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TB is a disease of social, biological and economic vulnerability. The same conditions which put people at risk of TB increase the risk of chronic disease and multimorbidity, whilst presenting financial barriers to accessing healthcare. These underlying causes rarely affect an individual in isolation, they cluster in households and communities. Implementing screening for high-risk contacts of people with TB is a core component of the global ‘End TB’ strategy.

My research hypothesises that TB household contacts are a key risk group both for TB and chronic diseases, but that they have poor healthcare access; and that integrating chronic disease screening with that for TB is an effective way to address the large unmet burden of non-communicable disease morbidity and mortality in southern Africa.

Embedded in a large TB household contact screening study (ERASE-TB) my PhD research has three components. Firstly, I am exploring patterns of disease clustering in individuals and households affected by TB in three African countries (Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique). Secondly, I am exploring the social context of health screening through qualitative research with members of TB-affected households, healthcare workers and policy makers in Zimbabwe. These data will be used to, thirdly, develop and pilot an integrated health screening package for TB-affected households in Zimbabwe.

I also support the Vaxef study, evaluating the real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among high-risk groups in Zimbabwe, and was part of the ICAROZ team, delivering occupational health checks for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic.