Dr Shahaduz Zaman
Senior Research Associate

  • Email: shahaduz.zaman@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 7375
  • Address: Institute of Health and Society
    Newcastle University
    Baddiley-Clark Building
    Richardson Road
    Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX
    UK

Introduction

I am a medical anthropologist and public health physician with interest in anthropology of international health. I have particular expertise in ethnographic and qualitative research methods. My Doctoral thesis is based on ethnography of a hospital.  I am currently involved with an EU-FP7 funded project investigating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and the health policies aiming at reducing the burden of these diseases in four Mediterranean countries namely Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Palestine. I am responsible for coordinating the work package which involves comparative analysis of health policies, the organization of the health sector, and ethnographic exploration of the ways in which people access both formal and informal sources of medical treatment, as well as the risk factors in life style changes including local belief and attitude regarding diet, physical activity, body size and shape in the study countries. Apart from the Mediterranean countries I have lead collaborative qualitative research projects involving South Asian and African partners. My previous research work centered around ethnographic exploration of health beliefs, practices and health care interventions in Bangladesh. I also have worked in community based public health programmes.

            I have been teaching qualitative research methods and medical anthropology in different universities for many years. Before joining Newcastle University in 2009 I worked as the Associate Professor and MPH Programme Coordinator at James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh. I am also a visiting faculty at University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Institute of Public Health, Heidelberg University, Germany where I teach qualitative research methods for its International Masters Programme. I am the course leader of the forthcoming module ‘Introduction to Global Health’ for the course MSc in Public Health and Health Service Research at Newcastle University, UK.  I have published in many international peer reviewed journals. In addition I have published book, book chapters and edited monographs. I also have presented in several international conferences and workshops on qualitative research and medical anthropology. I was the Key Note speaker for the conference on ‘Teaching and Applying Medical Anthropology ‘ held in University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands  in 2007. 

I was recently awarded with an EU FP7 fund of Euro £1986255 as a co applicant for the project titled ‘NCDs and their social determinants in Mediterranean countries: building sustainable research capacity for effective policy intervention’ to be commenced from January 2012.

 Qualifications

• Ph.D. Medical Anthropology
Amsterdam School of Social Science Research (ASSR), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Degree awarded in 2003.
• MS. Master of Science in Medical Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioral Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Degree awarded in 1998.
• MPH. Master of Public Health
National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Degree awarded in 1995.
• MBBS. Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor Surgery. University of Chittagong,
Bangladesh . Degree awarded in 1988

Previous Positions

1. Associate Professor and MPH Programme Coordinator, James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University.From September 2004 to March 2009. (The School runs an international Masters in Public Health course. sph.bracu.ac.bd)
2. Senior Research Fellow, Research and Evaluation division, BRAC ( www.brac.net), From 1995-2004.
3. Medical Officer, Community based Health and Nutrition program, BRAC, From 1990 to 1994.

Honours and Awards

  • As a co applicant received EU FP7 fund of Euro £1986255 for the project titled ‘NCDs and their social determinants in Mediterranean countries: building sustainable research capacity for effective policy intervention’ in 2011.
  • BRAC Scholarship for pursuing Masters in Medical Anthropology
  • Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (WOTRO) award for pursuing Ph.D. (Dossier no:52854)

Languages

English, Bengali

Informal Interests

I am a literary writer in Bengali language and published several fiction and non fiction books in Bengali.

 

 

 

Research Interests

• Medical Anthropology
• Ethnography of health and health care
• Health policy and health systems research
• Primary health care in developing countries
• Qualitative research Methodology

 I have conducted several qualitative and ethnographic researches on the following areas:

Health Policy Analysis and Health System Research

         My current research project has two components, fist is to analyze health policies regarding Non Communicable Diseases in four Mediterranean countries mentioned above through document review and Stakeholder Interviews and the second is to investigate health system context in the those countries through interviews with health providers, patients, family members of the patients, medical record review as well as focused observations in the health centres. 

