Staff profile

I completed my PhD in Medical Anthropology at Durham University in 2013 and subsequently became an Honorary Fellow in the department. Since the PhD I have completed postdoctoral work and fellowships in the Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham University and the Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town (2014-2018). At Durham I have been involved in global health diplomacy research with Dr Andrew Russell and was an international collaborator on the Life of Breath project in the Centre for Medical Humanities for which I have made regular visits to Durham.

My main areas of ethnographic research have been on the topic of chronic illness and the intersection of public health and medical anthropology. The research I carried-out while an NRF postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town was entitled “Using, providing and producing home oxygen therapy: A comparative ethnographic study”. The research involved fieldwork in Cape Town and Montevideo on the day to day practices and experiences surrounding the use of medicinal oxygen across public and private healthcare. In addition to investigating policy in practice, I am focused on how oxygen is conceptualized and experienced by health workers and patients. This work builds upon my PhD thesis on living-with and caring for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Uruguay (examined by Prof. Mark Nichter and Prof. Bob Simpson). I also have a special interest in experiential learning and field schools. I was a travelling lecturer on the SIT's study abroad program (IHP - Health and Community: Globalization, Culture and Care) in 2013 and was a community health research methods field school mentor in Cape Town between 2014 and 2016. As part of a separate pedogogy postdoctoral fellowship at UCT I also conducted research on the field school itself.

In 2018 I relocated to rural Portugal where I work as a freelance consultant. I work remotely on a variety of projects outside and inside of Portugal as a qualitative research specialist. As a consultant, my role is to support projects to optimize their research designs, use of creative methdodologies, and qualitative analysis. I am actively involved in methodological development in the area of qualitative evidence syntheses/systematic reviews and am a member of the GRADE-CERQual coodrinating team. I also provide training for NVivo software for qualitative data management and analysis. Since 2018 I have been working on an implementation research project based in Canada led by Dr. Myra Piat on the topic of implementing mental health recovery guidelines into services. I also still enjoy a bit of teaching! In 2020 I taught a 10-week online course in Searching for and Systematizing the Use of Qualitative Evidence for health technology assessment professionals in the Brazilian Ministry of Public Health.

 

• Experiential pedagogy
• Sensorial Anthropology
• Ethical Dilemmas and the Political Economy of Health
• Socio-cultural anthropology
• Medical anthropology
• Ethnography and qualitative methods
• Applied anthropology
• Public health
• Chronic disease
• Encounters in healthcare
• Qualitative Evidence Synthesis

• Anthropology of Health

• 2015: National Research Foundation (NRF, South Africa) Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship:
• 2012: Postgraduate Excellence Award:
• 2010: Dryburn Research Prize: Awarded by a panel of three judges from the University Hospital of North Durham for the research entitled: An Ethnographic Investigation of Chronic Constipation Patients Experience of Illness and Healthcare Relationships
• 2009: Arthur Maurice Hocast Prize: This annual prize, administered by the Royal Anthropological Institute, is awarded to the best postgraduate essay on an anthropological topic from across Great Britain and Ireland. Essay title: Taking Constipation Seriously: An Ethnographic Study of the Patient's Perspective on Illness Experience and Interactions in Healthcare.
• 2009: Van Mildert College Trust Research Scholarship:
• 2008: Durham Academic Scholarship:

Chapter in book

• Wainwright, M (2016). Rebellion and Co-Morbidity. In The Routledge Handbook of Medical Anthropology. Manderson,L, Hardon, A & Cartwright, E Routledge.

Conference Paper

• Wainwright, M. (2012), Perspectivas y Investigaciones Antropologicas en Salud y Enfermedad, 10: Seminario de Extension, Casa de la Universidad Tacuarembo. Tacuarembo, Anuario de Antropologia Social y Cultural en Uruguay, Tacuarembo, 245-248.

Conference Proceeding

• Arnaert, A. & Wainwright, M. (2008). Preliminary Results of a Home Telecare Project for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Canadian Respiratory Conference: A Breath of Fresh Air:, Montreal, Canada, Candian Respiratory Journal.

Doctoral Thesis

• Wainwright, M. (2013). Breathing and Breathlessness: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Uruguay. Durham University. PhD: 333.

Edited Journal

• Setsuko Toma, Tereza Barreto, Jorge de Sousa, Maria Sharmila A. Lewin, Simon, Glenton, Claire Wainwright, Megan & Soares, Cassia Baldini (2019). Síntese de evidências qualitativas para informar políticas de saúde. Boletim do Instituto de Saúde – BIS, 20 (2): Instituto de Saúde de São Paulo.
• Toma, Tereza Setsuki, Barreto, Jorge, de Sousa, Sharmila A., Lewin, Simon, Glenton, Claire, Wainwright, Megan & Soares, Cassia Baldini (2019). Qualitative Evidence Synthesis to Inform Health Policy. Boletim do Instituto de Saúde - BIS, 20 (2): Institute of Health.

