Ruth Willis Email & Phone Number

My research addresses social aspects of health and health equity in resource constrained settings, focusing on chronic, non-communicable disease. I use qualitative methods to examine patients’ and healthcare workers’ everyday experiences of managing chronic conditions, and apply sociological theory to conceptualise population level patterns and draw comparisons between experiences in different health systems. My research aims to improve equitable access to health care in resource-constrained settings.I lead the qualitative component of the IMPLEMENT-CVD study, investigating the health system factors affecting implementation and access to fixed-dose combination therapy for hypertension and cardiovascular disease in Kenya, in collaboration with colleagues at LSHTM and KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme. My first degree was an interdisciplinary BA in Human Sciences at Oxford University, followed by a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and PhD in Sociology and Public Health at LSHTM. My PhD explored intersecting perspectives on young children’s health and well-being in Achuar indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, and was awarded the 2015-16 LSHTM Jerry Morris Prize for outstanding research.I have previously held volunteer roles on the Independent Monitoring Board at a London Immigration Removal Centre, and with Doctors of the World UK (Medecins du Monde) as an outreach worker with undocumented migrants.

Listed skills include Qualitative Research and Public Health.