Alister Munthali
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 210691 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Alister Munthali |
| NOMBRES | Alister |
| APELLIDO | Munthali |
| FIRMA | MUNTHALI A |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Malawi |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3495-3446 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 48 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 194 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 48 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2001 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 8 |
Beyond the Demographic and Health Survey
box At the start of 2025, the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) programme was paused due to the defunding of USAID, illustrating the fragility of the international data infrastructures on which many national health systems rely
Effect of combining lower- and higher-value monthly cash transfers with nutrition-sensitive agriculture, male engagement and psychosocial intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Malawi
Maternal depression affects one in five women in Malawi. Integrated interventions simultaneously addressing multiple risks are a promising strategy to improve mental health. This study evaluated the impact of a nutrition-sensitive social behaviour change (SBC) intervention (agriculture and livelihoods, male engagement and Caring for the Caregiver) with or without cash transfers on maternal perinatal depression during the lean season in rural Mala…
Exploring challenges experienced by older persons in accessing health services in Malawi
Background: Malawi, like other developing countries, is not prepared to adequately address the health needs of older persons. Objectives: This article explores challenges older persons experience in accessing health care. Method: This article is based on data from two large. Conducted in Blantyre, Phalombe, Dowa and Rumphi Districts, the EquitAble study examined self-reported barriers. The GeoHealthAccess study examined geographical barriers, con…
Understanding modifiable caregiver factors contributing to child development among young children in rural Malawi
This study examined modifiable caregiver factors influencing child development in Malawi using baseline data from 1,021 mothers and their children <2 years of age participating in a cluster-randomized controlled trial implemented in rural Malawi (2022-2025). We fit an evidence-based theoretical model using structural equation modelling examining four caregiver factors: (1) diet diversity (sum of food groups consumed in the past 24 h), (2) empower…
Recognizing the rights of children with disabilities in Malawi
Little is known about the realization of the rights of children with disabilities in Malawi, including which rights are being met or violated, where protection of rights must be reinforced, and ways that society can support the rights. This study explored the realization of the rights of children with disabilities in Malawi. Data generation included interviews with 30 children with disabilities (15 boys, 15 girls). Data were analyzed using conten…
Community bylaws concerning sexual and reproductive health and rights in Machinga District, Malawi
The study revealed that community bylaws were accepted but not owned by young people, and had different effects on the rich versus the poor, and girls versus young men. Bylaws were associated with punishment in terms of money, which seemed to overpower their potential to promote rights and address social norms underlying SRHR issues of the youth
Drivers of child marriage in specific settings of Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia – findings from the Yes I Do! baseline study
Multiple intersecting drivers, which were present in different degrees in each country setting, influenced the occurrence of child marriage. We found that child marriage is a manifestation of social norms, particularly related to girls' sexuality, which are intersecting with other factors at individual, social, material, and institutional level - most prominently poverty or economic constraints. Child marriage was, in some cases, a result of girl…
Political economy analysis of subnational health management in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda
The need to bolster primary health care (PHC) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for health is well recognized. In Eastern and Southern Africa, where governments have progressively decentralized health decision-making, health management is critical to PHC performance. While investments in health management capacity are important, so is improving the environment in which managers operate. Governance arrangements, management …
The challenges of implementing antibiotic stewardship in diverse poultry value chains in Kenya
This paper investigates the challenges of implementing antibiotic stewardship – reducing and optimizing the use of antibiotics – in agricultural settings of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) as a strategic part of addressing the global problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It does so through analysis of the rapidly transforming yet diverse Kenyan poultry sector, characterized by growing commercial operations alongside traditional smal…
Relevance of assistive technology and the sustainable development goals to stakeholder organizations in Malawi
Assistive technologies are critical to supporting the participation and engagement of persons with disabilities and others who experience functional difficulties in daily life. Assistive products have been demonstrated to be related to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); however, no previous research has explored the relationship between assistive technology (AT) and the SDGs from the perspective of stakeholder organisati…
Network analysis of assistive technology stakeholders in Malawi
BACKGROUND: Assistive technologies promote participation and quality of life for people with disabilities and other functional limitations. There is a global call to develop and implement policies to improve access to assistive technologies. In response, a stakeholder led initiative in Malawi is working towards the development of such a policy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the existing network of stakeholders, and the stre…
