I am an Assistant Professor at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at LSHTM. Prior to joining ICED in 2016, I undertook a number of qualitative and policy research commissioned by international and local NGOs in the Maldives, contributing to regional and local understanding of social and religious barriers to reproductive health. My work at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) focused on evaluating programmes and research on sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence, with emphasis on strengthening institutional response to these. The common thread throughout my research career has been sexual and reproductive health and rights of vulnerable groups, based on which I completed my doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2012.
Affiliations
Teaching
I teach on MSc modules including Global Disability and Health, Skills for Field Research in Eye Care, and Sexual Health. I also provide qualitative analysis support to MSc and PhD students doing qualitative and mixed methods research.
I supervise a number of PhD and DrPH students as first, second, or third supervisor:
• Tim O’ Fallon: Access to rehabilitation for people with disabilities in the Maldives
• Goli Hashemi: Barriers to accessing primary healthcare services for people with disabilities in Guatemala
• Veronika Reichenberger: Using in-depth interviews and participatory visual methodologies to understand healthcare access among adults with disabilities in São Paulo, Brazil
• Weiqi Han: Lived experiences of the sexuality of young people with physical disabilities in China during their transition to adulthood
• Benafsha Yaqoobi: Access to education for children with disabilities in Afghanistan
• Yandé Thiaw: Age-disparate transactional sex and sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women with disabilities in Kenya
Research
I am committed to advancing knowledge on lived experiences of disability through qualitative and mixed-methods research. My main research interests are:
1. The intersection of disability and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR): I recently completed a systematic review of interventions promoting SRHR for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries
2. Young people with disabilities: I am currently coordinating a multi-country project exploring access to education and employment for young people with disabilities in seven countries in Africa
3. COVID-19 and Disability: I was on the team conducting qualitative research on the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities in the UK. I am also overseeing similar qualitative work being undertaken in India and Turkey as part of the global Covid study.
4. Process and impact evaluations to inform disability-inclusive programming: I led the process evaluation of the Disability Allowance programme in the Maldives
5. Disability in humanitarian settings: I was the qualitative research lead on a recent study exploring disability and mental health of Syrian refugees in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul
Selected Publications