Journal Article

• Price, Heather D., Bowyer, Cressida J., Büker, Patrick, Gray, Cindy M., Hahn, Matthew, Lambe, Fiona, Loh, Miranda, Medcalf, Alexander J., Njoora, Timothy Kamau, Waelde, Charlotte, Wainwright, Megan & West, Sarah E. (2023). From reflection diaries to practical guidance for transdisciplinary research: learnings from a Kenyan air pollution project. Sustainability Science 18(3): 1429–1444.
• Piat, Myra, Wainwright, Megan, Rivest, Marie-Pier, Sofouli, Eleni, von Kirchenheim, Tristan, Albert, Hélène, Casey, Regina, Labonté, Lise, O’Rourke, Joseph J. & LeBlanc, Sébastien (2022). The impacts of implementing recovery innovations: a conceptual framework grounded in qualitative research. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 16(1).
• West, Sarah E., Bowyer, Cressida J., Apondo, William, Büker, Patrick, Cinderby, Steve, Gray, Cindy M., Hahn, Matthew, Lambe, Fiona, Loh, Miranda, Medcalf, Alexander, Muhoza, Cassilde, Muindi, Kanyiva, Njoora, Timothy Kamau, Twigg, Marsailidh M., Waelde, Charlotte, Walnycki, Anna, Wainwright, Megan, Wendler, Jana, Wilson, Mike & Price, Heather D. (2021). Using a co-created transdisciplinary approach to explore the complexity of air pollution in informal settlements. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8(1).
• Piat, Myra, Wainwright, Megan, Cherkas, Danielle, Leblanc, Sébastien, Sofouli, Eleni, Rivest, Marie-Pier, Albert, Hélène, Casey, Regina, O’Rourke, Joseph J. & Labonté, Lise (2021). Identifying and understanding the contextual factors that shaped mid-implementation outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in organizations implementing mental health recovery innovations into services. Implementation Science Communications 2(1): 101.
• Piat, Myra, Wainwright, Megan, Sofouli, Eleni, Vachon, Brigitte, Deslauriers, Tania, Préfontaine, Cassandra & Frati, Francesca (2021). Factors influencing the implementation of mental health recovery into services: a systematic mixed studies review. Systematic Reviews 10(1): 134.
• Piat, Myra, Wainwright, Megan, Sofouli, Eleni, Albert, Hélène, Casey, Regina, Rivest, Marie-Pier, Briand, Catherine, Kasdorf, Sarah, Labonté, Lise, LeBlanc, Sébastien & O’Rourke, Joseph J. (2021). The CFIR Card Game: a new approach for working with implementation teams to identify challenges and strategies. Implementation Science Communications 2(1).
• Wainwright, Megan, Sicwebu, N., Colvin, C. Gong, E. Henderson, R. & Swartz, A. (2019). Exploring community residents’ motivations for interacting with American field school students in South Africa. Journal of Experiential Education 42(2): 171-184.
• Pentecost, M., Gerber, B., Wainwright, M. & Cousins, T. (2018). Critical orientations for humanising health sciences education in South Africa. Medical Humanities 44(4): 221-229.
• Hume, V.J. & Wainwright, M. (2018). Reflections on a field across time and space: the emergent medical and health humanities in South Africa. Medical Humanities 44(4): 263-269.
• Wainwright, M. (2018). Exploring ambivalent oxygen machine–people–world relations through the lens of postphenomenology. Journal of material culture 23(4): 426-447.
• Lewin, Simon, Bohren, Meghan, Rashidian, Arash, Munthe-Kaas, Heather, Glenton, Claire, Colvin, Christopher J., Garside, Ruth, Noyes, Jane, Booth, Andrew, Tunçalp, Özge, Wainwright, Megan, Flottorp, Signe, Tucker, Joseph D. & Carlsen, Benedicte (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings—paper 2: how to make an overall CERQual assessment of confidence and create a Summary of Qualitative Findings table. Implementation Science 13(S1): 10.
• Lewin, Simon, Booth, Andrew, Glenton, Claire, Munthe-Kaas, Heather, Rashidian, Arash, Wainwright, Megan, Bohren, Meghan A., Tunçalp, Özge, Colvin, Christopher J., Garside, Ruth, Carlsen, Benedicte, Langlois, Etienne V. & Noyes, Jane (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings: introduction to the series. Implementation Science 13(S1): 2.
• Glenton, Claire, Carlsen, Benedicte, Lewin, Simon, Munthe-Kaas, Heather, Colvin, Christopher J., Tunçalp, Özge, Bohren, Meghan A., Noyes, Jane, Booth, Andrew, Garside, Ruth, Rashidian, Arash, Flottorp, Signe & Wainwright, Megan (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings—paper 5: how to assess adequacy of data. Implementation Science 13(S1): 14.
• Munthe-Kaas, Heather, Bohren, Meghan A., Glenton, Claire, Lewin, Simon, Noyes, Jane, Tunçalp, Özge, Booth, Andrew, Garside, Ruth, Colvin, Christopher J., Wainwright, Megan, Rashidian, Arash, Flottorp, Signe & Carlsen, Benedicte (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings—paper 3: how to assess methodological limitations. Implementation Science 13(S1): 9.
