1 4DP), educational background, research interests and full publications list
- 2.Sheffield lecturer makes the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2021: Science and Healthcare list — Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition, Covid-19 research informing UK government pandemic response, WHO Coronavirus Research Roadmap inclusion
- 3.Rebecca Webster | Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2021 — Confirms Forbes listing, nocebo and Covid-19 health behaviours research, UK government pandemic response impact
- 4.Rebecca WEBSTER | Lecturer | The University of Sheffield – ResearchGate — Current lecturer title, 65 publications, research areas including risk communication, nocebo, discrimination in healthcare
- 5.Loop | Rebecca Webster – Frontiers
Expertise
Cited on
Stated areas of expertise
- Nocebo and placebo effects
- Risk communication
- Health behaviour in public health emergencies
- Quarantine and pandemic psychology
- Medication side-effects and patient expectations
- Health inequalities and ethnic disparities in healthcare
Notable achievements
- Named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2021: Science and Healthcare list for research on Covid-19 health behaviours that informed the UK government's pandemic response. Source ↗
- Two of her rapid reviews were included in the World Health Organisation's 2019 novel Coronavirus Research Roadmap list of essential references. Source ↗
- Co-authored 'Perceived discrimination in healthcare settings is associated with medication side-effects and adherence: a cross-sectional survey representing the four largest ethnic groups in the UK', published in Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2025). Source ↗
What they’ve said
“The evidence suggests that many of the commonly reported side-effects of hormonal contraception are a result of psychological, or nocebo, response to the act of taking oral contraceptives. Despite these being psychological in origin, it's important to understand that these are very real experiences for women, often affecting their decision to continue taking the pill.”
psychologist at Sheffield University, co-author of study · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Online misinformation putting women off contraceptive pill, study finds ↗
Source references
- Online misinformation putting women off contraceptive pill, study findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Contact & links
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Professors, researchers and think-tank analysts quoted on the strength of their research rather than a clinical role. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.