Maria Lohan
Biographic Data
| ID | 303965 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Maria Lohan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Maria |
| FAMILY NAME | Lohan |
| SIGNATURE | LOHAN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queen's University Belfast |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3525-1283 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 130 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 40 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Predictors of Recent Incidence Trends in Sexually Transmitted Infections
Objective Increasing trends in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) warrants an examination of the potential factors behind this phenomenon. This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on the predictors of recent trends in chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and syphilis.Methods A systematic search was conducted via scientific databases (i.e., CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus), expanded by citation-mining techniques, and complemented by …
The association of positive educational experiences with adolescents’ depressive symptoms
Introduction The school environment influences adolescent health through both individual experiences, such as one’s own engagement with school, and broader school-level factors, such as aggregate student levels of engagement, affecting all students. For mental-health outcomes, existing evidence more consistently supports individual-level influences than school-level effects. In relation to depression, negative student-level educational experience…
Building multi-sectoral alliances to co-design and pilot a gender-transformative comprehensive sexuality education intervention for adolescents
Exploring variation in research priorities generated by AI tools
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools based on large language models (LLMs) are being increasingly used by researchers and may play a role in health-related research priority-setting exercises (RPSEs). However, little is known about how these tools may differ in the types of research priorities they generate. Methods: We examined research priorities aimed at improving treatments for four diseases: cancer, COVID-19, HIV, and Alzheimer. We…
Factors affecting the implementation of a whole-school relationships and sexual health intervention
Whole-school relationships and sexual health interventions represent promising approaches to promoting healthy sexual development. However, data from a randomised controlled trial of the Positive Choices whole-school intervention demonstrate these may be challenging to implement in English secondary schools. We draw on qualitative data to examine staff perspectives on the implementation of the intervention and the factors affecting delivery. Inte…
Understanding the limited effectiveness of a whole-school relationships and sexual-health programme
Previous trials of whole-school relationships and sexual-health programmes have not reported on fidelity, reach or acceptability, despite the importance of these factors for interpreting outcomes. Our trial of the Positive Choices whole-school relationships and sexual-health programme found limited effectiveness in secondary schools in England. We aimed to understand whether sub-optimal fidelity, reach or acceptability might explain the results. …
Effects of a whole-school relationships and sexual health intervention on non-competent sexual debut
BACKGROUND: Relationships and sex education (RSE) impacts some sexual behaviours but could be strengthened by incorporating whole-school approaches (eg, building engagement, providing contraception). These can prevent pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections but are unevaluated in UK schools. METHODS: A cluster-randomised trial of 'Positive Choices' compared it with usual practice in English secondary schools. Intervention comprised: RSE, …
Progress towards universal health coverage in South Asia, 2000–2030
BACKGROUND: Universal health coverage (UHC) is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Well-being. This study projects UHC progress in seven South Asian countries by 2030, focusing on two crucial underpinning components, primary healthcare (PHC) service coverage and financial risk protection. METHODS: We applied Bayesian random-effects models to project UHC indicators linked to PHC and financial risk protection…
The potential role of AI in research priority setting exercises
To help achieve the goals of accountability and research excellence, funding organisations often utilise evidence from research priority setting exercises (RPSEs), which distil, from data gathered from relevant stakeholders, a systematic and 'objective' rank-order of research priorities. RPSEs are, however, costly and labour-intensive. Also, critics of RPSEs have highlighted certain limitations: insufficient representation of difficult-to-reach s…
The implementation of compulsory relationships and sex education in English secondary schools
The quality of sex education varies. In England from 2020, the government attempted to improve provision by making lessons a statutory requirement. We assessed implementation in 25 secondary schools in 2022–23, framed by May’s general theory of implementation. This identifies processes of sense-making, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring, influenced by an intervention’s capability, stakeholder potential (individual…
