Susan Murray | King's College London (original) (raw)

Papers by Susan Murray

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1997

The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology

National health policy-makers ’ views on the clarity and utility of Countdown to 2015 country pro... more National health policy-makers ’ views on the clarity and utility of Countdown to 2015 country profiles and reports: findings from two exploratory qualitative studies

This article assesses the effects of an integrated community-based primary care program (Brazil’s... more This article assesses the effects of an integrated community-based primary care program (Brazil’s Family Health Program, known as the PSF) on microregional variations in infant mortality (IMR), neonatal mortality, and post-neonatal mortality rates from 1999 to 2004. The study utilized a pooled cross-sectional ecological analysis using panel data from Brazilian microregions, and controlled for measures of physicians and hospital beds per 1000 population, Hepatitis B coverage, the proportion of women without prenatal care and with no formal education, low birth weight births, population size, and poverty rates. The data covered all the 557 Brazilian microregions over a 6-year period (1999–2004). Results show that IMR declined about 13 percent from 1999 to 2004, while Family Health Program coverage increased from an average of about 14 to nearly 60 percent. Controlling for other health determinants, a 10 percent increase in Family Health Program coverage was associated with a 0.45 perc...

Objectives: Induced abortion has been legal in Zambia since 1972. Levels of unsafe abortion remai... more Objectives: Induced abortion has been legal in Zambia since 1972. Levels of unsafe abortion remain high and it is estimated that 30% of maternal deaths are attributed to unsafe abortion. This study seeks to understand why the investment in safe abortion services is not being fully realised and meets this objective by answering three research questions: • How do the characteristics of women seeking safe abortion differ from women seeking care following an unsafe abortion? • What influences a woman’s decision making in abortion-seeking? • How do perceptions of risk and service access influence decisionmaking for abortion? Method: Hospital-based recruitment of women (n=112) presenting for either a safe induced abortion or post-abortion care following an unsafe induced abortion. Women were recruited, with informed consent, and were interviewed in-depth about their abortion-seeking experiences. The medical records for most women (n=96) were analysed to triangulate women’s own accounts of...

Development and Change, 2019

ABSTRACTFinancialization is promoted by alliances of multilateral ‘development’ organizations, na... more ABSTRACTFinancialization is promoted by alliances of multilateral ‘development’ organizations, national governments and owners and institutions of private capital. In the healthcare sector, the leveraging of private sources of finance is widely argued as necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of universal health coverage. Employing social science perspectives on financialization, the authors of this article contend that this is a new phase of capital formation. The article traces the antecedents, institutions, instruments and ideas that facilitated the penetration of private capital in this sector, and the emergence of new asset classes that distinguish it. The authors argue that this deepening of financialization represents a fundamental shift in the organizing principles for healthcare systems, with negative implications for health and equality.

International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, Jun 1, 2017

Given that maternal morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion persist, especially in Africa, t... more Given that maternal morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion persist, especially in Africa, there is a pressing need to understand the abortion decision-making process. However, little is known about men's influence on and involvement in women's abortion decision making and care seeking. A qualitative study was conducted at the largest public provider of abortion-related care in Zambia. Thematic framework analysis was used to categorize and synthesize data from in-depth interviews conducted in 2013 with 71 women who received a safe abortion and 41 who received care following an incomplete (unsafe) abortion. Men influenced whether women sought a safe or unsafe abortion; their actions, lack of action and anticipated actions-negative and positive-reflected broader gender inequities. Abandonment by men, and the desire to avoid disclosing pregnancy to men because of fear of their reactions or interference, were important influences on some women's decision to seek abortio...

African Journal of Reproductive Health, 2003

Book synopsis: This Handbook brings together a groundbreaking collection of chapters that uses a ... more Book synopsis: This Handbook brings together a groundbreaking collection of chapters that uses a gender lens to explore health, healthcare and health policy in both the Global South and North. Empirical evidence is drawn from a variety of different settings and points to the many ways in which the gendered dimensions of health have become reworked across the globe

Social science & medicine (1982), Jan 18, 2016

Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of global maternal mortality and morbidity... more Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of global maternal mortality and morbidity. Zambia has among the most liberal abortion laws in sub-Saharan Africa, however this alone does not guarantee access to safe abortion, and 30% of maternal mortality is attributable to unsafe procedures. Too little is known about the pathways women take to reach abortion services in such resource-poor settings, or what informs care-seeking behaviours, barriers and delays. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted in 2013 with 112 women who accessed abortion-related care in a Lusaka tertiary government hospital at some point in their pathway. The sample included women seeking safe abortion and also those receiving hospital care following unsafe abortion. We identified a typology of three care-seeking trajectories that ended in the use of hospital services: clinical abortion induced in hospital; clinical abortion initiated elsewhere, with post-abortion care in hospital; and non-clinic...