1. Faculty of Medicine and Health
  2. School of Medicine
  3. People
  4. Profile

Professor James Newell

  • Position: Professor
  • Areas of expertise: Delivery of health services in low-income countries
  • Email: J.N.Newell@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 6950
  • Location: 1022 Worsley Building

Profile

James is Professor of International Public Health. His research focuses on improving the delivery of health services in low- and middle-income countries

James joined Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (then called the Nuffield Institute for Health) in 1995. He will retire from the university at the end of 2018.

Research interests

Current research interests

James's work at Leeds focuses on improving delivery of health services in low- and middle-income countries. He is co-Director of COMDIS-HSD (2011-18), a major research programme consortium funded by DFID that addresses health services delivery in Bangladesh, China, Ghana, Nepal, Pakistan, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda. This consortium in part carries forward and builds on a previous DFID-funded research programme consortium, COMDIS (2006-10), that addressed communicable disease control in these countries.

James's specific areas of interest within these consortia are encouraging patient-focused approaches within health services in low- and middle-income countries, acknowledging that people's desire to use healthcare may be secondary to aspects of their life such as providing for their families. Only by making health services responsive to their needs (ie accessible, acceptable and affordable), as well as appropriate to context and sustainable, will we improve the health care poor people receive. 

James has an interest in research that has large impact and works with ministries of health and experts in research uptake to ensure his research findings are adopted into policy, and policy is translated into practice at large scale. James also has an interest in research capacity development and works with partners to further this aim.

Current and recent research

Health Services Delivery Research Programme Consortium (COMDIS-HSD). Newell JN, Walley J. Department for International Development, £9.5 million, 2011–2018. Joint Principal Investigator. See http://comdis-hsd.leeds.ac.uk/ for further details.

2006-2011 Communicable Diseases Research Programme Consortium (COMDIS). Walley J, Newell JN. Department for International Development, £5 million, 2006–2011. Joint Principal Investigator.

Research groups and institutes

  • Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>