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Lecturer in Public Health

I hold a Bachelor's and a master's of Public Health from Kenyatta University in Kenya and a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Pécs in Hungary. Additionally, I have a Monitoring and Evaluation Fellowship from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, a Postgraduate Diploma in Health System Management from Galilee International Management Institute in Israel, and a Certificate of Good Clinical Practice E6 (R2) from the Global Health Networks.

My professional journey in public health spans over a decade with the Ministry of Health in Kenya, where I managed various public health programmes, including community health strategy, malaria control, school health, disease surveillance, and immunisation. Additionally, I served as a Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Consultant with International Business and Technical Consultants (USA) from January to December 2017.

Within academia, I have significantly contributed as a part-time lecturer at Laikipia University, Kenya, where I participated in curriculum reviews aimed at enhancing student learning experiences. My role involved curriculum development procedures, including reviewing aims, objectives, competencies, and learning outcomes. My teaching experience expanded during my tenure at Mount Kenya University, where I engaged in course delivery, adapting to diverse learning environments, and various modes of teaching, including online, hybrid, and in-person instruction.

Most recently, at the University of Limerick, Ireland, I worked as a postdoctoral Researcher in Medical Education, focusing on integrating social accountability into the medical education curriculum. During this period, I contributed to six manuscripts and actively supported the School of Medicine provision.

Currently, I am a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Public Health where I contribute significantly to the teaching, assessment, and supervision of BSc (Hons) Public Health Practitioners Degree Apprenticeship and MSc Public Health.

I lead three modules: Epidemiology and Statistics, Dissertation (Research Methods) and Smoke-Free Living. I am actively engaged in teaching, assessment, supervision, and administrative responsibilities such as developing, organising, and uploading/updating content in Canvas for the three modules.

My research interests are in the areas of maternal and child health (fear of childbirth), drugs and substance misuse among youths, healthcare workers’ mental health issues during pandemics, self-medication trends among healthcare workers, and integration of social accountability into medical education. I have recently developed a great interest in research focusing on the lived experience of parents and carers of children living with hidden disabilities in resource-limited settings.



Teaching and supervision

  • Epidemiology and statistics
  • Global public health
  • Research methods in public health
  • Primary healthcare and health promotion
  • Leadership and project management for healthcare

Research interests for potential research students

  • Ethics in research
  • Epidemiology of emerging communicable and non-communicable diseases
  • Maternal and child health
  • Medical education
  • Drugs and substance misuse among youths
  • Evidence-based medicine
  • Self-medication
  • Hidden disabilities

Research

  • Maternal and child health
  • Medical education
  • Hidden disabilities

Publications

Jump to: Article
Number of items: 10.

Article

Onchonga, David and Abdalla, Mohamed Elhassan (2023) Integrating social determinants of health in medical education: a bibliometric analysis study. Public Health, 224. pp. 203-208. ISSN 0033-3506

Onchonga, David (2022) Monkeypox viral disease outbreak in non-endemic countries in 2022: What clinicians and healthcare professionals need to know. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 30 (11). pp. 1679-1681. ISSN 1319-0164

Onchonga, David (2022) Prenatal fear of childbirth among pregnant women and their spouses in Kenya. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 27 (100593). ISSN 1877-5756

Onchonga, David (2021) Does institutional maternity services contribute to the fear of childbirth? A focus group interview study. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 30 (100669). ISSN 1877-5756

Onchonga, David, Ngetich, Enoch, Makunda, Wilbroda and lfatafta, Huda (2021) Health-seeking behaviour among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. Heliyon, 7. ISSN 2405-8440

Onchonga, David, Varnagy, Akos, Amer, Faten, Viktoria, Premusz and Wainaina, Pius (2021) Translation and validation of the Swahili version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version A (W-DEQ-A). Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 29 (100626). ISSN 1877-5756

Onchonga, David, Omwoyo, Joshua and Nyamamba, Duke (2020) Assessing the prevalence of self-medication among healthcare workers before and during the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in Kenya. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 28 (10). pp. 1149-1154. ISSN 1319-0164

Onchonga, David (2020) A Google Trends study on the interest in self-medication during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 28. pp. 903-904. ISSN 1319-0164

Onchonga, David, Várnagya, Ákos, Wainaina, Pius and Keraka, Margaret (2020) Midwife-led integrated pre-birth training and its impact on the fear of childbirth. A qualitative interview study. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 25 (100512). ISSN 1877-5764

Onchonga, David, MoghaddamHosseini, Vahideh, Keraka, Margaret and Várnagya, Ákos (2020) Prevalence of fear of childbirth in a sample of gravida women in Kenya. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 24 (100510). ISSN 1877-5764

This list was generated on Thu Oct 10 13:56:48 2024 BST.
  • Maternal and child health
  • Medical education
  • Drugs and substance abuse

Last updated 28 February 2024