Gillian Stynes BComm MSc

Research Degree Student and Global Health Policy lecturer/tutor

• Affiliation
• Teaching
• Research

Also affiliated to the Institute of Education and UCL School of Pharmacy.

• 
• Dept of Global Health and Development
• LSHTM
• 15-17 Tavistock Place
• London
• WC1H 9SH
• T: +44 (0)20 7299 4679

Gillian is of Irish/Chinese ethnicity and has lived in Ireland, the United States, Germany, Australia and the UK. Her interests include modern languages, travel, Italian history and culture, novels and theatre.

In 1999, Gillian graduated from University College Cork (Ireland), with 1st Class Honours, majoring in economics. In 2001, she received an MSc in Economics from the University of York. Gillian earned a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2008.

Between 2001 and 2009, Gillian worked in health economics and outcomes research (economic modelling, cost-effectiveness, budget impact, health outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, etc.) on both the consulting and client sides, in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. She also provided abstracts/reviews for the NHS Economic Evaluation Database for several years. This period culminated in a role as a Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research Manager, with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, responsible for mainly respiratory and metabolic products.

In October 2009, Gillian joined LSHTM as a PhD student under Professor Richard Smith. As she is a recipient of a Bloomsbury Studentship, she is also supervised by Dr. Moses Oketch (Institute of Education) and Professor Felicity Smith (UCL School of Pharmacy).

Affiliation

• Department of Global Health and Development
• Faculty of Public Health and Policy

Teaching

Gillian is involved with design and delivery of the new distance learning programme in Global Health Policy, launched in 2011. Details of the course can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/prospectus/masters/pg_ghp.html

Research

The title of Gillian's PhD work is "The role of professional education in health workforce migration."

Healthcare remains a highly labour-intensive task. Worldwide shortages of health professionals are a high-profile issue on the wider health/development agenda. Published data confirm that the burden (both health-related and economic) of the shortages fall disproportionately upon developing countries, where migration accounts for a significant proportion of health labour market exit. However, information about all aspects of migration, health worker job preferences and the success and failure of recruitment and retention incentives, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is inadequate. In particular, pharmacist workforce issues remain woefully under-researched in comparison with doctors and nurses.

Migration research has tended to focus on financial incentives (wages). A systematic review of the literature demonstrates the risk that other contributing factors and their potential as policy levers are being ignored. In particular, education policies represent a credible alternative to pecuniary (i.e. salary- or bonus-based) policies which may not be affordable in the long-term. A thorough understanding of the interaction between education and migration decisions, and the likely effects of changes to education opportunities, is then a vital prerequisite to designing the future direction of health worker education in developing countries.

The aim of the PhD is to characterise the relationship between professional education decisions and migration decisions amongst pharmacists. Data will be collected from migrant African-born pharmacists in the UK and non-migrant (or returning migrant) pharmacists in Ghana. The key underlying hypothesis states that (the pursuit of) foreign education is a key driver of migration. If true, this implies that policies targeting education can influence migration decisions in a predictable way. It is intended that the results of the PhD research will help inform observers and policymakers who are seeking new and sustainable ways to address the crisis in human resources for health in developing countries.

The Bloomsbury Studentships are awards sustaining multi-disciplinary, collaborative research. Some of these topics, including Gillian's, are related to international development and thus are also fostered by the London International Development Centre (LIDC). More details about Gillian's project can be found here:

http://www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/studentships/studentships_09/role_prof_ed_train_workforce_migr

• Introducing Our School
• People Search
• Expert Directory
• Giving to the School
• Jobs
• Division of Education
• Academic and Administrative Services
• Governance and Organisation
• Contact Us
• Term Dates
• Policies and Regulations
• Alumni

• Browse staff

• 

  Professor Richard Smith

  Professor of Health System Economics

• 

  Mylene Lagarde

  Lecturer in Health Economics

• → Search all staff

Back to top