Oxfam recognition for York academics’ HIV/AIDS research
Posted on 17 June 2008
Jerome Wright and Fred Lubben from the University of York studied the connections between HIV, AIDS and mental health issues among young people in Malawi.
They worked closely with a Malawian grass-roots social justice organisation dedicated to combating HIV and AIDS, promoting democracy and upholding human rights. The organisation’s director, Mac Bain Mkandawire, is the study’s third co-author.
Oxfam’s prize shows a recognition of....direct collaborations of York researchers with field workers in emerging countries
Fred Lubben
Together, the three researchers studied the psychological impact of HIV/AIDS on communities in Malawi. Interviews with Malawian adolescents uncovered close two-way links between HIV/AIDS and mental health problems.
The young people in the study also identified a number of ways to address these problems — many of which would be relatively easy to integrate into existing community health, education and social care programmes.
Now the groundbreaking study has won the 2008 Susie Smith Memorial Prize, awarded annually by Oxfam to a piece of writing which has a particular impact in the field of HIV/AIDS awareness in sub-Saharan Africa.
Jerome Wright, a lecturer in York’s Department of Health Sciences, said "We are extremely honoured to receive this award, and we hope it will significantly raise the profile of mental health and HIV issues in Africa as well as our work at York. The prize money for our partners at YouthNet & Counselling in Malawi will be a springboard for them to develop further interventions and research programmes."
Fred Lubben, Research Fellow in the Department of Educational Studies, added "A relatively small research project initiated by a Malawian non-governmental organisation has had a direct impact on the life of local communities. Oxfam’s prize shows a recognition of such direct collaborations of York researchers with field workers in emerging countries."
The winning study was selected by an independent panel of judges including Dr Kevin Watkins, Director of the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Report office. The prize was founded in memory of HIV/AIDS activist and Oxfam associate Susie Smith.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The Department of Health Sciences at York is large and multidisciplinary, offering a broad range of taught and research programmes in the health and social care field. It aims to develop the role of scientific evidence in health and health care through high quality research, teaching and other forms of dissemination. More Information at www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/.
- The Department of Educational Studies is open, friendly and committed to excellence in research and teaching. The Department’s staff work with students from a range of countries, and its research groups have a national and international reputation for the quality of their research. The most recent reviews of the Department’s teaching have rated its degree programmes as ‘excellent’ and its teacher training course as ‘outstanding’. More information at www.york.ac.uk/depts/educ/.