CHP PhD Confirmation Seminar - Ebony Verbunt
Seminar title: Improving the management of women experiencing anaemia in pregnancy: A case-study of implementing a novel intravenous iron intervention in the primary healthcare system of Bangladesh
Presenter: Ebony Verbunt
Wednesday April 26 3pm-4pm, Seminar Room 410 and online.
Women experiencing anaemia in pregnancy is a significant global public health issue, causing diverse health consequences for the woman and foetus. Anaemia in pregnancy inequitably affects women in low-and middle-income countries, with a negative association, at the regional level, between the socio-demographic index and the age-standardised years lived with disability rate of anaemia. To manage anaemia, WHO recommends pregnant women to take daily oral iron and folic acid as early as possible after conception. However, there are limitations to oral iron and folic acid supplementation, including women experiencing gastrointestinal side effects and issues of inadequate and irregular supply. In high-income countries, modern intravenous iron products are available which have limited gastrointestinal side effects and can be provided in a single, short infusion. This body of work aims to address the evidence gap that currently exists about how the management of women experiencing anaemia in pregnancy could be improved, particularly by assessing the feasibility and acceptability of implementing an intravenous iron intervention in the low-and middle-income country, Bangladesh.
Ebony Verbunt is a PhD student and Research Assistant within the Evaluation and Implementation Science Unit, Centre for Health Policy. Her research interests include health equity, global health, and maternal and child health. Ebony is also interested in implementation science, and how it can be harnessed to reduce the “research-to-practice gap”. Ebony has a Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology and Psychology) and a Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne.