Dame Tina is Professor of Maternal and Newborn Health and Director of a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre. As a registered midwife, Dame Tina has spent much of her career developing midwifery research capacity globally and working with the Lugina Africa Midwives Research Network to improve evidence-based practices.
She is a Visiting Professor at the University of Nairobi and leads a programme of research focusing on improving maternity and newborn care. Dame Tina is Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on the Prevention and Management of Stillbirth, working in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is Associate Editor of the African Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health.
Dame Tina has played an active role in promoting improved educational midwifery standards, through a number of innovative educational projects, as well as through formal academic roles. She also acts as a regular Advisor to the World Health Organization, particularly in relation to research priority setting, guideline development and as a reviewer of educational materials.
In 2016 she was nominated as one of BBC’s 100 most inspirational women in the World.
In 2018 she was made a Senior NIHR Investigator.
Research
Dame Tina is Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on the Prevention and management of stillbirth in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research group brings together leading researchers, with expertise in stillbirth prevention and bereavement care to tackle 3 areas of care in 6 countries (Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe):
1. Prevention of stillbirth through improved identification of women with high risk pregnancies.
2. Better childbirth care by examining factors which influence how women seek and access care, the quality of the care received and specific causes of stillbirth in local healthcare facilities, using new effective tools.
3. Ensuring humane and respectful care for bereaved parents through understanding the experiences of women, partners, and health workers after stillbirth.
This initial work has led to interventions which are being tested to improve access, uptake, and services in low-income countries. This work is ongoing.
Dame Tina is also conducting parallel qualitative work, exploring parents’ and health workers’ experiences after stillbirth or neonatal death in Pakistan with Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning. She is also co-investigator for Better Maternity Care Pathways after Stillbirth or Neonatal Death, an NIHR RFPB funded study exploring the feasibility of an intervention to improve care in pregnancy after stillbirth or neonatal death in two North West maternity Units.
Disrespectful maternal and newborn care remains prevalent in many low-income settings, with few attempts to eradicate this, through tested interventions. Dame Tina is working with key stakeholders and community engagement and involvement (CEI) groups to tackle this issue, with Global Challenges Research Funding (University of Manchester). Using an appreciative inquiry approach, we have explored the views of women, health providers and stakeholders in Malawi and Tanzania, and are using these findings to make recommendations and inform interventions. These interventions will be tested in feasibility and large-scale pragmatic trials. This work is ongoing
Dame Tina is an active collaborator, working with others to achieve common goals. In collaboration with Imperial College London (Lead: Thayyil), we are trying to reduce the cases of epilepsy by reducing neonatal encephalopathy (PREVENT Study). Approximately 12 million people live with epilepsy in India The aim of our programme is to examine if a pragmatic, evidenced based and generalisable intrapartum care bundle involving birth companions and empowering mothers will reduce birth injury related epilepsy at 18 months. Our care bundle has four key elements:
(1) birth companion providing constant 1:1 care during labour and early perinatal period;
(2) fetal surveillance during active labour by a nurse or midwife using a graphic display Doppler;
(3) labour management by an electronic partogram with an alert and nag feature based on the current WHO guidelines;
(4) brain oriented early newborn care with resuscitation where indicated. This study, which uses an interrupted time series approach, is ongoing.
This study is funded by the NIHR Right Programme.
Teaching
Masters in International Public Health, dissertation supervisor
PhD Supervision
Current students:
Tiwonge Mbeya Munkhondya. Understanding disengagement in option b+ programme of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among young mothers in Malawi: a grounded theory study (University of Manchester)
Kushupika Dube. Pregnant women, partners and clinicians’ views or experiences of reduced fetal movements: A Grounded Theory Study in Zimbabwe (University of Manchester)
Hannah McCauley. Antenatal and Postnatal Care provision in Togo: A mixed methods study. (LSTM)
Previous students:
PhD-Thelma Reid 2006 University of Liverpool
PhD-Gill Thomson 2007 University of Central Lancashire
PhD-Carol Kingdon 2008 University of Lancaster
PhD-Kevin Hugill 2009 University of Central Lancashire
PhD by publication-Jeanette Logan 2010, University of Manchester
PhD-Tracey Cooper 2011 University of Central Lancashire
PhD-Carol Bedwell 2012 University of Manchester (Part-time)
PhD-Hend Alnajjar 2012 (Full-time, International, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), University of Manchester
PhD-Andrew Lingen-Stallard 2013, University of Manchester
PhD- Suryanne Susanti 2014 (Full-time, International, Indonesia), University of Manchester
PhD-Alison Cooke, 2015 University of Manchester (full time, NIHR fellow)
PhD- Siofra McDermott (Full time), 2016 University of Manchester
PhD- Georgina Afoakwah, 2016 University of Manchester (Full time, International, Ghana)
PhD- Yana Richens, 2017 University of Manchester (Full time, NIHR Fellow)
PhD- Angela Hancock, 2017 University of Manchester (Full time, NIHR Fellow)
PhD- Weston Khisa, 2018, University of Manchester (Part-time, International, Kenya)
PhD- Leena Khonji, 2018, University of Manchester (Full-time, International, Bahrain)
PhD- Unice Goshomi, 2018, University of Manchester (Full-time, International, Zimbawe)
PhD- Elija Kirop, 2018, University of Manchester (Full-time, International, Kenya)
PhD- Idesi Chilanda, 2019, University of Manchester (Full-time, International, Malawi)
PhD- Kylie Watson, 2020, University of Manchester (Full time, NIHR Fellow)
PhD- Zalikha al-Marzouqi, 2020, University of Manchester (Full-time, International, Oman)
PhD- Stephanie Lyons, 2020, University of Manchester (Full-time)