Dr Robert Akparibo
BSc (Ghana), MSc (Denmark), MPH (Sheffield, UK) & PhD (Sheffield, UK), MEd (Sheffield, UK)
School of Health and Related Research
Course Director of the Masters of Public Health in Management and Leadership
Director of Students Experience
+44 114 222 4269
Full contact details
School of Health and Related Research
Room 2037, 2nd Floor
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
- Profile
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I joined the Section of Public Health of ScHARR in 2007 as a student of the Masters of Public Health programme. After a successful completion in 2008, I proceeded to the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) to study another Masters' degree course in advance Quantitative Methods in Public Health Assessment, (Epidemiology & Biostatistics). The European Commission, under the Erasmus Mundus Masters of European Public programme funded both degree programmes.
I returned to the UK (ScHARR) in 2009 to start my PhD in Public Health. My PhD research adopted a realist methodology to evaluate what works and how of a community-based management of acute malnutrition in children below 5 years in Ghana. ScHARR employed me in 2013, upon completion of my PhD and since then I have been working here as a University Teacher, Global Health.
Currently I am the Course Director of the Masters of Public Health in Management and Leadership, as well as Director of Students Experience.
Prior to joining ScHARR, I have carried out development work for 6 years, in top management positions, with various Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations in West Africa. These include Ghana with the Ghana Health Service and the Association of Faith-Based Development Programme (ACDEP); Senegal with the Family Health International, and Burkina Faso with Helen Keller International.
My last two jobs before joining ScHARR were with the United Nations Child Fund (UNICEF) in Ghana and the World Health Organization (WHO) European Office for Europe in Denmark.
- Research interests
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My research interests are varied. Particular interest areas are:
- Implementation research
- Maternal and child health, including maternal health literacy research
- Nutrition, including infant and young child feeding, dietary practices/patterns, food/eating behaviours and food security research
- Healthcare management, systems and policy research
In terms of methodological expertise, I have expertise in using mixed methods, realist evaluation and evidence synthesis, as well as systematic reviews.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Factors influencing uptake of voluntary counselling and testing services for HIV/AIDS in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) in the Eastern Region of Ghana: a cross-sectional household survey. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 33(1).
- Nutrition sensitivity of the 2014 budget statement of Republic of Ghana. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 74(4), 526-532.
All publications
Journal articles
- Flipped learning in the context of postgraduate public health higher education : a qualitative study involving students and their tutors. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 18(1).
- Food security in ghanaian urban cities: A scoping review of the literature. Nutrients, 13(10).
- Food insecurity, food waste, food behaviours and cooking confidence of UK citizens at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. British Food Journal, 123(9), 2959-2978.
- Urban physical food environments drive dietary behaviours in Ghana and Kenya: A photovoice study. Health & Place, 71, 102647-102647.
- The African urban food environment framework for creating healthy nutrition policy and interventions in urban Africa. PLoS ONE, 16(4). View this article in WRRO
- Prevalence and predictors of exclusive breastfeeding in urban slums, Bihar. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 10(3), 1301-1307.
- Policy Action within urban African Food Systems to Promote Healthy Food Consumption: a realist synthesis in Ghana and Kenya. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of social prescribing to address loneliness: a mixed methods evaluation of a national social prescribing programme. Health & Social Care in the Community. View this article in WRRO
- Prevalence and factors associated with modern contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in 20 African countries: a large population-based study. BMJ Open, 10(9).
- Unhealthy eating practices of city-dwelling Africans in deprived neighbourhoods: Evidence for policy action from Ghana and Kenya. Global Food Security, 26, 100452-100452.
- Investigating foods and beverages sold and advertised in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Ghana and Kenya: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 10(6). View this article in WRRO
- Dietary behaviours in the context of nutrition transition : a systematic review and meta-analyses in two African countries. Public Health Nutrition. View this article in WRRO
- The effect of food type on the portion size effect in children aged 2- 12 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Appetite, 137, 47-61. View this article in WRRO
- Contribution of scaling up nutrition Academic Platforms to nutrition capacity strengthening in Africa: local efforts, continental prospects and challenges. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 76(4), 524-534. View this article in WRRO
- Severe acute malnutrition in children aged under 5 years can be successfully managed in a non‐emergency routine community healthcare setting in Ghana. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 13(4). View this article in WRRO
- Does maternal education impact infant and child care practices in African setting? The case of Northern Nigeria. Sahel Medical Journal, 20(3), 109-116.
- Factors influencing uptake of voluntary counselling and testing services for HIV/AIDS in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) in the Eastern Region of Ghana: a cross-sectional household survey. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 33(1).
- Nutrition sensitivity of the 2014 budget statement of Republic of Ghana. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 74(4), 526-532.
- Reliability of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Measurements taken by Community Health Nurses. Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal, 3(1), 26-35.
- Risk Factors for Overweight and Obesity within the Home Environment of Preschool Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 14(9), 1706-1706.
Conference proceedings papers
Reports
- View this article in WRRO
- Recovery, Relapse, and Episodes of Default in the Management of Acute Malnutrition in Children in Humanitarian Emergencies: A systematic review View this article in WRRO
- Relationships between recovery and relapse, and default and repeated episodes of default in the management of acute malnutrition in children in humanitarian emergencies: A systematic review protocol View this article in WRRO
- Factors influencing uptake of voluntary counselling and testing services for HIV/AIDS in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) in the Eastern Region of Ghana: a cross-sectional household survey. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 33(1).
- Research group
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PhD Students
- Mohammad Lawan
- Walter Rodney
- Adachinma
- Sophie Reale
- Teaching interests
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I coordinate and manage teaching, as well as teach on various modules (both online and face-to-face), including the Managing and Leading Health Services (f2f & online), Key Issues in Global Health (f2f & online), Using Policy to Strengthen Health System ((f2f & online), Communicable Disease Control (f2f), Disasters and Emergency Management (f2f), Strategic Management (online), Knowledge Mobilisation (f2f) and the Health Needs Assessment (f2f) modules.
In addition, I support teaching of the Masters of Medical Science in Human Nutrition (MMed in Human Nutrition), as well as the MB ChB (Medicine) undergraduate degree programme.
- Professional activities
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- Fellow of The Higher Education Academic (FHEA)
- Member of the British Nutrition Association
- Member of the Africa Nutrition Association
- Member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy (ANH)
- Qualified member of the 'Associations of Programme Managers' UK