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Dr Catherine Pitt

Associate Professor

United Kingdom

I am a health economist focused on economic evaluation and health financing in Africa. My technical expertise includes both quantitative and qualitative methods, which I apply particularly to malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and maternal and newborn health. Often working in multidisciplinary teams, I seek to inform policy-making with the aim of improving health.

Affiliations

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

Centres

Centre for Evaluation
Malaria Centre
Centre for Maternal Adolescent Reproductive & Child Health
Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases
Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre
Antimicrobial Resistance Centre
Global Health Economics Centre

Teaching

I am the advisor for the Health Economics stream of the MSc Public Health. I lead seminars on the Term 1 module Introduction to Health Economics and the Term 2 module Economic Evaluation. I lecture on economics and financing for the MSc modules, "Malaria: From Science to Policy and Practice" and "Neglected Tropical Diseases." I also give two lectures on economic evaluation principles and practice for the MSc module "Healthcare Evaluation."


I am a personal tutor on MSc Public Health and have also supervised summer projects for students on MSc Health Policy, Planning, and Financing. For many years, I was a personal tutor and summer project supervisor for students on the MSc Public Health for Development.

Since 2021, I have also been chair of the Teaching Committee for LSHTM's Global Health Economics Centre (GHECO).

Research

My applied economic evaluation work focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, where I am involved in studies of interventions to tackle malaria and neglected tropical diseases and to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH). I work on both non-randomized evaluations and (individually- or cluster-) randomised trials. I am interested in multidisciplinary evaluation of health interventions, and am particularly interested in transferability of economic evaluation evidence, conceptual modelling, community health workers, health systems, geographical targeting, disease elimination, and improving methods for cost data collection and analysis. I previously coordinated economic evaluation work within the Department of Global Health & Development, and led a supplement in Health Economics called Economic evaluations in low- and middle-income countries: Methodological issues and challenges for priority setting. My PhD focused on economic evaluations of malaria interventions and sought to improve methods for increasing the transferability of findings across contexts.

My second area of research concerns methods for tracking donor financing, with a focus on how to estimate aid for specific areas of health. As part of the Countdown initiative, I have led in-depth research comparing methods for tracking aid for RMNCH and collaborated with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health to develop new, harmonized methods to promote accountability and facilitate advocacy efforts - Muskoka2. In collaboration with Saving Newborn Lives, I have also developed methods to track aid for prenatal and neonatal health.

In both my areas of work, I am interested in questions of equity and efficiency and how such evidence can contribute towards explicit priority-setting.

Current research projects include:

The Plus Project: Programmatic scale-up of perennial malaria chemoprevention for children under 2 in 4 countries (Mozambique, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin), with evaluation activities in 7 countries, funded by Unitaid.

SHARP: Skin Health Africa Reserach Programme in Ethiopia and Ghana, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Health Financing Data Analysis Centre for the Countdown to 2030, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

I currently supervise research degree students working on the cost-effectiveness of interventions to tackle malaria (Katherine Snyman, David Bath & Lucy Paintain) and on the costs of HIV community-led response in West Africa (Kathleen McGee). I also formally mentor a fellowship-holder (Dr Ian Ross) working on the economics of hygiene interventions. 

I am also an Associate Editor for the Wiley journal, Health Economics.

Research Area
Economic evaluation
Health care financing
Maternal health
Neonatal health
Disease and Health Conditions
Malaria
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Country
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Mozambique
Cameroon
Benin
Cote d'Ivoire
Region
Least developed countries: UN classification
Sub-Saharan Africa (developing only)

