Dr Julie Balen
BSc (Hons), PhD
School of Health and Related Research
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Global Health
Full contact details
School of Health and Related Research
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
- Profile
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I have worked in Higher Education for over 15 years, in various institutions around the world. I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Global Health, with a BSc in Biology (2000-2004), a PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology (2005-2009) and post-doctoral training in health policy and systems research. Prior to joining ScHARR I was a Juniour Research Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Centre for Health Policy, Imperial College London.
At ScHARR I lead the Global Health Theme, within the Public Health Section. I am a senior member of the NIHR Global Health Research Group, in which I am the Social Science co-Lead and the Capacity Development co-Lead. I am also an active member of the Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID).
- Research interests
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My research sits broadly across areas of global health and development, health policy and systems research, international health management and global reproductive health. I have extensive overseas experience, having worked in the field in Cambodia, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Nepal, Senegal, Thailand and The Gambia. I have also conducted policy-relevant research across Southeast Asia.
I have been a Principal Investigator, Work Package Lead or Senior co-Investigator on research funded by the MRC, Wellcome Trust, DfID, ESRC, NIHR, WUN, British Council Newton Fund and The Academy of Medical Sciences, as well the GCRF.
Currently, I lead GCRF-funded research on infertility in West Africa, in collaboration with colleagues from the Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia, and the Centre of Expertise on Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality at Vrije Universiteit Brussesl, Belgium. Also with the Academic Unit, I am involved in NIHR-funded research on the prevention and management of pre-term birth in low-and middle-income countries, namely Bangladesh, Nigeria and South Africa.
Previous work included participatory research on the resilience of Nepali communities affected by the 2015 earthquake, funded by the ESRC-DFID Development Frontiers Research Scheme, as well as a Joint Global Health Trials funded community-based intervention on malaria control and elimination in The Gambia.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Community perspectives on treating asymptomatic infections for malaria elimination in The Gambia. Malaria Journal, 18. View this article in WRRO
- ‘We are always desperate and will try anything to conceive’: The convoluted and dynamic process of health seeking among women with infertility in the West Coast Region of The Gambia. PLOS ONE, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
- Reactive community-based self-administered treatment against residual malaria transmission: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 19(1). View this article in WRRO
- The role of leadership in people-centred health systems: a sub-national study in The Gambia. Health Policy and Planning, 33(1), e14-e25. View this article in WRRO
- Use of information and communication technologies in the formal and informal health system responses to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. Health Policy And Planning, 32(Supplement 3), iii48-iii58. View this article in WRRO
- Health Policy in Nepal: An Assessment of Clinical Guidelines in Relation to the Burden of Disease. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 3(1), 24-35. View this article in WRRO
- ‘Some anti-malarials are too strong for your body, they will harm you.’ Socio-cultural factors influencing pregnant women’s adherence to anti-malarial treatment in rural Gambia. Malaria Journal, 15, 195-195. View this article in WRRO
- The Holy See on sexual and reproductive health rights: steadfast in position, dynamic in response. Reproductive Health Matters.
- The Holy See on sexual and reproductive health rights: conservative in position, dynamic in response. Reproductive Health Matters, 22(44), 114-124. View this article in WRRO
- A conceptual and analytical approach to comparative analysis of country case studies: HIV and TB control programmes and health systems integration. Health Policy and Planning, 25(Suppl. 1), i21-i31.
Conference proceedings papers
- Defining the unit of intervention for targeted treatment of asymptomatic malaria carriers: a transdisciplinarity approach. TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH, Vol. 22 (pp 230-230)
All publications
Journal articles
- Improving access to affordable quality-assured inhaled medicines in low- and middle-income countries. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 26(11), 1023-1032.
- Motivators and demotivators to accessing malaria in pregnancy interventions in sub-Saharan Africa : a meta-ethnographic review. Malaria Journal, 21(1).
- Shifting Social Norms and Adolescent Girls' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Information in a South African Township.. Qual Health Res, 10497323221089880.
- Power dynamics among health professionals in Nigeria: a case study of the global fund policy process. International Journal of Health Policy and Management.
- An investigation into the impact of decentralization on the health system of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1), 3-14. View this article in WRRO
- Men and infertility in The Gambia : limited biomedical knowledge and awareness discourage male involvement and exacerbate gender-based impacts of infertility. PLoS ONE, 16(11).
- Extent of compliance with COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines among supermarkets in Kampala Capital City and Mukono Municipality, Uganda. PLoS ONE, 16(10).
- Agency under constraint: Adolescent accounts of pregnancy and motherhood in informal settlements in South Africa.. Glob Public Health, 1-14.
