Project

Maternal health is one of the biggest challenges that health systems in low- and middle-income countries are facing today. Whereas some countries have observed significant improvements in maternal and child health indicators, other countries have hit a plateau that costs the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children around the world. This research program aims to understand maternal health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries. Currently, my team is focusing on Pakistan and South Asia – we will reorient our efforts to Middle East, North Africa, and South East Asia in the coming years.

Planned Projects

1. Scoping Review of Maternal Health Interventions: What are the characteristics of initiatives, efforts, and interventions to improve and/or deliver maternal health services in Pakistan? 
2. Teaching and Learning Methods Case: What are the considerations for conducting research on a low-income country?
3. Policy Analysis: What are the characteristics of general and maternal health policy documents published in Pakistan?
4. Systematic Review of Barriers to Access to Maternal Health Services (South Asia): What are the barriers to accessing maternal health services in South Asia?
5. Systematic Review of Barriers to Access to Maternal Health Services (Middle East): What are the barriers to accessing maternal health services in the Middle East?
6. Scoping Review of Lady Health Workers: What are the challenges lady health workers face practicing in rural communities?
7. Needs Assessment on Barriers to Using Maternal Health Services: What challenges to urban and rural women face accessing maternal health services in metropolitan cities in Pakistan?
8. Primary Qualitative Study on Challenges for Lady Health Workers: What social, economic, and cultural barriers do lady health workers face to practicing in rural communities in Pakistan?

Publications

• Christy K, Kandasamy S, Majid U, Vanstone M*. (2021). Understanding Black women’s perspectives and experiences of cervical cancer screening: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. Journal of HealthCare for the Poor and 32(4): 1675-1697. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837313
• Kandasamy S, Jonathan Y, Majid U, Farrah K, Vanstone M*. (2021). Indigenous women’s experiences of cervical cancer screening: incorporating indigenous ways of knowing into a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research. Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2021.2010115
• Majid U*, Zahid M, Harold K, Zain S, Sood T. (2021). Challenges in the Socio-Cultural Milieu of South Asia: A Systematic Review of Community Health Workers. Rural and Remote Health, 21: 6774. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH6774
• Christy K, Kandasamy S, Majid U, Vanstone M*. (2021). Understanding Black women’s perspectives and experiences of cervical cancer screening: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and32(4): 1675-1697. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837313
• Saadat P, Zain S, Jameel B, Shaikh R, Bowen B, Majid U*. (2020). Maternal Health Policy Priorities in Pakistan: A Content Analysis of Policy Documents. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-113318/v1
• Jameel B, Bhagaloo A, Rashid K, Majid U*. (2020). Conceptualizing “Access” of Maternal Health Services in Low-Resource Countries. Health Science Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.29173/hsi286
• Majid U*, Zain S, Shaikh R, Jameel B. (2020). Uncommon Methodologies for Conducting Literature Reviews: Part 1 – A Policy Analysis of How Maternal Health Concepts Have Been Framed in Policy Documents of a Low-Income Country. SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529734867
• Zain S, Jameel B, Zahid M, Munir M, Kandasamy S, Majid U*. (2020). The Design and Delivery of Maternal Health Interventions in Pakistan: A Scoping Review. Healthcare for Women International. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2019.1707833
  Contribution (%): 40
• Majid U, Kandasamy S, Farah K, Vanstone M*. (2019). Women’s Preferences and Experiences of Cervical Cancer Screening in Rural and Remote Areas: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-synthesis. Rural and Remote Health. 19:5190. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH5190
• Majid U, Kandasamy S, Arora N, Vanstone M*. (2019). HPV Testing for Primary Cervical Cancer Screening: A Health Technology Assessment – Patients’ Perspectives and Experiences Review. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) HTA Review, p. 105-129. Accessible from: https://www.cadth.ca/sites/default/files/ou-tr/op0530-hpv-testing-for-pcc-report.pdf
• Cernat A, De Freitas C, Majid U, Trivedi F, Higgins C, Vanstone, M*. (2019). Facilitating informed choice about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT): A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis of women’s experiences. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 19(27): 1-15 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-018-2168-4
• Vanstone M*, Cernat A, Majid U, Trivedi F, & De Freitas C. (2019). Perspectives of pregnant people and clinicians on noninvasive prenatal testing: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. Ont Health Technol Assess Ser [Internet]. 18 (No.): 1-38. Retrieved from: https://www.hqontario.ca/Portals/0/documents/evidence/reports/qualrep-noninvasive-prenatal-testing.pdf
• Majid U, Kim C, Cako A, Gagliardi ARG*. (2018). Engaging Stakeholders in the Co-Development of Programs or Interventions using Intervention Mapping: A Scoping Review. PLOS One. 13(12): e0209826. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209826