Carrie Barrett

Post-Doctoral Research Associate

Carrie is a multi-disciplinary researcher, specialising in statistical analysis, within the area of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), mental wellbeing, and health systems research in sub-Saharan Africa.

Within her post-doctoral role Carrie is working on SHINE and REDRESS health systems research programmes. In the multi-country SHINE project in Kenya and Bangladesh, Carrie is leading the quantitative working group focusing on survey design and evaluation for a community co-designed intervention. Within REDRESS, Carrie led the evaluation of integrated mental health interventions within the health system in Liberia. Carrie was recently awarded with an internal Directors Catalyst Fund for her project titled “A Novel Geostatistical Approach to Estimate the Burden of Lymphatic Filariasis in Endemic Countries” to validate, optimise and scale-up this spatial modelling approach to predict lymphatic filariasis (LF) case distributions in endemic countries.

Carrie completed an MRC Doctoral Training Programme at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2024, this included a MRes at Lancaster University in Global Health: Quantitative and Translational Skills, and a 5-week training course in The Gambia on mixed-method approaches from the University of Antwerp.

Carrie’s PhD thesis focused on lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Malawi, and the perspectives of persons affected to understanding the psychosocial consequences of disease and the impact of a self-care intervention. She has used geospatial modelling to understand the distribution of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Malawi, as well as participatory qualitative methods to understand LF, mental health and stigma. Within her PhD she collaborated with the Malawi National LF program and her supervisors, Dr. Louise Kelly-Hope, Dr. Laura Dean, and Dr. Jonathan Read.

In 2018, Carrie graduated from the University of Liverpool with a Integrated Masters plus Honours (MBiolSci) following a Tropical Disease Biology pathway. In this time, she undertook an internship in a parasitology diagnostic laboratory at Chiang Mai University, Thailand, conducted research investigating ant morphology in Kibale Rainforest, Uganda and parasitic nematode host-seeking behaviour in the laboratory.

Selected publications

  • Recent Publications

    • Barrett C, Chiphwanya J, Chaponda L, Matipula DE, Turner JD, Taylor MJ, et al. Mental health conditions in people affected by filarial lymphoedema in Malawi: prevalence, associated risk factors and the impact of an enhanced self-care intervention. Int Health. 2023;15(Supplement_3):iii14-iii27. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihad064. PubMed PMID: 38118160; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC10732670.
    • Barrett C, Chiphwanya J, Mkwanda S, Matipula DE, Ndhlovu P, Chaponda L, et al. (2024) The national distribution of lymphatic filariasis cases in Malawi using case mapping and geostatistical modelling. PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease
    • Chiphwanya J, Mkwanda S, Kabuluzi S, Mzilahowa T, Ngwira B, Barrett C, et al. (2024) Elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem in Malawi. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 18(2): e0011957. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011957
    • Barrett, C. Chiphwanya, J. Matipula, D. E. Douglass, J. Kelly-Hope, L. A and Dean, L. (2024) Addressing the syndemic relationship between lymphatic filariasis and mental distress in Malawi: the potential of enhanced self-care PLoS Global Public Health
    • McCollum R, Barrett C, Zawolo G, Johnstone R, Godwin-Akpan TG, Berrian H, Chowdhury S, Kollie J, Kollie K, Rogers E, et al. ‘The Lost Peace’: Evidencing the Syndemic Relationship between Neglected Tropical Diseases and Mental Distress in Liberia. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2024; 9(8):183. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9080183