I am an Assistant Professor at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at the LSHTM, focusing on disability and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). I have worked in East and Southern Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands and have extensive experience in designing and implementing inclusive WASH programmes, research and evaluations, as well as disseminating research to influence policy and practice.
My PhD research at the LSHTM explored the menstrual health requirements of people with disabilities, developed the Bishesta campaign - a menstrual health behaviour change intervention for people with intellectual disabilities in Nepal, and assessed its feasibility. With World Vision Vanuatu, I adapted the campaign for Vanuatu’s humanitarian context, and now the Veivanua campaign is being scaled up across the country. Currently, I am the Principal Investigator on a collaborative study exploring the impacts of climate risks on WASH for people with and without disabilities in Bangladesh.
Before working at the LSHTM, I was the Equality, Inclusion and Rights Advisor at WaterAid. I focused on disability, gender, chronic illness, ageing and WASH, and mainstreaming equality and inclusion across the organisation. I have also worked for disability organisations in the UK.
My PhD research at the LSHTM explored the menstrual health requirements of people with disabilities, developed the Bishesta campaign - a menstrual health behaviour change intervention for people with intellectual disabilities in Nepal, and assessed its feasibility. With World Vision Vanuatu, I adapted the campaign for Vanuatu’s humanitarian context, and now the Veivanua campaign is being scaled up across the country. Currently, I am the Principal Investigator on a collaborative study exploring the impacts of climate risks on WASH for people with and without disabilities in Bangladesh.
Before working at the LSHTM, I was the Equality, Inclusion and Rights Advisor at WaterAid. I focused on disability, gender, chronic illness, ageing and WASH, and mainstreaming equality and inclusion across the organisation. I have also worked for disability organisations in the UK.
Affiliations
Department of Population Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health
Teaching
I am a module organiser for LSHTM MSc Study Unit on 'Global Disability and Mental Health'. I teach on that module and the LSHTM MSc 'Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health', ‘Climate Change and Planetary Health’, and 'Designing Disease Control Programmes in Developing Countries.' I supervise three LSHTM PhD candidates and teach on Loughborough University's Water Management for Development MSc programme, and Columbia University's Global Menstruation MOOC.
Research
The overall objective of my research is to ensure people with disabilities access climate-resilient inclusive WASH services and achieve menstrual health. This involves conducting policy analyses, generating rigorous evidence using participatory methods, and co-designing, piloting and evaluating interventions to improve access to WASH for people with disabilities and their caregivers.
My current and recent projects are:
1. Inclusive pathways towards climate-resilient WASH in Bangladesh. This research is in partnership with icddr,b and World Vision and is funded by the Australian Government's Water for Women's Fund.
2. Evaluating the Hygiene Behaviour Change Coalition for COVID-19 prevention to explore the extent to which project partners have included disability and ageing in their hygiene promotion programmes. This is with PENDA (Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action), with funding from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
3. Translating disability inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene policies into practice: lessons learned from Cambodia and Bangladesh. This research is in partnership with WaterAid, and is funded by the Australian Government's Water for Women's Fund.
4. Exploring the menstrual experiences of people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, and developing a menstrual health intervention for this group in the humanitarian context in Vanuatu. This is in partnership with World Vision, with funding from Elra's Humanitarian Innovation Fund.
My current and recent projects are:
1. Inclusive pathways towards climate-resilient WASH in Bangladesh. This research is in partnership with icddr,b and World Vision and is funded by the Australian Government's Water for Women's Fund.
2. Evaluating the Hygiene Behaviour Change Coalition for COVID-19 prevention to explore the extent to which project partners have included disability and ageing in their hygiene promotion programmes. This is with PENDA (Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action), with funding from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
3. Translating disability inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene policies into practice: lessons learned from Cambodia and Bangladesh. This research is in partnership with WaterAid, and is funded by the Australian Government's Water for Women's Fund.
4. Exploring the menstrual experiences of people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, and developing a menstrual health intervention for this group in the humanitarian context in Vanuatu. This is in partnership with World Vision, with funding from Elra's Humanitarian Innovation Fund.
Research Area
Behaviour change
Complex interventions
Environmental Health
Equity
Hygiene
Public health
Reproductive health
Sanitation
Water
Qualitative research
Disease and Health Conditions
Disability
Country
Bangladesh
Nepal
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zambia
Cambodia
Region
East Asia & Pacific (developing only)
South Asia
Selected Publications
"The weather is not good": exploring the menstrual health experiences of menstruators with and without disabilities in Vanuatu.
2021
The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific
"I'm scared to talk about it": exploring experiences of incontinence for people with and without disabilities in Vanuatu, using mixed methods.
2021
The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific
Are Nepal's water, sanitation and hygiene and menstrual hygiene policies and supporting documents inclusive of disability? A policy analysis.
2021
International journal for equity in health
Water, women and disability: Using mixed-methods to support inclusive WASH programme design in Vanuatu.
2021
The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific
Feasibility Study of a Menstrual Hygiene Management Intervention for People with Intellectual Impairments and Their Carers in Nepal.
2019
International journal of environmental research and public health
Developing Behaviour Change Interventions for Improving Access to Health and Hygiene for People with Disabilities: Two Case Studies from Nepal and Malawi.
2018
International journal of environmental research and public health
