I am an Associate Professor in Disability Research at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at LSHTM.
Department of Population Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health
I am a Departmental Research Degree Coordinator for the Department of Population Health and Exam Board Chair for the Global Mental Health MSc. I teach on the Global Disability & Mental Health module, am a personal tutor for students on the Global Mental Health MSc. I recently coordinated a work experience programme for people with disabilities wishing to gain experience of research at LSHTM.
I am primary supervisor for four research degree students (Nathaniel Scherer: Mental health and well-being of children with disabilities; Tim O'Fallon: Access to rehabilitation for people with disabilities in the Maldives; Giulia Oggera: Assistive technology in humanitarian crises and David Musendo: Parent-level interventions to support inclusive education in Malawi)
My research has included developing methods for, and supporting implementation of, population surveys to i) estimate prevalence of disability and impairment and related service (health, AT, rehabilitation) needs and ii) generate disability-dissagregated data to identify and monitor inequalities and disparities in inclusion. I have also worked on mixed method and qualitative projects, exploring the lived experience and inclusion of people with disabilities in different settings and developing and pilot testing interventions aimed at improving health and well-being of people with disabilities.
I am currently working on two main projects as Principal Investigator. The first is a study exploring access to education and employment for young people with disabilities in 7 African countries: Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal. Working in partnership with research institutions in each country and guided by an advisory group of young people with disabilities, the project includes policy reviews and interviews with stakeholders and youth with disabilities from each of the countries. The second project, is developing a survey tool and bespoke app to assess impairments, functioning and related service and assistive product needs across seven functional domains (Funded by UK Aid through the AT2030 programme () led by the Global Disability Innovation Hub).
BANNINK MBAZZI, F; Hameed, S; Ganle, JK; SHAKESPEARE, T; POLACK, S;
2024
African Journal of Disability
BOGGS, D; Birabwa, A; Adkins, S; Atijosan-Ayodele, O; Bulathwela, S; De Cates, C; Doggett, T; FOSTER, A; KUPER, H; Holloway, C; Mugisha, J; POLACK, S; FNAT team,;
2024
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
SCHERER, N; Hussein, R; EATON, J; Kabaja, N; KAKUMA, R; SMYTHE, T; POLACK, S;
2023
PLOS global public health
Musendo, DJ; SCHERER, N; Jepkosgei, J; Maweu, L; Mupiwa, A; Hara, O; POLACK, S; Patel, D;
2023
Australasian journal of special and inclusive education
SCHERER, N; SMYTHE, T; Hussein, R; Wapling, L; HAMEED, S; EATON, J; Kabaja, N; KAKUMA, R; POLACK, S;
2023
Plos global public health
Tamblay, N; BOGGS, D; Huidobro, B; Tapia-Mora, D; Anabalon, K; Delgado, C; POLACK, S; Bright, T; Torrente, MC;
2023
American journal of audiology
BANKS, LM; O'FALLON, T; HAMEED, S; Usman, SK; POLACK, S; KUPER, H;
2022
PloS One
Patwary, MM; POLACK, S; Zharkova, A; Swed, S; Shoib, S;
2022
Prehospital and disaster medicine
MCCORMICK, I; BUTCHER, R; EVANS, JR; MACTAGGART, IZ; Limburg, H; Jolley, E; Sapkota, YD; Oye, JE; Mishra, SK; BASTAWROUS, A; Furtado, JM; Joshi, A; Xiao, B; Ravilla, TD; Bourne, RR A; Cieza, A; Keel, S; BURTON, MJ; RAMKE, J; RAAB International Co-Author Group,;
2022
Lancet global health
Naber, J; MACTAGGART, I; Dionicio, C; POLACK, S;
2022
PLoS One