Lauren Wallace

• PhD Medical Anthropology
• Senior Researcher at Dodowa Health Research Centre

Background: To date, research on priority-setting for new vaccines has not adequately explored the influence of the global, national and sub-national levels of decision-making or contextual issues such as political pressure and stakeholder influence and power. Using Kapiriri and Martin’s conceptual framework, this paper evaluates priority setting f...

Concern about side effects is one of the most commonly cited reasons for women’s non-use of contraceptives in sub-Saharan Africa, and the most common reason why women discontinue family planning. While studies find that some of women’s worries about contraceptives are based on distressing side effects, such as menstrual disruption, nausea, weight g...

Studies suggest that men’s perceptions of family planning in sub-Saharan Africa would be improved if they were included more extensively in family planning programs. However, few studies capture how men’s views change over time and what processes are responsible for these shifts. Examining the processes that underpin men’s shifting family formation...

Background Despite continued investment, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) indicators in low and middle income countries have remained relatively poor. This could, in part, be explained by inadequate resources to adequately address these problems, inappropriate allocation of the available resources, or lack of implementation of the most eff...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic created stressors to daily living, leading to increased mental health problems. It is important to assess the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, specifically anxiety. Objectives The goal was to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic, clinical, and other correlates of likely Generalized Anxiety...

Community Advisory Groups are voluntary groups of community members within the research setting that advise researchers on the experiences, needs, and expectations of the affected community. They can form part of systematic patient and public involvement processes to ensure that affected communities are involved in all aspects of research, from pla...

Objectives A quarter of West Africa's population are adolescents 10–19 years. Their mental, sexual, and reproductive health is inter-related. We therefore aimed to examine published evidence on effectiveness of interventions for adolescent mental, sexual and reproductive health in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to inform dev...

Background Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) was initially designed to address the healthcare needs of Ghana's rural communities. However, with urban population growth and the subsequent healthcare demands of the urban poor, the CHPS policy was extended to urban areas. There is a significant gap in our understanding of the wealth-...

Background Despite renewed emphasis on strengthening primary health care globally, the sector remains under-resourced across sub–Saharan Africa. Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) has been the foundation of Ghana's primary care system for over two decades using a combination of community-based health nurses, volunteers and communit...

Objectives: “No bed syndrome” has become a familiar phrase in Ghana. Yet, there is very little in medical texts or the peer reviewed literature about it. This review aimed to document what the phrase means in the Ghanaian context, how and why it occurs, and potential solutions. Design: A qualitative desk review using a thematic synthesis of grey a...

Objectives: To explore governance, coordination and implementation actors, structures and processes, facilitators, and barriers within local government and between central and local government in Ghana’s COVID-19 response during the first wave of the outbreak.Design: Cross-sectional single case study. Data collection involved a desk review of media...

As societies urbanize, their populations have become increasingly dependent on the private sector for essential services. The way the private sector responds to health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic can determine the health and economic wellbeing of urban populations, an effect amplified for poorer communities. Here we present a qualitat...

There is growing support of male involvement in reproductive health and the integration of voluntary vasectomy services into national family planning programs in lower resource contexts; yet, the prevalence of women of reproductive age who rely on vasectomy in African countries such as Nigeria, is less than 1 percent. This review was conducted to g...

This open access edited book brings together new research on the mechanisms by which maternal and reproductive health policies are formed and implemented in diverse locales around the world, from global policy spaces to sites of practice. The authors – both internationally respected anthropologists and new voices – demonstrate the value of ethnogra...

In Ghana, despite the dangers that self-medication poses to maternal and fetal health, there has been limited examination of self-medication among pregnant women. This study examines the practice of self-medication among pregnant women in Wa Municipality, Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional survey of 367 pregnant women was conducted in three healt...

Background: Emerging research suggests that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and associated public health restrictions have caused psychological distress in many contexts. In order for public health authorities and policy makers to effectively address the psychological distress associated with the pandemic, it is important to dete...

This commentary draws on sub-Saharan African health researchers’ accounts of their countries’ responses to control the spread of COVID-19, including social and health impacts, home-grown solutions, and gaps in knowledge. Limited human and material resources for infection control and lack of understanding or appreciation by the government of the rea...

Background While there has been progress in controlling the HIV epidemic, HIV still remains a disease of global concern. Some of the progress has been attributed to increased public awareness and uptake of public health interventions, as well as increased access to anti- retroviral treatment and the prevention of vertical HIV transmission. These in...

Although the WrapAround process has been used in social services in Canada for some time, the literature remains focused on initiatives in the United States. Canadian WrapAround initiatives are particularly unique in that they focus on connecting children, youth, and their families to a supportive community. Service integration is crucial but only...

Background: Due to widespread awareness of global inequities in health and development, participation and interest in International Medical Electives has grown. However, it has been suggested that the benefits of these electives for students and communities may not outweigh the harms. Pre-departure training (PDT) has been proposed as a route throu...

In Cambodia, both anaemia and vitamin A deficiency are serious health problems. Despite this, few comprehensive nutritional surveys have been completed to date. This study evaluates the adequacy of iron and vitamin A in-takes, as well as women’s nutritional knowledge in rural Kandal province. Twenty-four hour recalls, pile sort activities, socioeco...

Medical voluntourism involves medically untrained individuals travelling to a community abroad to set up health education workshops, complete observational work or even basic clinical tasks. Often, these volunteers are students who are applying to medical school and are seeking an international clinical experience. Although the ethics of global-sho...

Medical anthropological theory may be understood in two ways: first as a set of anthropological concepts and second as the application of these concepts. The theoretical concepts themselves are rarely challenged because they have been fairly well developed. However, the approach to theory and its application has traditionally been underdeveloped an...