Invisible in Plain Sight? Grandfathers Caring for Orphaned Grandchildren in Rural Malawi (2023)
Journal Article
Lazaro, M. C., Walker, L., & Robson, E. (in press). Invisible in Plain Sight? Grandfathers Caring for Orphaned Grandchildren in Rural Malawi. African Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2023.2212616

Millions of orphans, created by parental deaths due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, live with, and are cared for, by grandparents. Little research has considered how grandparents and, in particular, grandfathers, are caring for orphan... Read More about Invisible in Plain Sight? Grandfathers Caring for Orphaned Grandchildren in Rural Malawi.

Ethical Principles, Social Harm and the Economic Relations of Research: Negotiating Ethics Committee Requirements and Community Expectations in Ethnographic Research in Rural Malawi (2022)
Journal Article
Ansell, N., Mwathunga, E., Hajdu, F., Robson, E., Hlabana, T., van Blerk, L., & Hemsteede, R. (2022). Ethical Principles, Social Harm and the Economic Relations of Research: Negotiating Ethics Committee Requirements and Community Expectations in Ethnographic Research in Rural Malawi. Qualitative Inquiry, https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221124631

Conventional research ethics focus on avoidance of harm to individual participants through measures to ensure informed consent. In long-term ethnographic research projects involving multiple actors, however, a wider concept of harm is needed. We appl... Read More about Ethical Principles, Social Harm and the Economic Relations of Research: Negotiating Ethics Committee Requirements and Community Expectations in Ethnographic Research in Rural Malawi.

Mobile phone use and the welfare of community health nurses in Ghana: An analysis of unintended costs (2021)
Journal Article
Robson, E., Hampshire, K., Abane, A., Kasim, A., Owusu, S., & Mariwah, S. (2021). Mobile phone use and the welfare of community health nurses in Ghana: An analysis of unintended costs. World Development Perspectives, 23, Article 100317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100317

The use of mobile phones is fast transforming the healthcare delivery landscape in Ghana. A substantial number of health facilities are now dependent on mobile phones to facilitate their work. Evidence of the use of mobile phones in Ghana's healthcar... Read More about Mobile phone use and the welfare of community health nurses in Ghana: An analysis of unintended costs.

Informal mhealth at scale in Africa : opportunities and challenges (2021)
Journal Article
Hampshire, K., Mwase-Vuma, T., Alemu, K., Abane, A., Munthali, A., Awoke, T., …Kasim, A. S. (2021). Informal mhealth at scale in Africa : opportunities and challenges. World Development, 140, Article 105257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105257

© 2020 The extraordinary global growth of digital connectivity has generated optimism that mobile technologies can help overcome infrastructural barriers to development, with ‘mobile health’ (mhealth) being a key component of this. However, while ‘fo... Read More about Informal mhealth at scale in Africa : opportunities and challenges.

Formalising ‘informal’ mHealth in Ghana: Opportunities and challenges for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) (2021)
Journal Article
Mariwah, S., Machistey Abane, A., Asiedu Owusu, S., Kasim, A., Robson, E., Castelli, M., & Hampshire, K. (in press). Formalising ‘informal’ mHealth in Ghana: Opportunities and challenges for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Global Public Health, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2021.1874467

While mobile phones promise to be an important tool for bridging the healthcare gaps in resource-poor areas in developing countries, scalability and sustainability of mobile phones for health (mhealth) interventions still remain a major challenge. Me... Read More about Formalising ‘informal’ mHealth in Ghana: Opportunities and challenges for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Mobile phones, gender, and female empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: studies with African youth (2019)
Journal Article
Porter, G., Hampshire, K., Abane, A., Munthali, A., Robson, E., De Lannoy, A., …Owusu, S. (2020). Mobile phones, gender, and female empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: studies with African youth. Information Technology for Development, 26(1), 180-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2019.1622500

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Data from qualitative and survey research with young people in 24 locations (urban and rural) across Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa expose the complex interp... Read More about Mobile phones, gender, and female empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: studies with African youth.

Connecting with home, keeping in touch: Physical and virtual mobility across stretched families in sub-Saharan Africa (2018)
Journal Article
Porter, G., Hampshire, K., Abane, A., Munthali, A., Robson, E., Tanle, A., …Bango, A. (2018). Connecting with home, keeping in touch: Physical and virtual mobility across stretched families in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa, 88(2), 404-424. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972017000973

There is a long history of migration among low-income families in sub-Saharan Africa, in which (usually young, often male) members leave home to seek their fortune in what are perceived to be more favourable locations. While the physical and virtual... Read More about Connecting with home, keeping in touch: Physical and virtual mobility across stretched families in sub-Saharan Africa.

Youth livelihoods in the cellphone era: Perspectives from urban Africa (2018)
Journal Article
Porter, G., Hampshire, K., de Lannoy, A., Bango, A., Munthali, A., Robson, E., …Owusu, S. (2018). Youth livelihoods in the cellphone era: Perspectives from urban Africa. Journal of international development, 30(4), 539-558. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3340

Issues surrounding youth employment and unemployment are central to the next development decade. Understanding how youth use mobile phones as a means of communicating and exchanging information about employment and livelihoods is particularly import... Read More about Youth livelihoods in the cellphone era: Perspectives from urban Africa.

Ethics committees, journal publication and research with children (2017)
Journal Article
Robson, E. (2018). Ethics committees, journal publication and research with children. Children's Geographies, 16(5), 473-480. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2017.1392481

“My happiest time” or “my saddest time”? The spatial and generational construction of marriage among youth in rural Malawi and Lesotho (2017)
Journal Article
Ansell, N., Hajdu, F., van Blerk, L., & Robson, E. (2018). “My happiest time” or “my saddest time”? The spatial and generational construction of marriage among youth in rural Malawi and Lesotho. Transactions - Institute of British Geographers, 43(2), 184-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12211

Marriage among African teenagers is currently a central focus of campaigns by UN agencies and international NGOs. Yet, marriage has received only limited attention from geographers and has largely escaped the attention of geographers of youth. In thi... Read More about “My happiest time” or “my saddest time”? The spatial and generational construction of marriage among youth in rural Malawi and Lesotho.