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Miss Katherine Davies

Research Assistant

United Kingdom

As a researcher in the Environmental Health Group at LSHTM, my research focuses on the links between water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and health. I coordinate the Behaviour Change Laboratory (BC Lab) research project, run in collaboration with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), which explores how hand hygiene enabling technologies support hand hygiene practices in peri-urban communites in Zambia. I am the trial coordinator for the BC Lab trial, a large multi-arm randomised-controlled trial evaluating the individual and combined effects of hardware provision and hygiene promotion on handwashing with soap behaviour in informal settlements in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia. I also support the the Guardian Waiting Shelter (GWS) project, in collaboration with the WASHTED Centre in Malawi, which aims to explore patient guardian IPC practices in healthcare settings and strenghthen the role and function of Guardian Waiting Shelters in Malawi's health system. 

 

I hold a MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Exeter. 

 

Prior to joining LSHTM, I completed the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, gaining experience in operational service management, project management and healthcare commissioning. As part of this programme, I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Leadership, awarded by the University of Birmingham. 

Affiliations

Department of Disease Control
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Teaching

I am a tutor on the Distance Learning Infectious Disease course for module IDM215 "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene". I also co-lead the behaviour change practical on the WASH & Health module (3434). 

Research

Research Area
Sanitation
Hygiene
Behaviour change
Disease control
Water purification and treatment
Environmental health
Epidemiology
Disease and Health Conditions
Diarrhoeal diseases
Cholera
Respiratory diseases
Country
Malawi
Zambia
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Behaviour change interventions to improve household sanitation and hygiene practices in urban settings: A systematic scoping review.
MACLEOD, C; DAVIES, K; Mwenge, MM; Chipungu, J; CUMMING, O; DREIBELBIS, R;
2025
International journal of hygiene and environmental health
WASH and learn: a scoping review of health, education and gender equity outcomes of school-based water, sanitation, and hygiene in low- and middle-income countries
BICK, S; DAVIES, K; Mwenge, M; MacLeod, C; Braun, L; Chipungu, J; Chidziwisano, K; Dreibelbis, R;
2024
Center for Open Science
Understanding end-user preferences for hand hygiene enabling technologies: a mixed-methods study in peri-urban Lusaka
Kazimbaya, K; DAVIES, K; Mwenge, M; Tadiri, E; Chipungu, J; DREIBELBIS, R;
2024
medRxiv
Inclusion of persons living with disabilities in a district-wide sanitation programme: A cross-sectional study in rural Malawi.
DAVIES, K; Panulo, M; MACLEOD, C; WILBUR, J; Morse, T; Chidziwisano, K; DREIBELBIS, R;
2024
PLOS global public health
Data for: "How much are households willing to invest in hand hygiene enabling technologies? A randomised pricing experiment in Lusaka, Zambia"
DAVIES, K; Mwila-Kazimbaya, K; ROSS, I; Tadiri, E; Chipungu, J; DREIBELBIS, R;
2026
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
How much are households willing to invest in hand hygiene enabling technologies? A randomised pricing experiment in Lusaka, Zambia
DAVIES, K; Mwila-Kazimbaya, K; ROSS, I; Tadiri, E; Chipungu, J; DREIBELBIS, R;
2025
medRxiv
Understanding end-user preferences for hand hygiene enabling technologies: A mixed-methods study in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia
Mwila-Kazimbaya, K; DAVIES, K; Mwenge, MM; Tadiri, E; Chipungu, J; DREIBELBIS, R;
2025
PLOS Water
WASH and learn: a scoping review of health, education and gender equity outcomes of school-based water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income and middle-income countries.
BICK, S; DAVIES, K; Mwenge, M; MACLEOD, C; BRAUN, L; Chipungu, J; Chidziwisano, K; DREIBELBIS, R;
2025
BMJ global health
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