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Ms Sarah Marks

Research Fellow

United Kingdom

I am a Research Fellow in the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at LSHTM, with expertise in research, policy, and digital health particularly in the areas of child health, malaria, and disability. My current work is focused on the Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA), where I lead two cluster randomised controlled trials - one evaluating a disability-inclusive family planning programme in Kaduna City, Nigeria, and another exploring whether participatory learning and action groups can promote access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Luuka district, Uganda. Alongside my work, I am pursuing a part-time PhD, examining access to family planning amongst women with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).   During my career I have supported research projects in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. I have a Masters in Public Health from LSHTM and an Honours degree in Infectious Diseases from the University of Edinburgh. After graduating from LSHTM in 2012, I was accepted on to the graduate scheme at DFID working on health policy before transitioning into the NGO sector. At Malaria Consortium, I spent five years in the research team, further honing my expertise before returning to LSHTM in 2019. In 2021/22, I collaborated with the World Health Organization as a consultant, supporting the Malaria Chemoprevention Guideline Development Group with the update and development of seven recommendations (IPTp; PMC, SMC, IPTsc, PDMC, MDA for burden reduction, and MDA for emergency settings). 

Affiliations

Department of Population Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Centres

Centre for Evaluation
Malaria Centre

Teaching

I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I lecture on the Public Health Programme Design and Family Planning Programmes modules at LSHTM, and provide support to the Social Epidemiology module. I am also a personal tutor on the MSc in Epidemiology.

Research

My research interests focus on improving health outcomes for marginalized populations, particularly in LMICs. I am excited about disability-inclusive health interventions, access to family planning for women with disabilities, and the use of digital and participatory approaches to promote equitable healthcare access. Additionally, I have a strong interest in malaria prevention and control. My research at LSHTM has included:  
  • Cluster randomised controlled trial with integrated process evaluation to determine the impact of a range of community and facility-based interventions to promote inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights for women with disabilities in Kaduna city, Nigeria, delivered as part of Sightsavers’ Inclusive Family Planning (IFPLAN) project.
  • Cluster randomised controlled trial with integrated process and economic evaluations to assess whether community-based groups using a participatory learning and action approach can improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities.
  • Systematic reviews of a range of disability-focused interventions.
  • A longitudinal study in two states in Nigeria, evaluating the theory-of-change for the SuNMaP2 project. SuNMaP2 was a Malaria Consortium led project, funded by FCDO, that aimed to reduce Nigeria’s malaria burden through more efficient and effective use of available resources. In May 2021, SuNMaP 2 activities were halted and later terminated in July 2021 due to the challenging financial climate created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the mixed-method evaluation of SuNMaP2's theory-of-change, I was working on the quantitative aspects, using continuous survey, with the aim of updating state-level decision-makers every three months with ongoing data on malaria-service interventions and behaviour-change factors.
Research Area
Epidemiology
Evaluation
Disease and Health Conditions
Disability
Malaria
Infectious diseases
Country
Nigeria
Uganda
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Adapting and pilot testing a tool to assess the accessibility of primary health facilities for people with disabilities in Luuka District, Uganda.
MACTAGGART, I; SSEMATA, AS; Menya, A; SMYTHE, T; ROTENBERG, S; MARKS, S; BANNINK MBAZZI, F; KUPER, H;
2024
International journal for equity in health
Effect of COVID-19 on livelihoods of people with and without disabilities: Results from a cross-sectional survey in 3 urban areas of Viet Nam.
BANKS, LM; Goyal, D; Ngoc, LA; ROTENBERG, S; MARKS, S; Hunt, X; Hameed, S; Minh, HV; Mai, VQ;
2024
Disability and health journal
Evaluation of a disability-inclusive ultra-poor graduation programme in Uganda: study protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial with process evaluation.
Kipchumba, E; Davey, C; MARKS, S; Mugeere, A; CHEN, S; BANKS, LM; Islam, KE; SHAKESPEARE, T; KUPER, H; Sulaiman, M;
2024
Trials
One-arm safety intervention study on community case management of chest indrawing pneumonia in children in Nigeria - a study protocol.
Counihan, H; Baba, E; ORESANYA, O; Adesoro, O; Hamzat, Y; MARKS, S; WARD, C; Gimba, P; Qazi, SA; Källander, K;
2020
GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION
Determining the Agreement Between an Automated Respiratory Rate Counter and a Reference Standard for Detecting Symptoms of Pneumonia in Children: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Study in Ethiopia.
WARD, C; Baker, K; MARKS, S; Getachew, D; Habte, T; McWhorter, C; Labarre, P; Howard-Brand, J; Miller, NP; Tarekegn, H; Deribessa, SJ; Petzold, M; Kallander, K;
2020
JMIR research protocols
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