Sexual Harassment in Early Adolescence
There is little research on sexual harassment among younger adolescents or on how rates vary by gender and other student/school characteristics. Drawing on data from 50 English schools, we explored the prevalence and patterning of victimization in the past year among students aged 12-13. Of 7,060 participants, almost a tenth had experienced sexual harassment. Girls, non-binary students, and sexual-minority students reported the highest rates. Stu…
The mechanisms by which a whole-school intervention might improve sexual health
Whole-school interventions go beyond classroom education, promoting health by modifying school environments. These can be effective in delaying sexual debut and increasing contraception use but mechanisms are poorly understood. Qualitative research within realist evaluation can explore mechanisms via building 'context-mechanism-outcome configurations', describing how interventions trigger mechanisms that interact with context to generate outcomes…
What research evidence is required on violence against women to inform future pandemic preparedness? A scoping review of the research evidence and gaps
INTRODUCTION: Violence against women (VAW) during the COVID-19 pandemic was described as the 'shadow pandemic' with an increase in reports of VAW. As countries now focus on becoming more resilient to future pandemics, it is critical to understand what we learnt about evidence on VAW burden, prevention, and response during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO commissioned this scoping review to gain an understanding of the research evidence on VAW durin…
Student-reported relationships and sex education coverage and knowledge among a diverse population of early adolescents
Student-reported quality and coverage of school-based relationships and sex education (RSE) vary, with gender/sexual-minority and disadvantaged students reporting poorer provision. Experience of RSE among younger adolescents is under-explored. We examined student-reported RSE coverage and priorities and how coverage, and sexual-health knowledge and awareness of services, varies between students and schools. The data came from a pre-intervention s…
Men’s mental health and the arts
Arts engagement is gaining recognition as a non-clinical approach to promote mental health and well-being. However, the perceived utility of the arts to promote mental health among men with low socioeconomic status (SES) and how to best engage them is underexplored. This study explores the lived experiences of men with low SES who engage with the arts in Northern Ireland (n = 41). Data collected via focus groups (n = 5) and interviews (n = 11) we…
The acceptability, effectiveness and gender responsiveness of participatory arts interventions in promoting mental health and Wellbeing
Enacting whole‐school relationships and sexuality education in England
Evidence from intervention evaluations suggests that achieving meaningful and lasting social, behavioural and attitudinal change from relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools requires more than just a curriculum. Whole‐school approaches appear particularly promising since they work at multiple levels. For instance, they may: engage with carers, communities and local services; address iniquitous cultures and norms; change school p…
Adaptation of a gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health intervention for adolescent boys in South Africa and Lesotho using intervention mapping
The IM approach allows for a systematic appraisal of whether components and processes of an existing intervention are appropriate for a new target population before costly evaluation studies are conducted. The findings will be of interest to those wishing to rigourously develop and evaluate gender-transformative interventions engaging men to improve health for all
Gender-transformative programming with men and boys to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights
Young people’s sexual readiness
This study explored young people's understandings of sexual readiness and what influenced their decision to initiate first sex. Interviews conducted with 20 heterosexual young people aged 16-18 years, attending sexual health clinics in Northern Ireland, were analysed using a combined approach. This included comparing a researchers and youth advisory group's interpretations of the same data. Thematic analysis enabled comparison to draw out insight…
Young people’s views on the impact of care experiences on their ability to form positive intimate relationships
Existing literature tells us that one of the factors important to the sexual health and intimate relationships of adolescents is the extent to which teenagers feel emotionally connected and supported by their families. In this article, we analyse the experiences of disconnectedness from their families and transience during childhood reported by a sample of young adults formerly in care, and the influence they believed this had on their sense of s…
Things I did not know
In Canada, it is young, rural-based men who are at the greatest risk of suicide. While there is no consensus on the reasons for this, evidence points to contextual social factors including isolation, lack of confidential services, and pressure to uphold restrictive norms of rural masculinity. In this article, we share findings drawn from an instrumental photovoice case study to distil factors contributing to the suicide of a young, Canadian, rura…
