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Dr Annabelle Gourlay

Assistant Professor

United Kingdom

I am an Epidemiologist by training (MSc & PhD, LSHTM), with skills in quantitative and qualitative research and conducting reviews. My research over the last 10+ years has focussed mainly on the evaluation of HIV and Sexual Reproductive Health programmes in sub-Saharan African countries, while based at the LSHTM, as well as in a European context during a post-doc position at UCL. Most recently I have led data analysis working groups for the evaluation of 'DREAMS' (a combination HIV prevention programme for adolescent girls and young women) and the 'LINEA' trial (a complex intervention to reduce age-disparate transactional sex). I am also a co-investigator on an evidence review of gender-transformative approaches for HIV prevention/ improving SRH outcomes. I now balance my research with a role as co-Programme Director for the Distance-Learning MSc in Epidemiology, following over 10 years teaching on the programme, including as module organiser for EPM301 Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases. I am based across two departments at LSHTM - Population Health, within the faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, and Global Health and Development, within the faculty of Public Health Policy. Prior to training in Epidemiology, I worked for several years in health-focussed market research, based in London and Princeton USA, after completing a Masters in Biochemistry (Oxford University).

Affiliations

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

Centres

Centre for Evaluation
Centre for Maternal Adolescent Reproductive & Child Health

Teaching

I have completed module 1 of my PGCilt training through Advance HE. I have taught on several LSHTM Masters modules including Basic Epidemiology, Statistics for Epidemiology and Population Health (STEPH), Statistical Methods in Epidemiology (SME), Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology (ASME), Research Design and Analysis (RDA), Analysing Survey and Population Data (ASPD), Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (EID) for the intensive MSc programmes in Epidemiology, Reproductive and Sexual Health Research (RSHR), and Demography and Health; and Basic Epidemiology (EPM101), Statistics with Computing (EPM102) and Epidemiology and Control of Communicable Diseases (EPM301) for the Distance-Learning MSc Epidemiology programme. I recently began teaching on the new online intensive MSc in RSHR Policy and Programming. I have been a Module co-Organiser for EPM301 since 2013, and am now taking up a role as co-Programme Director of the Distance-Learning MSc in Epidemiology.
I supervise one Research Degree student, and have supervised several MSc theses.

Research

I completed a PhD through the LSHTM in collaboration with the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Mwanza, Tanzania. My research focussed on the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in a rural area of north-western Tanzania (Kisesa, Mwanza) using a mixed-methods approach. I undertook a qualitative study on barriers to uptake of PMTCT services in the study area in 2012. The quantitative component used clinical records from Kisesa health facilities linked to data from the Kisesa HIV Open Cohort study to ascertain population-level PMTCT service use among HIV-positive pregnant women living in Kisesa.

At University College London I carried out research on HIV in a European context, primarily focussed on monitoring of the continuum of HIV care across a number of European countries, in collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). I also carried out mixed methods research in the UK, including qualitative exploration of the social context related to recently-acquired HIV infection among MSM, and managing the UK Register of HIV Seroconverters cohort study.

