Dr Bhargavi Rao

I am a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow, currently pursuing my PhD in infectious disease epidemiology.

The main focus of my research is to understand the impact that health systems factors exert on the effectiveness of interventions such as Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACT)  in reducing malaria transmission. 

Hypothesis: Health systems variables impact on the outcomes of preventative and curative interventions against malaria. It is possible to identify specific points in the implementation pathway which have a critical impact on the resulting effectiveness of the intervention, and thus it is possible to quantify the effect of changing the parameters at these critical junctures, on the effectiveness of interventions.

Aim: To model and quantify the effect of health systems factors acting as barriers to the effectiveness of ACT

Objectives:

1. To extend a model of the impact of ACT on malaria transmission to incorporate health systems dimensions - namely a) geographic and social heterogeniety in access and response to treatment, b) Diagnostic capacity, c) Treatment capacity (including supply chain and stockouts) and d) Human resources
2. To collate relevant data on health systems in order to apply the model to a specific setting in Tanzania
3. To develop a tool to identify which health systems constraints on appropriate ACT delivery have the greatest impact on malaria transmission and treatment demand, in order to inform estimation of the marginal costs of overcoming such bottlenecks to implement malaria elimination programmes effectively and responsibly.