Nicola Desmond

Dados Biográficos

ID1731950
NOMENicola Desmond
PRENOMESNicola
SOBRENOMEDesmond
ASSINATURADESMOND N
AFILIAÇÕESUniversity of Liverpool
ORCID0000-0002-2874-8569
VERIFICADOSim
TOTAL DE OBRAS41
TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES28
TOTAL COMO AUTOR41
TOTAL COMO EDITOR0
PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO2005
ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO2026
ÍNDICE H2

  • How the multiple burdens of daily oral antiretroviral therapy shape the acceptability of long-acting injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine among people living with HIV in Uganda and South Africa

    Open AccessDominic Bukenya, Agnes Ssali et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2026

    Long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (LAI-ART) has the potential to improve adherence and treatment outcomes among people living with HIV (PLHIV) who experience challenges with adherence to oral medication. We explored how experiences with daily oral ART shaped LAI-ART acceptability within a clinical trial in Uganda and South Africa. A qualitative methods sub-study was nested within a phase 3b randomised clinical trial evaluating long-ac…

  • A context-responsive health systems intervention improves the uptake of early infant HIV diagnosis

    Open AccessLeticia Chimwemwe Suwedi-Kapesa, Augustine Choko et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Health system challenges limit uptake of early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID). Context-appropriate strategies are required to achieve global 95% six-week testing target. We evaluated a co-designed context-appropriate enhanced health system (EEHS) intervention to strengthen client identification, appointment booking systems, leadership, and facility-based training to improve enrolment of Infants Exposed to HIV (IEH) in HIV care and testing at six w…

  • Acceptability of Covid-19 self-testing among social and clinical vulnerable populations using a decentralized testing model in Abuja, Nigeria; A mixed methods analysis of an implementation study

    Open AccessElvis Isere, John Bimba et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Diagnostic testing is critical during infectious disease outbreaks, enabling timely patient management and isolation to reduce transmission and mortality. During the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, testing rates remained low due to limited access to centralized RT-PCR sites. To expand access, the National COVID-19 Testing Strategy (January 2021) introduced decentralized self-testing models targeting vulnerable populations. This study assessed the u…

  • Expert stakeholders on the role of qualitative research in World Health Organisation guidelines

    Open AccessMelissa Taylor, Pamela Garner et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2026Referências: 29

    Qualitative research findings are sometimes used in guideline development, but usually in an ad hoc manner. We sought to explore how qualitative research could contribute to guideline development, identify examples of qualitative research being used to inform guideline development, and gather suggestions for how qualitative research might be incorporated more systematically in guideline development. Using a topic guide, in 2022–24, we interviewed…

  • Developing an intervention to improve early infant HIV diagnosis service uptake among postpartum women in Malawi’s primary healthcare using a co-designing approach with stakeholders

    Open AccessLeticia Chimwemwe Suwedi-Kapesa, Augustine Choko et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    Low health service use by women and infants after birth limits early infant HIV diagnosis (EID). From August 2021 to December 2022, we collaborated with 44 healthcare workers (HCW), service users, and non-governmental organisation stakeholders from seven public facilities and five non-governmental organisations in Blantyre, building on a previous study. We analysed context-specific problems in EID services and co-designed a context-appropriate en…

  • Covid-19 diagnosis within five days of symptoms onset among healthcare workers in Malawi; Non-randomized control trial of self-testing using Ag-RDTs

    Open AccessChimwemwe Kwanjo Banda, Wezzie Lora et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    Efficient and sustainable models of Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) screening among healthcare workers (HCWs) such as self-testing are essential for averting transmission within and outside health care facilities. We compared the number of confirmed early COVID‐19 positive diagnoses (defined as COVID‐19 cases diagnosed within five days of symptoms onset) among HCW in self-testing arm using Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test kits (Ag-RDT) and s…

  • Understanding the acceptability of Covid-19 antigen rapid diagnostic tests

    Open AccessWezzie Lora, Wezzie S Lora et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    Accessible and timely diagnostic testing was essential during the COVID-19 pandemic to control the virus’s spread and mitigate severe outcomes. However, real-time polymerase chain reaction tests, although sensitive incur high costs and prolonged turnaround times, and face implementation challenges in many resource-constrained settings. Antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT), which can be administered either by providers or as self-tests, are acc…