Being dragged into adulthood? Young people’s agency concerning sex, relationships and marriage in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia
This study aimed to explore how young people exercise agency in rural Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia in relation to sex, relationships and marriage, to inform local programmes aiming to prevent teenage pregnancy and child marriage. In each country, focus group discussions with young people and parents, in-depth interviews with young people and a variety of other participants, and a household survey with young people (15-24 years) were conducted. W…
Using Prospective Methods to Identify Fieldwork Locations Favourable to Understanding Divergences in Health Care Accessibility
Central to this article is the issue of choosing sites for where a fieldwork could provide a better understanding of divergences in health care accessibility. Access to health care is critical to good health, but inhabitants may experience barriers to health care limiting their ability to obtain the care they need. Most inhabitants of low-income countries need to walk long distances along meandering paths to get to health care services. Individua…
Barriers to sexual and reproductive education among in-school adolescents in Zomba and Mangochi districts, Malawi
Teenage pregnancy and child marriage continue to rise in Malawi despite the introduction of compulsory Life Skills education in primary schools in 2002. A qualitative approach, employing focus group discussions with participants was used to explore the barriers faced by teachers in delivering sexual and reproductive health education in primary schools in southern districts of Malawi. Pupils, teachers and parents from a total of 10 primary schools…
Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing the Use of Assistive Technology among Children with Disabilities in Malawi
This paper aims to address the information gap on the influence of socio-demographic factors on access and utilization of Assistive Technology (AT) among children with disabilities in Malawi. Thus, it contributes towards the realization of the recommendations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities and the development of a framework for creating an effective national AT policy. The paper used two statistically matched data…
Exploring equity and inclusion in Malawi’s National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation Plan
The development of disability policies and associated implementation strategies requires equitable and inclusive processes that consider input from all stakeholders especially those whose wellbeing depend on such policies. It is pivotal for government and organisations in the process of policy or strategy development and implementation, to involve stakeholders in a virtuous process of co-production - co-implementation - co-evaluation, which may s…
Incidence and predictors of hospital readmission in children presenting with severe anaemia in Uganda and Malawi
ISRCTN ISRCTN84086586
Service Use and Resilience among Adolescents Living with HIV in Blantyre, Malawi
Adolescent centred-approaches have the potential to enhance resilience promoting resources and outcomes. A multi-sectoral approach to service use and provision is critical to inform adolescent intervention programs and wellbeing
Informal mhealth at scale in Africa
The extraordinary global growth of digital connectivity has generated optimism that mobile technologies can help overcome infrastructural barriers to development, with 'mobile health' (mhealth) being a key component of this. However, while 'formal' (top-down) mhealth programmes continue to face challenges of scalability and sustainability, we know relatively little about how health-workers are using their own mobile phones informally in their wor…
Using locational data in a novel mixed-methods sequence design
The primary aim of this study was to determine which health care barriers were most important for people with disabilities in Malawi. To accomplish this, we devised a sequential mixed-methods research design that integrated locational survey data and qualitative data from field studies. Our secondary aim was to evaluate this research design not only as a design-solution to our particular research objective, but as a tool with more general applica…
Combining survey data, GIS and qualitative interviews in the analysis of health service access for persons with disabilities
BACKGROUND: Equitable access to health services is a key ingredient in reaching health for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. So far, research on access to health services in low- and middle-income countries has largely relied on self-reported survey data. Realizing that there may be substantial discrepancies between perceived and actual access, other methods are needed for more precise knowledge to guide health policy and pla…
Discordance, Disclosure and Normative Gender Roles
A community-based HIV self-testing study in Blantyre, Malawi demonstrated that not all individuals living in couples tested with their partner. We describe factors dissuading individuals in couples from self-testing with their partner. Data were drawn from qualitative study exploring consequences of HIV self-testing within couples. In-depth interviews were conducted with 33 individuals living in couples who tested alone. Participants expressed fe…
Connecting with home, keeping in touch
There is a long history of migration among low-income families in sub-Saharan Africa, in which (usually young, often male) members leave home to seek their fortune in what are perceived to be more favourable locations. While the physical and virtual mobility practices of such stretched families are often complex and contingent, maintaining contact with distantly located close kin is frequently of crucial importance for the maintenance of emotiona…
Young People’s Daily Mobilities in Sub-Saharan Africa
This book explores the daily mobilities and immobilities of children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors draw on findings from rural and urban field research extending over many years, culminating in a 24-site study across three African countries: Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa. Wider reflections on gender, relationality, the politics of mobility, and field methodology frame the study. By bringing together diverse strands of a co…
Maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and its association to birth size in rural Malawi
In low-resource settings, such as rural Malawi, pregnant women are prone to energy and micronutrient deficiencies with the consequence of delivering low-birth weight infants with higher risks of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to examine the association between maternal dietary intakes during pregnancy and infant birth size. Dietary intakes of 203 pregnant women were assessed between 28 and 35 weeks of gestation and their infants' (n = …
Lineage and land reforms in Malawi
Based on government statistics and interviews with villagers across Malawi this article argues that customary matrilineal and patrilineal land tenure systems serve to weaken security of land tenure for some family members as well as obstructing the creation of gender-neutral inheritance of lands. Data from the National Census of Agriculture and Livestock 2007and the 2008 Population and Housing Census are used to characterize marriage systems and …
Moving young lives
Context Matters
A growing body of research suggests that orphanhood and fostering might be (independently) associated with educational disadvantage in sub-Saharan Africa. However, literature on the impacts of orphanhood and fostering on school enrolment, attendance and progress produces equivocal, and often conflicting, results. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative data from sixteen field-sites in Ghana and Malawi, highlighting the importance of hi…
Informal m-health
The African communications 'revolution' has generated optimism that mobile phones might help overcome infrastructural barriers to healthcare provision in resource-poor contexts. However, while formal m-health programmes remain limited in coverage and scope, young people are using mobile phones creatively and strategically in an attempt to secure effective healthcare. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected in 2012-2014 from over 45…
Where dogs, ghosts and lions roam
This paper draws on mobility research conducted with children in three countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. It has two interlinked aims: to highlight the potential that mobile interviews can offer in research with young people, especially in research contexts where the main focus is on mobility and its impacts, and to contribute empirical evidence regarding the significance of everyday mobility to young people's lives and future life chance…
Children as Research Collaborators
This paper reflects on issues raised by work with children in an ongoing child mobility study in three sub‐Saharan African countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. There are now 70 school pupils of varying ages involved in the project, but the paper is particularly concerned with the participation of those children 14 years and under. We examine the significant ethical issues associated with working with younger child researchers, and linked qu…
Child Porterage and Africa’s Transport Gap
Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone
Cell phones present new forms of sociality and new possibilities of encounter for young people across the globe. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa where the scale of usage, even among the very poor, is remarkable. In this paper we reflect on the inter-generational encounters which are embedded in young people’s cell phone interactions, and consider the wider societal implications, not least the potential for associated shift…
Who bears the cost of ‘informal mhealth’? Health-workers’ mobile phone practices and associated political-moral economies of care in Ghana and Malawi
Africa's recent communications 'revolution' has generated optimism that using mobile phones for health (mhealth) can help bridge healthcare gaps, particularly for rural, hard-to-reach populations. However, while scale-up of mhealth pilots remains limited, health-workers across the continent possess mobile phones. This article draws on interviews from Ghana and Malawi to ask whether/how health-workers are using their phones informally and with wha…
Connecting with home, keeping in touch
There is a long history of migration among low-income families in sub-Saharan Africa, in which (usually young, often male) members leave home to seek their fortune in what are perceived to be more favourable locations. While the physical and virtual mobility practices of such stretched families are often complex and contingent, maintaining contact with distantly located close kin is frequently of crucial importance for the maintenance of emotiona…
Taking the long view
Children are increasingly engaged in the research process as generators of knowledge, but little is known about the impacts on children's lives, especially in the longer term. As part of a study on children's mobility in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa, 70 child researchers received training to conduct peer research in their own communities. Evaluations at the time of the project suggested largely positive impacts on the child researchers: increas…
Doing Fieldwork at Home
The bulk of anthropological theory grew out of western anthropologists studying “exotic” cultures. The end of colonialism, the reduction of funding for academic institutions, the increase in student enrolment and difficulties in accessing the field are some of the factors that contributed to the practice of anthropology at home in the west by western anthropologists. However, most anthropologists from Third World countries have in most cases cond…
Informal mhealth at scale in Africa
The extraordinary global growth of digital connectivity has generated optimism that mobile technologies can help overcome infrastructural barriers to development, with 'mobile health' (mhealth) being a key component of this. However, while 'formal' (top-down) mhealth programmes continue to face challenges of scalability and sustainability, we know relatively little about how health-workers are using their own mobile phones informally in their wor…
