Bio

Mike English is a UK trained paediatrician who has worked in Kenya for over 20 years supported by a series of Wellcome fellowships. His work often takes Child and Newborn Health as a focus but increasingly tackles health services or wider health systems issues. He works as part of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in collaboration in Kenya with the Ministry of Health and a wide set of national and international collaborators. His work focuses predominantly on improving care in African Hospitals. The work of his team spans: clinical epidemiology (including developing national, evidence-based guidelines for care of severely ill children and newborns, clinical trials and observational studies); implementation research (including cluster randomised trials and mixed methods research), and health systems research (qualitative studies of health worker and managers’ behaviour and rethinking the health workforce).

See more

Current Work

He co-leads Health Systems Research in KWTRP and established the Oxford Health Systems Research Collaboration (OHSCAR). Recently Mike helped establish a team focused on delivering simulation based training using gamification through mobile phones and virtual reality (https://oxlifeproject.org/). Mike’s 2013-2018 fellowship initiated the Kenyan Clinical Information Network (CIN). Working with 15 hospitals and focused on generating high quality routine data the CIN is exploring how to improve hospital care at scale while using aggregate data to trial feedback interventions and understand practice variation. Other major current work includes a 4.5 year project on how to improve health care provision for sick newborns, work that spans measuring effective coverage and multiple methodological approaches to inform thinking on the challenges of delivering effective nursing care and possible task-shifting. Mike frequently provides advice to the Kenyan government and WHO on a range of issues related to child and newborn survival and health systems performance and is a member of the Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era (https://www.hqsscommission.org/).

See more

Recent publications

Identifying and quantifying initial post-discharge needs for clinical review of sick, newborns in Kenya based on a large multi-site, retrospective cohort study.
Wainaina, J., Lee, E., Irimu, G., Aluvaala, J., English, M.
Front Pediatr, (2024). 12:1374629

Prospective clinical surveillance for severe acute respiratory illness and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Kenyan hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lucinde, R. K., Gathuri, H., Isaaka, L., Ogero, M., Mumelo, L., Kimego, D., Mbevi, G., Wanyama, C., Otieno, E. O., Mwakio, S., Saisi, M., Isinde, E., Oginga, I. N., Wachira, A., Manuthu, E., Kariuki, H., Nyikuli, J., Wekesa, C., Otedo, A., Bosire, H., Okoth, S. B., Ongalo, W., Mukabi, D., Lusamba, W., Muthui, B., Adembesa, I., Mithi, C., Sood, M., Ahmed, N., Gituma, B., Giabe, M., Omondi, C., Aman, R., Amoth, P., Kasera, K., Were, F., Nganga, W., Berkley, J. A., Tsofa, B., Mwangangi, J., Bejon, P., Barasa, E., English, M., Scott, J. A. G., Akech, S., Kagucia, E. W., Agweyu, A., Etyang, A. O.
BMC Infect Dis, (2024). 24:1246

Assessment of neonatal referral infrastructure and clinical characteristics of referred neonates in three first referral hospitals in Nairobi County, Kenya.
Wainaina, J., Irimu, G., English, M., Mbaire, E., Waiyego, M., Manyasi, C., Kimutai, D., Emadau, C., Muturi, C., Aluvaala, J.
Wellcome Open Res, (2023). 8:126

Public service motivation, public sector preference and employment of Kenyan medical doctor interns: a cross-sectional and prospective study.
Mbuthia, D., Zhao, Y., Gathara, D., Nicodemo, C., McGivern, G., Nzinga, J., English, M.
Hum Resour Health, (2024). 22:61

Examining liminality in professional practice, relational identities, and career prospects in resource-constrained health systems: Findings from an empirical study of medical and nurse interns in Kenya.
Zhao, Y., Nzekwu, S., Boga, M., Mbuthia, D., Nzinga, J., English, M., Molyneux, S., McGivern, G.
Soc Sci Med, (2024). 357:117226