  • Self-management of chronic conditions including multimorbidity in sub-Saharan Africa

    Open AccessSangwani Salimu, Melissa Taylor et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    The increasing prevalence of multimorbidity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is an urgent concern for health service delivery, yet little is known about how best to support self-management- the tasks patients and carers take to maintain physical and mental health in this context. This review synthesized qualitative evidence that describes self-management of four chronic conditions- HIV, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension, including mul…

  • Exploring the Interplay of Social and Physical Factors in Risk Dynamics and Transitions Across the Life-Course of Female Sex Workers in Blantyre, Malawi

    Open AccessWezzie Lora, Doreen Sakala et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025

    Sexual risk amongst female sex workers (FSW) varies across the life-course and is influenced by socio-economic and interpersonal factors that affect behavioural choices and engagement in HIV/STI care. We explored transitions in the life-course of FSW to understand the dynamics of sexual risk in Blantyre, Malawi. We implemented a nested longitudinal qualitative study as part of the AMETHIST Consortium, a study testing approaches to reduce HIV tran…

  • Improving care pathways for children with severe illness through implementation of the Aspire mHealth primary Etat package in Malawi

    Open AccessNicola Desmond, Marc Y R Henrion et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024

    Providing emergency care in low resource settings relies on delivery by lower cadres of health workers (LCHW). We describe the development, implementation and mixed methods evaluation of a mobile health (mHealth) triage algorithm based on the WHO Emergency, Triage, Assessment, and Treatment (ETAT) for primary-level care. We conducted an observational study design of implementation research. Key stakeholders were engaged throughout implementation.…

  • ‘Why would they spend all this money and give us these items for free?’

    Open AccessJane Ardrey, Kate Jehan et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    We carried out a qualitative study to gain a deeper understanding of the social context of the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS) and implications for implementation of clean cooking and similar interventions. Such initiatives are recognised as complex, power-laden processes, which has consequences for outcomes and uptake. However, understanding of how precarious livelihoods and unequal power differentials impact on trials of technology is limite…

  • Power and Powerlessness in a Group Based Digital Story Telling Project-An Exploration of Community Perceptions of Health Concerns in Urban Malawi

    Open AccessDeborah Nyirenda, Chipiliro Payesa et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2022

    Digital Story Telling (DST) is an art-based research method used to explore embodied experience of health and initiate dialogue with under-represented groups on issues affecting them. It involves engaging participants to create and share their stories using photos, drawings, and audio recordings in short videos. Benefits of DST include enhancing co-creation of knowledge, empowering participants to confront dominant narratives and revise inaccurat…

  • A critical examination of research narratives ‘rumours’ and passive community resistance in medical research

    Open AccessDeborah Nyirenda, Sakari Sariola et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    Several studies in Africa have reported effects of ‘rumours, misconceptions or misinformation’ on medical research participation and uptake of health interventions. As such, community engagement has sometimes been used for instrumental purposes to enhance acceptability of research or interventions and prevent ‘rumours’. This paper seeks to highlight the value of ongoing engagement with communities to understand research narratives ‘rumours’ repro…

  • Resource availability and barriers to delivering quality care for newborns in hospitals in the southern region of Malawi

    Open AccessMtisunge Gondwe, Nicola Desmond et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    Facility-based births have increased in low and middle-income countries, but babies still die due to poor care. Improving care leads to better newborn outcomes. However, data are lacking on how well facilities are prepared to support. We assessed the availability of human and material resources and barriers to delivering quality care for newborns and barriers to delivering quality care for newborns. We adapted the WHO Service Availability and Rea…

  • Effect of door-to-door distribution of HIV self-testing kits on HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy initiation

    Open AccessPitchaya Indravudh, Katherine Fielding et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2021

    INTRODUCTION: Reaching high coverage of HIV testing remains essential for HIV diagnosis, treatment and prevention. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of door-to-door distribution of HIV self-testing (HIVST) kits in rural Malawi. METHODS: This cluster randomised trial, conducted between September 2016 and January 2018, used restricted 1:1 randomisation to allocate 22 health facilities and their defined areas to door-to-door HIVST alongside …

  • Paediatric Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment (Etat) – preparedness for implementation at primary care facilities in Malawi

    Open AccessCarina King, Albert Dube et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2021

    BACKGROUND: The majority of deaths amongst children under 5 years are still due to preventable infectious causes. Emergency care has been identified as a key health system weakness, and referrals are often challenging. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish how prepared frontline facilities in Malawi are to implement WHO Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) guidelines, to support policy and planning decisions. METHODS: We conducted a concur…

  • ‘Cooking is for everyone?’