Explanatory models for disability
Health providers’ understanding of disability determines how disabled people are treated, and hence it is imperative to address conceptualisations of disability, as this will contribute to better opportunities and realisation of human rights for disabled people. This article will use data from a qualitative study exploring conceptualisations of disability by 22 health service providers from the total health care system in Malawi, including the pr…
The challenges of implementing antibiotic stewardship in diverse poultry value chains in Kenya
This paper investigates the challenges of implementing antibiotic stewardship – reducing and optimizing the use of antibiotics – in agricultural settings of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) as a strategic part of addressing the global problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It does so through analysis of the rapidly transforming yet diverse Kenyan poultry sector, characterized by growing commercial operations alongside traditional smal…
Doing Fieldwork at Home
The bulk of anthropological theory grew out of western anthropologists studying “exotic” cultures. The end of colonialism, the reduction of funding for academic institutions, the increase in student enrolment and difficulties in accessing the field are some of the factors that contributed to the practice of anthropology at home in the west by western anthropologists. However, most anthropologists from Third World countries have in most cases cond…
Where dogs, ghosts and lions roam
This paper draws on mobility research conducted with children in three countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. It has two interlinked aims: to highlight the potential that mobile interviews can offer in research with young people, especially in research contexts where the main focus is on mobility and its impacts, and to contribute empirical evidence regarding the significance of everyday mobility to young people's lives and future life chance…
Children as Research Collaborators
This paper reflects on issues raised by work with children in an ongoing child mobility study in three sub‐Saharan African countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. There are now 70 school pupils of varying ages involved in the project, but the paper is particularly concerned with the participation of those children 14 years and under. We examine the significant ethical issues associated with working with younger child researchers, and linked qu…
Remuneration discrepancies in the landlocked economies of Malaŵi and Uganda
Although the original study of remuneration differences between local and expatriate development workers took place in the landlocked economy of Malaŵi, the study has never been replicated outside of one sector and organization (the National University), and took place prior to the 2000 Millennium Development Goals. Participating in the present studies were 458 aid and development professionals, working across a range of sectors in Malaŵi (n = 24…
Moving young lives
Mobility, surveillance and control of children and young people in the everyday
Surveillance of children and young people in non-Western contexts has received little attention in the literature. In this paper we draw principally on our research in one African country, Malawi, to examine the ways in which their independent travel is shaped by (usually adult-directed) surveillance and control in diverse urban and rural contexts. Surveillance is interpreted very broadly, because our empirical data indicates a range of practices…
Taking the long view
Children are increasingly engaged in the research process as generators of knowledge, but little is known about the impacts on children's lives, especially in the longer term. As part of a study on children's mobility in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa, 70 child researchers received training to conduct peer research in their own communities. Evaluations at the time of the project suggested largely positive impacts on the child researchers: increas…
Core Concepts of Human Rights and Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in the Disability and Rehabilitation Policies of Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, and South Africa
In recent decades, there has been a push to incorporate the World Health Organization “Health for All” principles in national, regional, and local health policy documents. However, there is still no methodology guiding the appraisal of such policies with regard to the extent that they address social inclusion. In this article, the authors report on the development of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework that was used to evaluate the disab…
Child Porterage and Africa’s Transport Gap
Seeking care for epilepsy and its impacts on households in a rural district in southern Malawi
The existing barriers to accessing treatment for epilepsy can be addressed by using a combination of public education, simple treatments and regular reviews. Ensuring constant availability of drugs for the treatment of epilepsy is key to effective treatment of the condition. This would contribute to closing the treatment gap for epilepsy as advocated by the Global Campaign against Epilepsy
Learning from doing the EquitAble project
We identified contextual and process learning points, factors often not discussed in papers, which typically focus on the reporting of the 'content' of results
Factors Shaping Initial Decision-Making to Self-test Amongst Cohabiting Couples in Urban Blantyre, Malawi
In sub-Saharan Africa, most new HIV infections occur in stable relationships, making couples testing an important intervention for HIV prevention. We explored factors shaping the decision-making of cohabiting couples who opted to self-test in Blantyre, Malawi. Thirty-four self-tested participants (17 couples) were interviewed. Motivators for HIV self-testing (HIVST) emerged at three main levels. Individual motivations included perceived benefits …
Lineage and land reforms in Malawi
Based on government statistics and interviews with villagers across Malawi this article argues that customary matrilineal and patrilineal land tenure systems serve to weaken security of land tenure for some family members as well as obstructing the creation of gender-neutral inheritance of lands. Data from the National Census of Agriculture and Livestock 2007and the 2008 Population and Housing Census are used to characterize marriage systems and …