Selected Publications

The role of economic factors in shaping and constituting the household burden of neglected tropical diseases of the skin: Qualitative findings from Ghana and Ethiopia.
Hailemichael, Y; Novignon, J; Owusu, L; Okyere, D; MTUY, T; Alemu, AY; Ocloo, EK; Koka, E; PALMER, J; WALKER, SL; Gadisa, E; Kaba, M; PITT, C; SHARP Collaboration,;
2024
Social science & medicine (1982)
Improving experiences of neglected tropical diseases of the skin: Mixed methods formative research for development of a complex intervention in Atwima Mponua District, Ghana.
Okyere, D; Ocloo, EK; Owusu, L; Amoako, YA; Tuwor, RD; Koka, E; Novignon, J; Asante-Poku, A; Siam, IM; Afreh, EK; Agbanyo, A; Akuffo, RA; Gyabaah, S; Oppong, MN; Halliday, KE; SIMPSON, H; Timothy, J; MARKS, M; Zuurmond, M; WALKER, SL; PULLAN, RL; Ahorlu, CS; Phillips, RO; Yeboah-Manu, D; PITT, C; ... SHARP collaboration,
2024
PLOS global public health
Effectiveness of kangaroo mother care before clinical stabilisation versus standard care among neonates at five hospitals in Uganda (OMWaNA): a parallel-group, individually randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation.
Tumukunde, V; Medvedev, MM; TANN, CJ; Mambule, I; PITT, C; OPONDO, C; Kakande, A; Canter, R; Haroon, Y; Kirabo-Nagemi, C; ABAASA, A; Okot, W; Katongole, F; Ssenyonga, R; Niombi, N; NANYUNJA, C; ELBOURNE, D; GRECO, G; Ekirapa-Kiracho, E; NYIRENDA, M; ALLEN, E; Waiswa, P; LAWN, JE; OMWaNA Collaborative Authorship Group,;
2024
Lancet
Did aid to the Ebola crisis divert aid for reproductive, maternal, and newborn health? An analysis of donor-reported data in Sierra Leone.
MAYHEW, SH; Doyle, K; Babawo, LS; Mokuwa, E; Rohan, H; Martinez-Alverez, M; BORGHI, J; Ebola Gbalo Research Team,; PITT, C;
2024
Conflict and health
Development of an integrated and decentralised skin health strategy to improve experiences of skin neglected tropical diseases and other skin conditions in Atwima Mponua District, Ghana.
Phillips, RO; Owusu, L; Koka, E; Ocloo, EK; SIMPSON, H; Agbanyo, A; Okyere, D; Tuwor, RD; Fokuoh-Boadu, A; Akuffo, RA; Novignon, J; Oppong, MN; MOSWEU, I; Asante-Poku, A; Cobbinah, J; MTUY, TB; PALMER, J; Ahorlu, C; Amoako, YA; WALKER, SL; Yeboah-Manu, D; MARKS, M; PITT, C; PULLAN, R; SHARP collaboration,;
2024
PLOS global public health
Assessing equity and efficiency of health financing towards universal health coverage between regions in Tanzania.
Binyaruka, P; Martinez-Alvarez, M; PITT, C; BORGHI, J;
2023
Social science & medicine (1982)
Donor aid mentioning newborns and stillbirths, 2002-19: an analysis of levels, trends, and equity.
KUMAR, MB; BATH, D; Binyaruka, P; Novignon, J; LAWN, JE; PITT, C;
2023
The Lancet Global health
Process and costs for readiness to safely implement immediate kangaroo mother care: a mixed methods evaluation from the OMWaNA trial at five hospitals in Uganda.
MEDVEDEV, MM; Tumukunde, V; Kirabo-Nagemi, C; GRECO, G; Mambule, I; KATUMBA, K; Waiswa, P; TANN, CJ; ELBOURNE, D; ALLEN, E; Ekirapa-Kiracho, E; PITT, C; LAWN, JE;
2023
BMC health services research
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness against malaria of three types of dual-active-ingredient long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) compared with pyrethroid-only LLINs in Tanzania: a four-arm, cluster-randomised trial.
Mosha, JF; Kulkarni, MA; Lukole, E; MATOWO, NS; PITT, C; MESSENGER, LA; Mallya, E; Jumanne, M; Aziz, T; Kaaya, R; Shirima, BA; Isaya, G; Taljaard, M; MARTIN, J; Hashim, R; Thickstun, C; Manjurano, A; KLEINSCHMIDT, I; Mosha, FW; ROWLAND, M; PROTOPOPOFF, N;
2022
The Lancet
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