About
Jim's research interests are in geospatial data and analysis to support environmental management, service delivery and public health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has a particular interest in household access to safe drinking-water for public health protection and in geospatial analysis of routine health information systems data, with an emerging interest in climate and health. He coordinated the ESRC-funded Water and Waste project, which sought to support water and waste service delivery in off-grid areas of two cities in Kenya and Ghana, collaborating with research institutions in both countries. He has extensive experience delivering applied GIS modules at undergraduate and masters level.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Safe water access and public health in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Geospatial analysis for public health, particularly via routine health management information systems
- Climate and health
- Environmental applications of GIS
Current research
Jim's is involved in research projects exploring climate and health, both NERC-funded research on temperature extremes and health in the UK and work on community dialogue interventions to support health-related climate adaptation in northern Ghana (funded by the Medical Research Foundation). He also has interests in geospatial analysis of health management information systems data, so as to inform health services planning. Increasingly, he is exploring how climatic events may disrupt service delivery, whether health services or water and wastewater services. Jim works with doctoral researchers on related topics, ranging from integrating regulatory databases with climate risk data to discriminating formal versus informal artisanal mining sites.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Jim began his research career by applying GIS techniques to forest management, before moving on to explore geospatial aspects of public health nutrition and food systems in Zimbabwe for his PhD. Since moving to Southampton, he has coordinated multi-disciplinary projects funded by the European Union, NERC, MRC, MRF, ESRC, and the Royal Society, collaborating closely with colleagues in Ghana and Kenya in doing so.
Prizes
- UNICEF Best of UNICEF Research (2015)
- ESRC Retail Masters Research Dissertation Programme - Impact Award (2012)
- Unite Ideas #SDGInsights Prize (2017)