Creating an eLearning Resource to Improve Knowledge and Understanding of Pregnancy in the Context of HIV Infection
Patient narratives have much to teach healthcare professionals about the experience of living with a chronic condition. While the biomedical narrative of HIV treatment is hugely encouraging, the narrative of living with HIV continues to be overshadowed by a persuasive perception of stigma. This paper presents how we sought to translate the evidence from a qualitative study of the perspectives of HIV affected pregnant women and expectant fathers o…
Gay men and intimate partner violence
Though intimate partner violence (IPV) is predominately understood as a women's health issue most often emerging within heterosexual relationships, there is increasing recognition of the existence of male victims of IPV. In this qualitative study we explored connections between masculinities and IPV among gay men. The findings show how recognising IPV was based on an array of participant experiences, including the emotional, physical and sexual a…
Where are all the men? The marginalization of men in social scientific research on infertility
How might we understand men's health better? Integrating explanations from critical studies on men and inequalities in health
Framing Men's Experience in the Procreative Realm
Informed by a critical men's studies perspective, as well as symbolic interactionist and life course themes, we explore how men's relationship to the procreative realm is currently conceptualized in academic scholarship and public policy debates. We articulate opportunities to advance our conceptual understanding of men's experiences with pregnancy and family planning by framing the procreative period as a multilayered, dynamic process. We also d…
Constructive Tensions in Feminist Technology Studies
Gender must be taken into account in a full understanding of technologies. Equally, technologies must be taken into account in a full understanding of gender. This poses a challenge for the individual scholarships of feminist studies and science and technology studies (S&TS), which, for the most part, can competently theorize either gender relations or technological relations, but neither school has the theoretical wherewithal to tackle the co-co…
Masculinities and Technologies
Come back public/private; (Almost) All is forgiven
Gay men and intimate partner violence
Though intimate partner violence (IPV) is predominately understood as a women's health issue most often emerging within heterosexual relationships, there is increasing recognition of the existence of male victims of IPV. In this qualitative study we explored connections between masculinities and IPV among gay men. The findings show how recognising IPV was based on an array of participant experiences, including the emotional, physical and sexual a…
Experiences of fathering a baby admitted to neonatal intensive care
More fathers than ever before attend at the birth of their child and, internationally, there is a palpable pressure on maternity and neonatal services to include and engage with fathers. It is, thus, more important than ever to understand how fathers experience reproductive and neonatal health services and to understand how fathers can be successfully accommodated in these environments alongside their partners. In this paper we advance a theoreti…
Enacting whole‐school relationships and sexuality education in England
Evidence from intervention evaluations suggests that achieving meaningful and lasting social, behavioural and attitudinal change from relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools requires more than just a curriculum. Whole‐school approaches appear particularly promising since they work at multiple levels. For instance, they may: engage with carers, communities and local services; address iniquitous cultures and norms; change school p…
Young people’s views on the impact of care experiences on their ability to form positive intimate relationships
Existing literature tells us that one of the factors important to the sexual health and intimate relationships of adolescents is the extent to which teenagers feel emotionally connected and supported by their families. In this article, we analyse the experiences of disconnectedness from their families and transience during childhood reported by a sample of young adults formerly in care, and the influence they believed this had on their sense of s…
Things I did not know
In Canada, it is young, rural-based men who are at the greatest risk of suicide. While there is no consensus on the reasons for this, evidence points to contextual social factors including isolation, lack of confidential services, and pressure to uphold restrictive norms of rural masculinity. In this article, we share findings drawn from an instrumental photovoice case study to distil factors contributing to the suicide of a young, Canadian, rura…
Adolescent men’s attitudes and decision-making in relation to an unplanned pregnancy. Responses to an interactive video drama
Men Who Have Sex with Men and Partner Notification in Ireland
The process of partner notification (or contact tracing) is regarded as the cornerstone in the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections, yet almost nothing is known of the lay experience of partner notification. This article draws on a mixed methods study designed to explore lay perspectives among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Greater Dublin Area in relation to partner notification for syphilis. Specifically, this articl…