- The Community Lab of Ideas for Health : community-based transdisciplinary solutions in a malaria elimination trial in The Gambia. Frontiers in Public Health, 9.
- Reactive, self-administered malaria treatment against asymptomatic malaria infection : results of a cluster randomized controlled trial in The Gambia. Malaria Journal, 20(1).
- The Nairobi Summit and reproductive justice : unmet needs for people with infertility. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 104(3), 812-813.
- Complexities in defining the unit of intervention for reactive community-based malaria treatment in the Gambia. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(1).
- Seasonal influenza programme expansion. BMJ, 371. View this article in WRRO
- COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences, 3(3), 1-11.
- Harnessing inter-disciplinary collaboration to improve emergency care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): results of research prioritisation setting exercise. BMC Emergency Medicine, 20(1). View this article in WRRO
- Operational research to support equitable non-communicable disease policy in low-income and middle-income countries in the sustainable development era : a scoping review. BMJ Global Health, 5(6). View this article in WRRO
- Involving community health workers in disease-specific interventions: perspectives from The Gambia on the impact of this approach. Journal of Global Health Reports, 3. View this article in WRRO
- The fertile grounds of reproductive activism in The Gambia : a qualitative study of local key stakeholders’ understandings and heterogeneous actions related to infertility. PLOS ONE, 14(12). View this article in WRRO
- Community perspectives on treating asymptomatic infections for malaria elimination in The Gambia. Malaria Journal, 18. View this article in WRRO
- ‘We are always desperate and will try anything to conceive’: The convoluted and dynamic process of health seeking among women with infertility in the West Coast Region of The Gambia. PLOS ONE, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
- A Call for Systems Epidemiology to Tackle the Complexity of Schistosomiasis, Its Control, and Its Elimination. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 4(1). View this article in WRRO
- Reactive community-based self-administered treatment against residual malaria transmission: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 19(1). View this article in WRRO
- The role of leadership in people-centred health systems: a sub-national study in The Gambia. Health Policy and Planning, 33(1), e14-e25. View this article in WRRO
- Use of information and communication technologies in the formal and informal health system responses to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. Health Policy And Planning, 32(Supplement 3), iii48-iii58. View this article in WRRO
- Health Policy in Nepal: An Assessment of Clinical Guidelines in Relation to the Burden of Disease. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 3(1), 24-35. View this article in WRRO
- Healthworkers’ motivation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the literature. Medical Research Archives, 5(8). View this article in WRRO
- ‘Some anti-malarials are too strong for your body, they will harm you.’ Socio-cultural factors influencing pregnant women’s adherence to anti-malarial treatment in rural Gambia. Malaria Journal, 15, 195-195. View this article in WRRO
- The Holy See on sexual and reproductive health rights: steadfast in position, dynamic in response. Reproductive Health Matters.
- The Holy See on sexual and reproductive health rights: conservative in position, dynamic in response. Reproductive Health Matters, 22(44), 114-124. View this article in WRRO
- Risk factors for helminth infections in a rural and a peri-urban setting of the Dongting Lake area, People’s Republic of China. International Journal for Parasitology, 41(11), 1165-1173.
- A conceptual and analytical approach to comparative analysis of country case studies: HIV and TB control programmes and health systems integration. Health Policy and Planning, 25(Suppl. 1), i21-i31.
- Comparison of two approaches for measuring household wealth via an asset-based index in rural and peri-urban settings of Hunan province, China. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology, 7(1). View this article in WRRO
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of safety and efficacy of combined praziquantel and artemether treatment for acute schistosomiasis japonica in China. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86(10), 788-795.
- Prevalence, intensity and associated morbidity of Schistosoma japonicum infection in the Dongting Lake region, China. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 85(7), 519-526.
- Morbidity due to Schistosoma mansoni: an epidemiological assessment of distended abdomen syndrome in Ugandan school children with observations before and 1-year after anthelminthic chemotherapy. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 100(11), 1039-1048.
- CD4+ T-CELL COUNTS, CD4+/CD8+ T-CELL COUNT RATIOS, AND ANTIBODY LEVELS IN MIGRANT FISHERMEN INFECTED WITH SCHISTOSOMA JAPONICUM IN THE DONGTING LAKE, CHINA. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 75(5), 910-913.
- Availability of services for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility in The Gambia`s public and private health facilities: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1).
- Interventions for the prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: a scoping review of systematic reviews. BMJ Open.
- Patients with presumed tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa that are not diagnosed with tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Thorax.
