Public Health Lecturer
I am an ardent Public Health Researcher with over a decade of experience conducting very insightful research in various fields including mental health, explorative in-depth research on Covid-19, and maternal health inequalities among the BAME communities in the UK. I am a Fellow of The Royal Society for Public Health (FRPH).
I graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Bedfordshire in Public Health. My thesis was titled Perceptions and attitudes to health-seeking delays for malaria treatment in Makurdi, Nigeria.
I began my teaching career as a Public Health Lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire where I led the Health and Social Care Inequalities (HSCI) unit at MSc level.
I am excited to have joined the University of Sunderland as a Lecturer in Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing. I was recently involved in Young Luton Voices (YLV) research sponsored by Luton Borough Council. The Young Luton Voices research is a massive project of over £3M which aims at exploring the impact of Covid-19 on young people's mental health with a focus on co-creating a solution.
My passion for research extends to providing research services for private organisations such as Stemax Consult Healthcare Services where I worked as a Clinical Research Associate.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH). I am a recipient of many prestigious awards including the Prestigious Nigeria President National Youth Service Award in 2012. I have also been. I was awarded the State Honour award from Benue, a north-central state in Nigeria.
I have also won the Petroleum Technology Development Trust Fund (PTDF) Scholarship for fully paid study from MSc to PhD. I have worked with the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Ministry of Health as a Public Health Surveillance officer for over seven years.
Teaching and supervision
I teach MSc Public Health and BSc (Hons) Public Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship. I am also a seasoned and experienced supervisor having successfully supervised over 40 MSc students in their dissertations to completion from both University of Bedfordshire and University of Sunderland combined.
Research interests for potential research students
- Health and social care inequalities (particularly among BAME communities)
- Health-seeking behaviour (particularly application of health behaviour models/theories such as the Health Belief Model)
- Knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) of malaria treatment among pregnant women and children under five
- Maternal and child mortalities
- Covid-19 (particularly on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 among underrepresented communities)
- Access to health care (in particular the role of culture and religion in health behaviour, the role of masculinity in health behaviour)
- Mental health (particularly peri-natal mental health, children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing)
- Maternal and child health (particularly disability)
- Community engagement (particularly participatory approaches with lesser-heard voices and co-creating solutions)
- Health service systems and service delivery
Research
- Health and social care inequalities
- Health-seeking behaviour
- Mental health
- Covid-19
- Health service systems and delivery
- Maternal and child health
- Communicable diseases (particularly malaria)
Publications
Article
Ochepo, Peter Adebo/PO, Ali, Nasreen/NA, Nduka, Ifunanya/IF, Kabasinguzi, Isabella/IK, Gurch, Randhawa/GR, Abdy, David/DA, Erica, Cook/EC, Chimeme, Egbutah/CE and Sally, Cartwright/SC (2023) The impact of COVID-19 on the changes in health behaviours among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the United Kingdom (UK): a scoping review. The impact of COVID-19 on the changes in health behaviours among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the United Kingdom (UK): a scoping review, 23 (1466). ISSN 1471-2458
Kabasinguzi, Isabella/IK, Ali, Nasreen/NA and Ochepo, Peter/PO (2023) Mental health experiences and coping strategies of BAME care workers who worked in nursing and residential care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Luton, England. Mental health experiences and coping strategies of BAME care workers who worked in nursing and residential care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Luton, England, 23 (1). pp. 1-9. ISSN 1471-2458
Ochepo, Peter/PO, Ali, Nasreen/NA and Farrant, Anthony/AF (2022) The views of traditional healers on health-seeking behaviour for malaria treatment: a qualitative study in Makurdi, Nigeria. The views of traditional healers on health-seeking behaviour for malaria treatment: a qualitative study in Makurdi, Nigeria, 19 (12). pp. 30-36. ISSN 2049-5471
Thesis
Ochepo, Peter/PO (2022) Perceptions and attitudes to health-seeking delays for malaria treatment in Makurdi, Nigeria. Doctoral thesis, University of Bedfordshire.
- Health and social care inequalities (particularly among BAME communities)
- Health-seeking behaviour (particularly application of health behaviour models/theories such as the Health Belief Model)
- Knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) of malaria treatment among pregnant women and children under five
- Maternal and child mortalities
- Covid-19 (particularly on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 among underrepresented communities)
- Access to health care (in particular the role of culture and religion in health behaviour, the role of masculinity in health behaviour)
- Mental health (particularly peri-natal mental health, children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing)
- Maternal and child health (particularly disability)
- Community engagement (particularly participatory approaches with lesser-heard voices and co-creating solutions)
- Health service systems and service delivery