Effects of a whole-school relationships and sexual health intervention on non-competent sexual debut
BACKGROUND: Relationships and sex education (RSE) impacts some sexual behaviours but could be strengthened by incorporating whole-school approaches (eg, building engagement, providing contraception). These can prevent pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections but are unevaluated in UK schools. METHODS: A cluster-randomised trial of 'Positive Choices' compared it with usual practice in English secondary schools. Intervention comprised: RSE, …
Adolescent Men's Pregnancy Resolution Choices in Relation to an Unintended Pregnancy
This article investigates adolescent men's pregnancy resolution choices in Australia, Ireland, and Italy. It addresses two main gaps in the literature: the lack of research on (adolescent) men's views on unintended pregnancy and pregnancy resolution and the lack of international comparative case studies on men and reproductive choices. Consistent with theories of the transformation of intimacies in society and the growth of individualization, the…
Explaining the Absence of the Lay Voice in Sexual Health Through Sociological Theories of Healthcare
Constructive Tensions in Feminist Technology Studies
Gender must be taken into account in a full understanding of technologies. Equally, technologies must be taken into account in a full understanding of gender. This poses a challenge for the individual scholarships of feminist studies and science and technology studies (S&TS), which, for the most part, can competently theorize either gender relations or technological relations, but neither school has the theoretical wherewithal to tackle the co-co…
Come back public/private; (Almost) All is forgiven
Masculinities and Technologies
Explaining the Absence of the Lay Voice in Sexual Health Through Sociological Theories of Healthcare
How might we understand men's health better? Integrating explanations from critical studies on men and inequalities in health
Regulating sexual bodies or addressing health needs? Men who have sex with men and partner notification
Partner notification is the process by which people who are thought to have been exposed to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are traced, informed about their exposure and invited to attend clinical services. It is the cornerstone of genitourinary medicine for the prevention and treatment of STIs. The central question of the article is whether partner notification (PN) represents the medical regulation of sexual bodies or is an appropriate m…
Men Who Have Sex with Men and Partner Notification in Ireland
The process of partner notification (or contact tracing) is regarded as the cornerstone in the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections, yet almost nothing is known of the lay experience of partner notification. This article draws on a mixed methods study designed to explore lay perspectives among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Greater Dublin Area in relation to partner notification for syphilis. Specifically, this articl…
The silent treatment
This paper is based on research undertaken in Ireland that sought to understand how parents communicate with their children about sexuality. Forty-three parents were interviewed and data were analysed using analytical induction. Data indicated that while parents tended to pride themselves on the culture of openness to sexuality that prevailed in their home, they often described situations where very little dialogue on the subject actually transpi…
It's another way of standing outside the door’ supplementary prescribing and doctor–nurse partnerships
Negotiation of risk in sexual relationships and reproductive decision-making amongst HIV sero-different couples
The paper focuses on the ways in which medical discourses of HIV transmission risk, personal bodily meanings and reproductive decision-making are re-negotiated within the context of sero-different relationships, in which one partner is known to be HIV-positive. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 individuals in Northern Ireland during 2008-2009. Drawing on an embodied sociological approach, the findings show that physical pleasure…
Adolescent men’s attitudes and decision-making in relation to an unplanned pregnancy. Responses to an interactive video drama
Parents' constructions of the sexual self-presentation and sexual conduct of adolescents
In this paper, we explore the discourses on sexuality that a sample of parents drew upon when they talked about teenage sexual self-presentation and conduct. The sample consisted of 43 parents (32 mothers and 11 fathers) of young people aged 10-19 years. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews and were analysed using a strategy known as modified analytical induction. Findings indicated that while an acceptance the traditional heterosexual sc…
Experiences of fathering a baby admitted to neonatal intensive care
More fathers than ever before attend at the birth of their child and, internationally, there is a palpable pressure on maternity and neonatal services to include and engage with fathers. It is, thus, more important than ever to understand how fathers experience reproductive and neonatal health services and to understand how fathers can be successfully accommodated in these environments alongside their partners. In this paper we advance a theoreti…