    Open AccessJane Ardrey, Kate Jehan et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2021

    BACKGROUND: Household air pollution (HAP) resulting from cooking on open fires has been linked to considerable ill-health in women and girls, including chronic respiratory diseases, and has been identified as a contributor to climate change. It has been suggested that cleaner burning cookstoves can mitigate these risks, and that time saved through speedier cooking can lead to the economic empowerment of women. Despite these and other potential ad…

  • Too old to test?’

    Open AccessCheryl Johnson, Moses Kumwenda et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2021

    Characteristics associated with age-gender norms and social position encourage self-testing but drive poor HIV-risk perception and unacceptability of conventional HIV testing in midlife-older adults. There is an urgent need to provide targeted messages and services more appropriate to midlife-older adults in sub-Saharan Africa. HIVST which has often been highlighted as a tool for reaching young people, may be a valuable tool for engaging midlife-…

  • “I wanted evidence that my status had changed, so that is why I tested”

    Wezzie Lora, Nicola Desmond et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2020

    HIV testing among female sex workers (FSWs) is an established global health priority. HIV self-testing (HIVST) seems to have the potential to address issues of confidentiality, privacy and convenience among this key population. HIVST, however, may result in unintended consequences as its implementation unfolds in a complex sex work context characterised by unequal power relations, stigma and high HIV prevalence. We aimed to explore the experience…

  • Sex, power, marginalisation and HIV amongst young fishermen in Malawi

    Open AccessEleanor E Macpherson, Maxwell Phiri et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2020Citada por: 1Referências: 38

    Through scale-up of effective treatment and prevention, HIV incidence rates are falling across Southern and Eastern Africa. However, key population groups, including people living in fishing communities, continue to face an elevated risk of infection and have high rates of undiagnosed disease. We set out to investigate how intersecting inequalities make young fishermen working on the southern shores of Lake Malawi particularly vulnerable to HIV-i…

  • Public engagement in Malawi through a health-talk radio programme ‘ Umoyo nkukambirana ’

    Open AccessDeborah Nyirenda, Tamara Chipasula Makawa et al.ARTICLEPublic Understanding of Science2018

    Radio is an effective source of health information in many resource poor countries. In Malawi, 53% of households own radios however few radio programmes in Malawi focus on health issues in the context of medical research. An interactive health-talk radio programme ‘ Umoyo nkukambirana’ was introduced by Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme on a national radio station. The aim was to increase awareness of health and medical …

  • ‘We are the eyes and ears of researchers and community’

    Open AccessDeborah Nyirenda, Sakari Sariola et al.ARTICLEDeveloping World Bioethics2018

    Community engagement to protect and empower participating individuals and communities is an ethical requirement in research. There is however limited evidence on effectiveness or relevance of some of the approaches used to improve ethical practice. We conducted a study to understand the rationale, relevance and benefits of community engagement in health research. This paper draws from this wider study and focuses on factors that shaped Community …

  • The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based lay distribution of HIV self-tests in increasing uptake of HIV testing among adults in rural Malawi and rural and peri-urban Zambia

    Open AccessMelissa Neuman, Pitchaya Indravudh et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018

    Clinicaltrials.gov, Malawi: NCT02718274 , 18 March 2016; Zambia: NCT02793804 , 3 June 2016. Protocol date: 21 February 2018

  • Measuring sexual behaviour in Malawi

    Open AccessNicola Desmond, Nico Nagelkerke et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018

    Diaries may therefore have higher validity for sensitive behaviour reporting and thus be the preferred method in similar African contexts in measuring sexual behaviours

  • A qualitative evaluation of hospital versus community-based management of patients on injectable treatments for tuberculosis

    Open AccessDanielle Cohen, D B Cohen et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018

    Guardian administered intramuscular injections were safe and well received. Community-based care offered many advantages over hospital-based care for patients receiving long-term injectable treatment for TB and their families