- Health Access Livelihood Framework Reveals Potential Barriers in the Control of Schistosomiasis in the Dongting Lake Area of Hunan Province, China. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 7(8), e2350-e2350. View this article in WRRO
- Spatial Distribution of Human Schistosoma japonicum Infections in the Dongting Lake Region, China. PLoS ONE, 4(9), e6947-e6947. View this article in WRRO
- Magnetic Beads for Schistosomiasis Diagnosis. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 1(3), e159-e159. View this article in WRRO
- The role of social capital in disaster resilience in remote communities after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.
- Re-examining critiques of resilience policy: Evidence from Barpak after the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. Disasters.
- A cross sectional survey of sociodemographic characteristics, primary care health needs and living conditions of asylum-seekers living in a Greek reception centre. Journal of Public Health.
- Barriers and facilitators for the inclusion of fertility care in reproductive health policies in Africa: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Human Reproduction Update.
Chapters
- 2. Health, Non-Traditional Security in Asia (pp. 15-39). ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore
- Health In Caballero-Anthony M & Cook ADB (Ed.), Non-Traditional Security in Asia Issues, Challenges and Framework for Action Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
- Health, Non-Traditional Security in Asia: Issues, Challenges and Framework for Action (pp. 15-39).
- Introduction – The state of pandemic preparedness in southeast Asia: challenges and the way forward In Caballero-Anthony M (Ed.), Pandemic Preparedness in Asia
Conference proceedings papers
- Infertility in West Africa: a systematic review of qualitative studies. BJOG-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Vol. 128 (pp 271-271)
- Infertility in West Africa: a systematic review of qualitative studies. BJOG-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Vol. 128 (pp 52-53)
- IMPLEMENTING REACTIVE CASE TREATMENT TO REDUCE MALARIA PARASITE CARRIAGE: HOW ADAPTABLE ARE LOCAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURES?. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE, Vol. 99(4) (pp 127-127)
- COMMUNITY LAB OF IDEAS FOR HEALTH (CLIH): HORIZONTAL DIALOGUE AND NEGOTIATION OF RELEVANCE FOR MALARIA ELIMINATION TRIAL IN THE GAMBIA. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE, Vol. 99(4) (pp 128-128)
- Defining the unit of intervention for targeted treatment of asymptomatic malaria carriers: a transdisciplinarity approach. TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH, Vol. 22 (pp 230-230)
Reports
- Ensuring good health during the Hajj in a time of the H1N1 pandemic
Theses / Dissertations
- Determinants of Schistosoma japonicum and soil-transmitted helminth infections, and associated morbidity in Hunan province, China: an epidemiological assessment.
- An investigation of appropriate technology methods for detection of morbidity associated with Schistosoma mansoni infection in Ugandan school aged children: is swollen abdomen symptomology attributable to worm-related disease?.
- Community perspectives on treating asymptomatic infections for malaria elimination in The Gambia. Malaria Journal, 18. View this article in WRRO
- Teaching interests
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I lead and teach Semester 1 modules Key Issues in Global Public Health for campus-based (HAR675) and online (HAR6047) Master of Public Health programmes (MPH and MPH-Online, respectively) as well as the MPH-Online Semester 2 module Communicable Disease Control (HAR698). I occasionally teach Semester 2 modules Using Policy to Strengthen Health Systems (HAR6049) and Leading and Managing Healthcare Services (HAR699) for the MPH and/or MPH-Online, as well as teaching Global Health classes and seminars for Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the MBChB.
In our joint-programme MPH-International Development (MPH-ID), together with the Department of Geography, I teach on the Fieldwork in International Development (Nepal) class (HAR6056), which involves a 2-week field-class in Nepal during Semester 2.
To date, I have supervised over 20 post-graduate students, most of whom conducted primary research in Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.
I strive to embed research-led teaching, learning and discovery into my classes. In 2018 I was the sole winner of the University of Sheffield Student Futures Award, for my contributions to student welfare and support.
- PhD Supervision
I co-supervised Dr Samuel Lassa whose research explored the interface between medical professionals and other stakeholders involved in Global Fund To Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, focussing on Health Systems Strengthening grants (rounds 8 and 10) in Nigeria. Samuel was also supervised by Dr Jenny Owen from ScHARR and Professor Aryuba Zoakah from the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. He completed his PhD in 2016.
At present, I am co-supervising 6 PhD students, including 3 as lead supervisor. I thoroughly enjoy supervising high-achieving students in subjects related to global health governance, health system strengthening (especially leadership and management), neglected tropical diseases, and global reproductive health, among other areas. Fully-funded/partially-funded students are particularly encouraged to contact me regarding supervision opportunities.
I have been an external PhD thesis examiner to Doctoral students at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia and at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland. I was also an external examiner for the MPH-DL programme at the University of Liverpool, UK (2015-18), and I was an external panel member for the MPH Periodic Programme Review at City, University of London (2019).