Staff Profile

Dr Natasha Fothergill-Misbah is a Postdoctoral Research Associate working on a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Group (GHRG): Transforming Parkinson's Care in Africa (TraPCAf). Her background is in Biomedical Sciences and Global Public Health. In her previous post, she was a Lecturer in Gerontology based in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her research mainly uses qualitative methods and has focussed around ageing and gerontology, Parkinson’s disease, access to healthcare and, more recently, the impact of climate change on the health of older people. Natasha is also interested in how research can influence policy, consults for the World Health Organization, and is involved with Parkinson’s advocacy organisations and activities around the world. 

Positions and Responsibilities

• Regional Liaison for sub-Saharan Africa, Journal of Global Ageing (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/journals/journal-of-global-ageing)
• Committee member, British Geriatric Society (BGS) Research and Development Committee
• Steering Committee, British Society of Gerontology (BSG) Special Interest Group on Ageing in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Qualifications

DrPH Graduate Class Climate Change and Public Health Problem Solving Seminar 2022, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

PhD Global Health 2016-2020, Newcastle University - 'The lived experience of Parkinson's disease in Kenya: sociality, improvisation and hope'

Short Course Ageing in Africa 2017, University of Southampton

PGCert Research Training Methods 2016-17, Newcastle University

MSc Public Health (Global Health) 2015-2016, Newcastle University

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences 2012-2015, Newcastle University

I am a Research Associate on the NIHR Global Health Research Group Transforming Parkinson's Care in Africa (TraPCAf). The grant is working across 7 African countries to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of Parkinson's. Follow the grant's Twitter page to keep up to date with this work: @trapcaf_project

My research has focussed on ageing in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically looking at the lived experience of health conditions in older people. I am interested in non-communicable diseases and multimorbidity in later life (and through the life course), access to healthcare services, health inequalities and intergenerational care structures. Much of my research has focussed on Parkinson’s disease in Africa. My academic background is interdisciplinary, combining biomedical sciences, anthropology, global health, gerontology and public health.

Climate change in Ghana: I am working on a pilot project in rural Ghana to develop participatory approaches to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of vulnerable groups around sustainable health development amid climate change. I'm interested in how climate change is affecting older people in LMICs, but also how older people can be empowered to tackle the climate crisis and be agents of change in the climate movement.

Parkinson’s disease in Kenya: My PhD research explored the lived experience of Parkinson’s disease in Kenya using ethnographic methods. I spent 1 year conducting fieldwork across Kenya, exploring how people navigated life with Parkinson’s, from diagnosis through to the end of life. This research involved people with Parkinson’s, their families, caregivers, healthcare professionals, as well as herbal and religious healers. The research identified the roles of sociality, improvisation and hope in living with, and managing Parkinson’s disease.

Rollercoaster project: I worked as a Research Fellow at Northumbria University evaluating Rollercoaster, a support group for parents/carers of children and young people with mental health difficulties, in the North East of England. This project utilised ethnographic methods and a realist approach.

I'm a full-time researcher and open to supervising new PhD students.

In my previous role as Lecturer I taught modules on: Ageing in Africa; Policy Evaluation for Ageing Societies; Researching Ageing Societies; Quantitative Research Methods; and Perspectives in Gerontology.

• Articles

  • Fothergill-Misbah N. The lived experience of stigma and Parkinson's disease in Kenya: a public health challenge. BMC Public Health 2023, 23, 364.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Moffatt S, Mwithiga H, Hampshire K, Walker R. The role of support groups in the management of Parkinson’s disease in Kenya: Sociality, information and legitimacy. Global Public Health 2022, 17(8), 1773-1783.
  • Schiess N, Cataldi R, Okun M, Fothergill-Misbah N, Dorsey R, Barretto M, Bhidayasiri R, Brown R, Chishimba L, Chowdhary N, Coslov M, Cubo E, Di Rocco A, Dolhun R, Dowrick C, Fung V, Gershanik O, Gifford L, Gordon J, Khalil H, Kühn A, Lew S, Lim S, Marano M, Micallef J, Mokaya J, Moukheiber E, Nwabuobi L, Okubadejo N, Pal P, Shah H, Shalash A, Sherer T, Siddiqui B, Thompson T, Ullrich A, Walker R, Dua T. Six Action Steps to Address Global Disparities in Parkinson Disease: A World Health Organization Priority. JAMA Neurology 2022, 79(9), 929-936.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N. Handbook on Ageing with Disability, Putnam, Michelle and Bigby, Christine, New York, Routledge, 2021. Social Policy & Administration 2022, 56(7), 1173-1175.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Walker R, Kwasa J, Hooker J, Hampshire K. "Old people problems", uncertainty and legitimacy: Challenges with diagnosing Parkinson's disease in Kenya. Social Science & Medicine 2021, 282, 114148.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Maroo H, Cham M, Pezzoli G, Walker R, Cilia R. Could Mucuna pruriens be the answer to Parkinson's disease management in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income countries worldwide?. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders 2020, 73, 3-7.