Professor Jacob McKnight
Contact information
Podcast interviews
Preparing Kenya’s health system for extreme weather
In both high- and low-income countries, health systems need to be ready for extreme weather. While sustainability efforts are underway, health systems must cope with events like floods and droughts, which increase healthcare demand and disrupt services. The NEWRISK project in Kenya addresses these challenges, emphasizing resilience and insurance strategies to maintain healthcare access during crises, amid climate change's broad impacts on health systems.
Under pressure, the challenges of neonatal nursing
Caring for sick newborns in a poorly resourced hospital is a very challenging job. Yet this is not the only challenge many nurses face as they juggle supporting families and lives in a busy city. Some nurses have developed ways to cope in these difficult circumstances but for many the relentless pressure may cause them harm while upholding the ideals of nursing may seem impossible. Interview recorded in 2018
Neonatal nursing in Kenya
Nurses in Kenyan hospitals are very busy, with high nurse to patients ratios. They face an extremely stressful enviroment, exacerbated by bad reports in the press. Babies are particularly vulnerable during their first two days of life. A better understanding of the coping mechanisms put in place by those nurses could help us ensure a better survival rate for these babies. Interview recorded in 2016
Research groups
Jacob McKnight
Associate Professor
Jacob McKnight is a researcher with an interest in health systems and management reform. After working for Medecins Sans Frontieres, he completed a PhD at Said Business School focused on hospital management in Ethiopia. He used organisational and marketing theory to provide new perspectives on global health problems.
As part of the VITAL project, Jacob leads work on the development and design of wearable technologies for use in ICUs in Vietnam. He is also co-investigator on the CINAMR project, which aims to test the effectiveness and appropriateness of a hub-and-spoke microbiology system in Kenya. He is also interested in critical care in lower-income settings and recently led qualitative work on the POETIC project that sought to understand the readiness of hospitals to deliver Essential Emergency and Critical Care.
Most recently, Professor McKnight has focused on readying health facilities for extreme weather and has a number of projects in development on this topic.
Recent publications
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Acceptance and User Experiences of a Wearable Device for the Management of Hospitalized Patients in COVID-19–Designated Wards in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Action Learning Project
Luu AP. et al, (2024), JMIR Human Factors, 11, e44619 - e44619
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Hospital care for critical illness in low-resource settings: lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic
English M. et al, (2023), BMJ Global Health, 8, e013407 - e013407
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Policies and resources for strengthening of emergency and critical care services in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
Oliwa JN. et al, (2023), PLOS Global Public Health, 3, e0000483 - e0000483
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COVID-19 and unintended steps towards further equity in global health research
Willows TM. et al, (2023), BMJ Global Health, 8, e011888 - e011888
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Health Care Workers’ Experiences of Calling-for-help When Taking Care of Critically Ill Patients in Hospitals in Tanzania and Kenya
Mkumbo EG. et al, (2023)