Research

Global and Public Health

This research group is led by Ritika Tiwari (Group leader), Manisha Singh (Co-lead, Public Health), and Shraddha Manandhar (Co-lead, Global Health).

The group conducts research in collaboration with national and international partners, contributing to significant advancements in public health knowledge and practice.

Areas of interest include:

Health systems
Health disparities and equity
Public health policy development and implementation
Disease prevention and health promotion
Social determinants of health
Global health challenges and solutions
Community health and participatory research
Health workforce
Healthy ageing
School health
Maternal and child health
Sexual and reproductive health
Epidemiology and biostatistics
Environmental health
Health systems and services research
Mental health and well-being

Our work is disseminated through leading health journals and major public health conferences. The group holds regular meetings to discuss ongoing research, share findings, and explore new initiatives, fostering a collaborative and dynamic research environment.

The Global and Public Health Research Group welcomes research from prospective PhD students and new members in areas such as health disparities and equity, public health policy, disease prevention, health promotion, social determinants of health, global health challenges, community health, epidemiology, environmental health, health systems, mental health, and well-being. These areas reflect the group's commitment to addressing a wide range of public health issues through innovative and impactful research.

Research activity

Lunch 'n' Learn Series

The Lunch 'n Learn' Series is an online webinar series intended to encourage and strengthen research collaborations.

Season 1: Inaugural Season (December 2024 to February 2025)

Speaker	Webinar
Vanessa Baxter	The Health and Care Research and Evaluation Service with examples of real life public health projects
Wiam Id Boumsoud	Exploring Conflicts Between Windfall and Gig Economies in African developing economies
Shraddha Manandhar	The impact of men's international migration on the health of spouses who remain behind
Bright Nduka	A figurational analysis of heading policies in football

Season 2: Celebrating York St John women in research (September 2025)

Speaker	Webinar
Hasini Warnakulasuriya	Shaping Future-Ready Perioperative Nursing workforce in India: A Scoping Review of Standards and Competencies with a Focus on Virtual Reality Integration
Joy Itegboje	Sustainability practices in sourcing for cosmetics ingredients
Rebecca Balasundaram	Identifying Social Phobia Prevalence Among School Students in United Kingdom Using Machine Learning Techniques
Sangita Pokhrel	Generative AI and Large Language Models in Digital Marketing: Applications, Methodologies, and Emerging Trends

Panel discussion

Global Health at a Crossroads: Navigating the Geopolitical Landscape and Research Priorities

This panel discussion was organised on 23 June 2025 with the support of the Institute for Health and Care Improvement (IHCI). The session was led by Dr Shraddha Manandhar and was supported through IHCI's Affiliate Small Meetings and Events Scheme 2024.

Speakers at the event were Padam Simkhada (University of Huddersfield), Lalita Sah (University of Bradford), Ade Adeyemi (UK Department for Health and Social Care) and Goran Abdulla Sabir Zangana (NHS Lothian).

Europe Pre-conference event

The Europe Pre-Conference Event for the Health Systems Global Conference 2025 is scheduled to take place on 19 November 2025 at York St John University's London Campus. A team of academics from York St John London will lead the event, with Ritika Tiwari as the lead and Manisha Singh and Shraddha Manandhar serving as co‑leads.

Europe Pre‑Conference Event 2025

Research projects

The research project titled 'Culturally Sensitive Perinatal Mental Health Conversations with South Asian Mothers' is led by Dr Manisha Singh. This project is funded under the IHCI Pump Priming Scheme 2025.

The research project titled 'Tower Hamlets Community Chronic Pain Supported Self-Management Group – 2024/25' was led by Dr Ritika Tiwari, in collaboration with Professor Sonia Cottom from the Pain Association Scotland. This project was supported through QR funding received from York St John London Campus.

Recent publications by group members

Tiwari R, Bolarinwa OA. Exploring the impact of street play as a powerful pedagogical tool in public health programs. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching in HE. 2024 May 9;17(1):6-15.
Appiah-Agyekum M, Tiwari R. Postpartum Depression: An Invisible Distress in the United Kingdom. Qeios. Available at: https://www.qeios.com/read/YW3EOZ. May 2024
Ugargol AP, Mukherji A, Tiwari R. In search of a fix to the primary health care chasm in India: can institutionalizing a public health cadre and inducting family physicians be the answer? The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia. 2023 Jun 1;13.
Tiwari R, Grobbelaar HW, Vermaak C, Chikte U. Strengthening the biokinetics workforce for improved services: A human resources for health review from 2000 to 2020. South African Journal of Sports Medicine. 2023 Apr 5;35(1).

Gallagher, B., Wager, N., Gall, V., Gilroy, B., Hudspith, L. F., Singh, M., ... & Whitaker, V. (2022). Consensual Aggression and Violence During Sex (‘rough sex’) in the General Population–A Scoping (Literature) Review. In ‘Rough Sex’ and the Criminal Law: Global Perspectives (pp. 9-29). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Doyle, M. and Singh, M. (2023). Developing a Digital Application for Non-Mental Health Nurses to Assess the Mental Health Needs and Risks of Children and Young People. International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. Vol 8 (2). Accessible online.
Doyle, M. and Singh, M. (2023). Developing a web-based application for non-mental health specialists to assess young people in forensic services. The Huddersfield App for Mental Health Assessment: HAMHA. Paper presented to International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Conference, 20 June, Sydney, Australia.
Doyle, M., Singh, M., McNulty, P., Slavin, S., Smith, M., Walker, H., Khan, W. and Percy-Smith, B., 2024. Developing a web-based app for non-mental health nurses to assess children and young people with mental health problems. Nursing children and young people.