         I worked as the country Principal Investigator (PI) from Bangladesh in a multi country research project titled ‘Communicable Diseases: Vulnerability, Risks and Poverty’, funded by DFID. The countries involved Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Ghana, Swaziland, and Uganda. The lead institute of the project was Nuffield Centre for International Health & Development, University of Leeds (NCIHD). The research project investigated the health system challenges in implementing Directly Observed Therapy (DOTs) for Tuberculosis in the respective countries using various qualitative tools.  Period 2007-2009.   

Globalization and Health

  • I worked as the country Principal Investigator (PI)  from Bangladesh in another multi country research project  titled  ‘Globalization as a social determinants of Health’, funded by WHO. The  countries involved Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia.  The research explored the influence of globalization on the food habits of urban youth in the respective countries through in depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). 

Hospital Ethnography

  • My Ph.D. research was ethnography of a hospital in Bangladesh, which was first of its kind in Bangladesh and one of the very few hospital ethnographies conducted in non Western setting. It showed how in contrast to the assumed universalism in biomedicine, biomedical practice is in fact a product of particular social conditions, and the hospital in which it takes place reflects the features of the society in which it is embedded This research was published in 2005 as a book titled, ‘Broken limbs, broken lives: Ethnography of a hospital ward in  Bangladesh’ from Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A review  was  published in The Lancet, Volume 366, Issue 9499, Page 1766, 19 November 2005)
  • My Master’s thesis in Medical Anthropology was an ethnography of a small rural health centre in Bangladesh and showed how Goffman’s concept of ‘Total Institution’ was reversed in the centre. 

Evaluation of Community Health Projects

  • While working with BRAC, the largest Non Government Development Organization in Bangladesh, I have conducted several researches to evaluate its community based health and nutrition projects using various qualitative, ethnographic and Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) tools. 

 

Other Expertise

• Epidemiology
• Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) Methods

Current Work

Currently I am working as Senior Research Associate at Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, UK, in MEDCHAMPS (Mediterranean studies of cardiovascular disease and hyperglyceamia: Analytical modelling of population socio-economic transitions) project. This is an EU-FP7 project investigating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and the health policies aims at reducing the burden of these diseases in Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Palestine. I am particularly responsible for coordinating one package which involves comparative analysis of health policies, the organization of the health sector, and the ways in which people access both formal and informal sources of medical treatment.

Postgraduate Supervision

I have supervised several Master's of Public Health Students. Currently I am co-supervising a Ph.D. project titled, Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Self Rated Health among Adult Women in Aleppo, Syria: A Mixed Method Study at Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University.

Funding

  • As a co applicant received EU FP7 fund of Euro £1986255 for the project titled ‘NCDs and their social determinants in Mediterranean countries: building sustainable research capacity for effective policy intervention’ in 2011.
  • Received fund from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (WOTRO) award for pursuing Ph.D. at University of Amsterdam (Dossier no:52854) in 1999.
  • BRAC Scholarship for pursuing Masters in Medical Anthropology in 1996.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qualitative Research Methods and Medical Anthropology

 I have taught qualitative research methods and Medical Anthropology in graduate and post graduate courses in different universities as follows:

 Associate Professor , School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh

While working with BRAC University I was the coordinator for ‘Qualitative Research Methods’  module of the Master’s in Public Health (MPH) course. I was also the co facilitator for the basic and advanced medical anthropology module of the same MPH course. Period 2004-2009.

 Visiting Faculty

I am a visiting faculty in the following institutes:

Institute of Public Health, Heidelberg University, Germany

    • Responsible for teaching qualitative research at the yearly ‘Mixed Method for International Health’  course for Masters of Public Health (MPH) students. Period 2009 till date.

    Medical Anthropology Unit, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

      • Chair for the Module ‘Social, Cultural and Historical Dimensions of Infectious Disease’ at ‘Amsterdam Masters in Medical Anthropology (AMMA)’ course. Period 2007-2009.

      Department of Public Health, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

        • Conducted a short course tilted ‘Fundamentals of Qualitative Research’ in 2010

         Medicine in the Community

        I was a tutor for the module ‘Medicine in the Community’ for the MBBS students at Newcastle University Medical School in 2010.   

        Introduction to Global Health

                           I am the course leader of the forthcoming module ‘Introduction to Global Health’ for the course  MSc in Public Health and Health Service Research at Newcastle University, UK.