Dr Constance Mackworth-Young
Assistant Professor
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
15-17 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9SH
United Kingdom
I am a Medical Anthropologist, researching the social contexts that shape the health and wellbeing of young people. I am based in Zimbabwe, with The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe. My methodological expertise is with ethnographic and participatory qualitative methods. My work is often collaborative, with other anthropologists and social scientists, as well as within interdisciplinary teams, including conducting process evaluations within trials. I was previously based at Zambart in Zambia, where I conducted ethnographic studies with young people living with HIV. I am committed to critical and participatory approaches which value the expertise of communities, and have a keen interest in capacity strengtheing.
Affiliations
Teaching
I am Programme Director for the EMPOWA Programme, EMpowering PrOfessionals for the Wellbeing of Adolescents, a joint Programme between LSHTM and University of Zimbabwe for policy makers and programmers working with adolescents in Zimbabwe. The Programme is now being translated globally in patnership with the Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health. I was awarded an LSHTM award for 'Exceptional contributions to innovation and stimulating education' for the development and delivery of the EMPOWA Programme in 2022.
I am Deputy Module Organiser for the Medical Anthropology Distance Learning Module. I lecture on Qualitative Methodologies.
I tutor MSc students on Public Health Distance Learning, and supervise summer projects, particularly those interested in qualitative analysis related to young people and sexual and reproductive health in Zimbabwe. I am MSc Lead at The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe, and support the 10 MSc students through their MScs.
Research
I lead the process evaluations within the CHIEDZA and STICH trials, evaluating a community-based intervention to improve HIV and STI outcomes in adolescents, led by The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe (THRU ZIM). I lead the qualitative research for the GIFT study, investigating women's, healthcare professionals and policy makers perceptions of a novel screening tool for STIs in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar. I lead the qualitative research on the YCHECK project in Zimbabwe, designing routine health checks during adolescence, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. I led social science research on the Zvatinoda! study, a feasibility study of a mobile health intervention to increase demand and uptake of sexual and reproductive health services among young people.
I was awarded my PhD in February 2020, which was entitled 'An ethnographic study on the everyday lives of young women living with HIV in Lusaka, Zambia' and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. While at Zambart from 2014-2018, I conducted and collaborated on several studies around young people, HIV and sexual and reproductive health. Beyond sexual and reproductive health, I have researched other infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and TB.
Selected Publications