Where are all the men? The marginalization of men in social scientific research on infertility
Adolescent Men's Pregnancy Resolution Choices in Relation to an Unintended Pregnancy
This article investigates adolescent men's pregnancy resolution choices in Australia, Ireland, and Italy. It addresses two main gaps in the literature: the lack of research on (adolescent) men's views on unintended pregnancy and pregnancy resolution and the lack of international comparative case studies on men and reproductive choices. Consistent with theories of the transformation of intimacies in society and the growth of individualization, the…
Framing Men's Experience in the Procreative Realm
Informed by a critical men's studies perspective, as well as symbolic interactionist and life course themes, we explore how men's relationship to the procreative realm is currently conceptualized in academic scholarship and public policy debates. We articulate opportunities to advance our conceptual understanding of men's experiences with pregnancy and family planning by framing the procreative period as a multilayered, dynamic process. We also d…
Creating an eLearning Resource to Improve Knowledge and Understanding of Pregnancy in the Context of HIV Infection
Patient narratives have much to teach healthcare professionals about the experience of living with a chronic condition. While the biomedical narrative of HIV treatment is hugely encouraging, the narrative of living with HIV continues to be overshadowed by a persuasive perception of stigma. This paper presents how we sought to translate the evidence from a qualitative study of the perspectives of HIV affected pregnant women and expectant fathers o…
Gay men and intimate partner violence
Though intimate partner violence (IPV) is predominately understood as a women's health issue most often emerging within heterosexual relationships, there is increasing recognition of the existence of male victims of IPV. In this qualitative study we explored connections between masculinities and IPV among gay men. The findings show how recognising IPV was based on an array of participant experiences, including the emotional, physical and sexual a…
Young people’s views on the impact of care experiences on their ability to form positive intimate relationships
Existing literature tells us that one of the factors important to the sexual health and intimate relationships of adolescents is the extent to which teenagers feel emotionally connected and supported by their families. In this article, we analyse the experiences of disconnectedness from their families and transience during childhood reported by a sample of young adults formerly in care, and the influence they believed this had on their sense of s…
Things I did not know
In Canada, it is young, rural-based men who are at the greatest risk of suicide. While there is no consensus on the reasons for this, evidence points to contextual social factors including isolation, lack of confidential services, and pressure to uphold restrictive norms of rural masculinity. In this article, we share findings drawn from an instrumental photovoice case study to distil factors contributing to the suicide of a young, Canadian, rura…
Gender-transformative programming with men and boys to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights
Young people’s sexual readiness
This study explored young people's understandings of sexual readiness and what influenced their decision to initiate first sex. Interviews conducted with 20 heterosexual young people aged 16-18 years, attending sexual health clinics in Northern Ireland, were analysed using a combined approach. This included comparing a researchers and youth advisory group's interpretations of the same data. Thematic analysis enabled comparison to draw out insight…
Adaptation of a gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health intervention for adolescent boys in South Africa and Lesotho using intervention mapping
The IM approach allows for a systematic appraisal of whether components and processes of an existing intervention are appropriate for a new target population before costly evaluation studies are conducted. The findings will be of interest to those wishing to rigourously develop and evaluate gender-transformative interventions engaging men to improve health for all
The acceptability, effectiveness and gender responsiveness of participatory arts interventions in promoting mental health and Wellbeing
Enacting whole‐school relationships and sexuality education in England
Evidence from intervention evaluations suggests that achieving meaningful and lasting social, behavioural and attitudinal change from relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools requires more than just a curriculum. Whole‐school approaches appear particularly promising since they work at multiple levels. For instance, they may: engage with carers, communities and local services; address iniquitous cultures and norms; change school p…
Psychology (24 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (21 works) · Medicine (17 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Political science (14 works) · Gender Studies (13 works) · Gender Roles and Identity Studies (11 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Reproductive health (9 works)