I subsequently returned to the LSHTM, where my research interests are still primarily in the field of HIV and related social and structural drivers, particularly among adolescents and young people, with a focus on programme evaluation using mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches. Specifically, I have worked for several years on an impact and process evaluation of DREAMS programming. DREAMS is a combination HIV prevention programme that aims to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) by tackling the underlying vulnerabilities that expose AGYW to HIV risk. Through this evaluation I have had the pleasure of collaborating with researchers from Kenya (APHRC and KEMRI), South Africa (AHRI) and Zimbabwe (CeSHAAR). My roles have entailed leading quantitative and qualitative data analysis working groups; carrying out causal analyses of impacts on outcomes including knowledge of HIV status, social support and self-efficacy among cohorts of AGYW; and mixed-methods analyses of uptake, implementation and empowerment. Alongside DREAMS research, I am co-leading a realist-style review to synthesise the evidence for gender-transformative approaches to promote sexual and reproductive health outcomes. I have also recently joined a team of researchers based in LSHTM (PHP) and NIMR Tanzania, on the evaluation of LINEA (Learning Initiative on Norms, Exploitation and Abuse), a complex intervention incorporating a radio drama and curricula workshops to reduce age-disparate transactional sex in Mwanza.
Research Area
Adolescent health
Impact evaluation
Implementation science
Mixed methods research
Qualitative research
Epidemiology
Sexual health
Systematic reviews
Realist evaluation
Maternal health
Violence against women and girls
Randomised controlled trials
Social and structural determinants of health
Disease and Health Conditions
HIV/AIDS
Sexually transmitted infections
Country
Tanzania
Kenya
South Africa
United Kingdom
Gambia
Guinea-Bissau
Region
European Union
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Impact of DREAMS interventions on experiences of violence among adolescent girls and young women: Findings from population-based cohort studies in Kenya and South Africa.
Wambiya, EO A; GOURLAY, AJ; MULWA, S; Magut, F; Mthiyane, N; Orindi, B; Chimbindi, N; Kwaro, D; Shahmanesh, M; FLOYD, S; BIRDTHISTLE, I; Ziraba, A;
2023
Plos global public health
DREAMS impact on HIV status knowledge and sexual risk among cohorts of young women in Kenya and South Africa.
FLOYD, S; MULWA, S; Magut, F; GOURLAY, A; Mthiyane, N; Kamire, V; Osindo, J; Otieno, M; Chimbindi, N; Ziraba, A; Phillips-Howard, P; Kwaro, D; Shahmanesh, M; BIRDTHISTLE, I; DREAMS Impact Evaluation Study Team,;
2022
AIDS (London, England)
Awareness and uptake of the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe HIV prevention package over time among population-based cohorts of young women in Kenya and South Africa.
GOURLAY, AJ; BIRDTHISTLE, I; MULWA, S; Mthiyane, NT; Magut, F; Chimbindi, N; Ziraba, A; Otieno, M; Kwaro, D; Osindo, J; Kamire, V; Shahmanesh, M; FLOYD, S; DREAMS Impact Evaluation Study Team,;
2022
AIDS (London, England)
Impact of the DREAMS Partnership on social support and general self-efficacy among adolescent girls and young women: causal analysis of population-based cohorts in Kenya and South Africa.
GOURLAY, A; FLOYD, S; Magut, F; Mulwa, S; Mthiyane, N; Wambiya, E; Otieno, M; Kamire, V; Osindo, J; Chimbindi, N; Ziraba, A; Kwaro, D; Shahmanesh, M; BIRDTHISTLE, I;
2022
BMJ Global Health
Evaluating the impact of DREAMS on HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women: A population-based cohort study in Kenya and South Africa.
BIRDTHISTLE, I; Kwaro, D; Shahmanesh, M; BAISLEY, K; Khagayi, S; Chimbindi, N; Kamire, V; Mthiyane, N; GOURLAY, A; Dreyer, J; Phillips-Howard, P; GLYNN, J; FLOYD, S;
2021
PLoS medicine
Impact of the DREAMS interventions on educational attainment among adolescent girls and young women: Causal analysis of a prospective cohort in urban Kenya.
MULWA, S; Chimoyi, L; AGBLA, S; Osindo, J; Wambiya, EO; GOURLAY, A; Birdthistle, I; Ziraba, A; FLOYD, S;
2021
PLoS One
Awareness and uptake of the DREAMS HIV prevention package over time among population-based cohorts of young women in Kenya and South Africa
GOURLAY, A; BIRDTHISTLE, I; MULWA, S; Mthiyane, NT; Magut, F; Chimbindi, N; Ziraba, A; Otieno, M; Kwaro, D; Osindo, J; Kamire, V; Shahmanesh, M;
2020
International AIDS Society Virtual Conference
Awareness and uptake of the DREAMS HIV prevention package over time among population-based cohorts of young women in Kenya and South Africa
GOURLAY, A; BIRDTHISTLE, I; MULWA, S; Mthiyane, NT; Magut, F; Chimbindi, N; Ziraba, A; Otieno, M; Kwaro, D; Osindo, J; Kamire, V; Shahmanesh, M;
2020
International AIDS Society Virtual Conference
Uptake of the DREAMS intervention package for HIV prevention among girls in early adolescence: Findings from an impact evaluation in urban Kenya
MULWA, S; Osindo, J; Wambiya, EO; GOURLAY, A; Maina, B; Orindi, BO; FLOYD, S; Ziraba, A; Birdthistle, I;
2020
International AIDS Society Virtual Conference
Awareness and uptake of layered HIV prevention programming for young women: analysis of population-based surveys in three DREAMS settings in Kenya and South Africa.
GOURLAY, A; BIRDTHISTLE, I; Mthiyane, NT; Orindi, BO; Muuo, S; Kwaro, D; Shahmanesh, M; BAISLEY, K; Ziraba, A; FLOYD, S;
2019
BMC Public Health
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