Context Matters
A growing body of research suggests that orphanhood and fostering might be (independently) associated with educational disadvantage in sub-Saharan Africa. However, literature on the impacts of orphanhood and fostering on school enrolment, attendance and progress produces equivocal, and often conflicting, results. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative data from sixteen field-sites in Ghana and Malawi, highlighting the importance of hi…
Policies and Processes for Social Inclusion
The application of EquiFrame in the analysis of sexual and reproductive health policies by Ivanova et al to a new thematic area, their selection of only some of the Core Concepts of human rights in health service provision and the addition of new vulnerable groups relevant to the purpose of their analysis, are all very welcome developments. We also applaud their application of EquiFrame to policies in countries where it has not previously been us…
Explanatory models for disability
Health providers’ understanding of disability determines how disabled people are treated, and hence it is imperative to address conceptualisations of disability, as this will contribute to better opportunities and realisation of human rights for disabled people. This article will use data from a qualitative study exploring conceptualisations of disability by 22 health service providers from the total health care system in Malawi, including the pr…
Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone
Cell phones present new forms of sociality and new possibilities of encounter for young people across the globe. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa where the scale of usage, even among the very poor, is remarkable. In this paper we reflect on the inter-generational encounters which are embedded in young people’s cell phone interactions, and consider the wider societal implications, not least the potential for associated shift…
Informal m-health
The African communications 'revolution' has generated optimism that mobile phones might help overcome infrastructural barriers to healthcare provision in resource-poor contexts. However, while formal m-health programmes remain limited in coverage and scope, young people are using mobile phones creatively and strategically in an attempt to secure effective healthcare. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected in 2012-2014 from over 45…
Responding to Risk
Understanding behavioral responses to changes in actual or perceived risk is important because risk-reduction goals can be undermined by risk-compensating behavior. This paper examines the response to new information about the risk of HIV infection. Approximately 1,200 circumcised and uncircumcised men in rural Malawi are randomly informed that male circumcision reduces the HIV transmission rate, predicting asymmetric behavioral responses. We fin…
Investigating Preterm Care at the Facility Level
Seeking Biomedical and Traditional Treatment is a Spiritual Lapse Among Zionists
The Enabling Universal and Equitable Access to Healthcare for Vulnerable People in Resource Poor Settings in Africa (Equitable) Project was conducted in Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, and the Sudan between 2009 and 2012. It was aimed at determining the challenges which vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, experience when accessing health care. It also aimed at identifying non-users of health services at the community level and re…
Factors Influencing Delayed Health Care Seeking Among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Suspects in Rural Communities in Ntcheu District, Malawi
Delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) among individuals suspected of having TB may lead to continued transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in communities, higher mortality rates, and increase in government health expenditure because of prolonged illness due to late diagnosis and treatment initiation. The study explored factors leading to delayed health care seeking among individuals living in Ntcheu District, Malawi. Two key i…
Young People’s Daily Mobilities in Sub-Saharan Africa
This book explores the daily mobilities and immobilities of children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors draw on findings from rural and urban field research extending over many years, culminating in a 24-site study across three African countries: Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa. Wider reflections on gender, relationality, the politics of mobility, and field methodology frame the study. By bringing together diverse strands of a co…
Maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and its association to birth size in rural Malawi
In low-resource settings, such as rural Malawi, pregnant women are prone to energy and micronutrient deficiencies with the consequence of delivering low-birth weight infants with higher risks of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to examine the association between maternal dietary intakes during pregnancy and infant birth size. Dietary intakes of 203 pregnant women were assessed between 28 and 35 weeks of gestation and their infants' (n = …
Who bears the cost of ‘informal mhealth’? Health-workers’ mobile phone practices and associated political-moral economies of care in Ghana and Malawi
Africa's recent communications 'revolution' has generated optimism that using mobile phones for health (mhealth) can help bridge healthcare gaps, particularly for rural, hard-to-reach populations. However, while scale-up of mhealth pilots remains limited, health-workers across the continent possess mobile phones. This article draws on interviews from Ghana and Malawi to ask whether/how health-workers are using their phones informally and with wha…
Medicine (26 obras) · Political science (25 obras) · Sociology (25 obras) · Economic growth (20 obras) · Psychology (20 obras) · Business (16 obras) · Economics (13 obras) · Geography (13 obras) · Global Maternal and Child Health (13 obras) · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare (13 obras)