Dr Josephine Borghi
BA MSc PhD
Associate Professor
in Health Economics and Policy
LSHTM
15-17 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9SH
United Kingdom
I have been a Health Economist for 13 years. Following an MSc in Health Economics at the University of York, I joined a consultancy firm, and began working at the LSHTM in 1999. Following a year as a Consultant in Central and South America, I returned to the LSHTM in 2002 to work on economic evaluation of maternal and newborn health programmes.
In 2006 I completed my PhD, which explored the measurement of non-health benefits from health interventions within a cost-effectiveness analysis in Nepal. From 2007 I was based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania at the Ifakara Health Institute, undertaking health financing and systems research, and leading a team of economists and social scientists. I returned to London at the end of 2012 but continue to work on a range of research projects in Africa.
Teaching
I am module organiser for the Distance Learning module on Economic Evaluation. I have previously taught on the Introduction to Health Economics module.
Research
My current research interest is in the evaluation of health financing reforms, including mechanisms to increase health care coverage and financial protection among the informal sector and supply side incentives such as performance based financing. I am interested in the financial implications of these reforms for governments and the population, their equity effects and implementation processes.
My current research activities include an evaluation of the impact and cost-effectiveness of a pay for performance pilot in Tanzania, and of the provision of free health insurance cards to poor pregnant women, also in Tanzania. I am part of a research partnership which aims to support the implementation of reforms intended to achieve universal coverage in South Africa and Tanzania by monitoring and evaluating the policy processes (UNITAS). In Tanzania this includes the evaluation of reforms to strengthen primary health care, the introduction of voluntary insurance for urban informal sector groups and changes in health insurance scheme management.
I am also part of an international research partnership on social determinants of health (SDH-net) which aims to strengthen and link research capacities for health and its social determinants in African and Latin American low and middle income countries.
I am a member of the DFID-funded Consortium for research on Responsive and Resilient Health Systems (RESYST) which includes research on health financing, health workers and governance and leadership in the health sector. I am a Health Economics section editor for the journal Health Policy and Planning.