• Noyes, Jane, Booth, Andrew, Lewin, Simon, Carlsen, Benedicte, Glenton, Claire, Colvin, Christopher J., Garside, Ruth, Bohren, Meghan A., Rashidian, Arash, Wainwright, Megan, Tunςalp, Özge, Chandler, Jacqueline, Flottorp, Signe, Pantoja, Tomas, Tucker, Joseph D. & Munthe-Kaas, Heather (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings–paper 6: how to assess relevance of the data. Implementation Science 13(S1): 4.
• Colvin, Christopher J., Garside, Ruth, Wainwright, Megan, Munthe-Kaas, Heather, Glenton, Claire, Bohren, Meghan A., Carlsen, Benedicte, Tunçalp, Özge, Noyes, Jane, Booth, Andrew, Rashidian, Arash, Flottorp, Signe & Lewin, Simon (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings—paper 4: how to assess coherence. Implementation Science 13(S1): 13.
• Wainwright, M. (2018). Imaging and imagining chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Uruguayans draw their lungs. Disability and Rehabilitation 40(26): 3094-3103.
• Russell, A., Wainwright, M. & Tilson, M. (2018). Means and ENDS – e-cigarettes, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and global health diplomacy in action. Global Public Health 13(1): 83-98.
• Wainwright, M., Bingham, S. & Sicwebu, N. (2017). Photovoice and photodocumentary for enhancing community partner engagement and student learning in a public health field school in Cape Town. Journal of Experiential Education 40(4): 409-424.
• Wainwright, M. (2017). Sensing the Airs: The Cultural Context for Breathing and Breathlessness in Uruguay. Medical Anthropology: Cross-Cultural Studies in Health and Illness 36(4): 332-347.
• Maatz, A., Wainwright, M., Russell, A., Macnaughton, J. & Yiannakou, Y. (2016). What’s ‘difficult’? A multi-stage qualitative analysis of secondary care specialists’ experiences with medically unexplained symptoms. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 90: 1-9.
• Wainwright, M., Colvin, C.J., Swartz, A. & Leon, N. (2016). Self-management of medical abortion: A qualitative evidence synthesis. Reproductive Health Matters 24(47): 155-167.
• Russell, A.J., Wainwright, M. & Mamudu, H.M. (2015). A chilling example? Uruguay, Phillip Morris International, and WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 29(2): 256-277.
• Wainwright, M & Macnaughton, J (2013). Is a qualitative perspective missing from COPD guidelines? The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 1(6): 441-442.
• Allen, D., Wainwright, M. & Hutchinson, T. (2011). Non-compliance as illness management: Hemodialysis patients' descriptions of adversarial patient-clinician interactions. Social Science and Medicine 73: 129-134.
• Wainwright, M., Russell, A. & Yiannakou, Y. (2011). Challenging the Biopsychosocial Model in a Chronic Constipation Clinic. Qualitative Health Research 21(12): 1643-1657.
• Wainwright, M. & Russell, A. (2010). Using NVivo Audio-Coding: Practical, Sensorial and Epistemological Considerations. Social Research Update (60): 1-4.
• Arnaert, A. & Wainwright, M. (2009). Providing care and sharing expertise: reflections of nurse-specialists in palliative homecare. Palliative & Supportive Care 7(357-364).
• Arnaert, A., Seller, R. & Wainwright M. (2009). Homecare Nurses’ Attitudes to Palliative Care in a Rural Community of Western Quebec. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing 11(4).
• Arnaert, A. & Wainwright, M. (2008). Designing and Implementing a Home Telecare Service for Elderly Patients with COPD: Steps and Challenges. The Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics 3(2): 49-83.
• Allen, D., Wainwright, M., Hutchinson, T. & Mount, B. (2008). The wounding path to becoming healers: Medical students’ apprenticeship experiences. Medical Teacher 30(3): 260-65.

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Wainwright, M, Bowyer, C, West, S, Gray, C & Workshop Participants (2020). Music And Digital Storytelling As Both Methods And Outputs For Research And Action On Air Pollution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDWrs6ktMvs&feature=emb_logo.
• Waweru, Dennis Wainwright, Megan & Air Network (2019). Air Pollution in Mukuru: Dennis' Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjetxTMHfaE.
• Wainwright, M., Bingham, S., Sicwebu, N., Ndlani, L., Mocha, A., Mzuzwana, V. & Maqogi, M. (2016). Life in Town Two: A Photodocumentary - https://vimeo.com/174489626. Photodocumentary.
• Wainwright, M (2014). Podcast: EPOC al Aire: Historias de la Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Cronica [COPD on the Air: Stories of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease] - https://vimeo.com/91838964. Podcast: 16 minutes.
• Allen, D., Hutchinson T. & Wainwright M. (2009). Living with Kidney Failure: A Three-Part Film. http://www.mcgill.ca/wholepersoncare/esrdqualityofliferesearch/3partfilm/

Other (Print)

• Colvin, C., Wainwright, M., Noyes, J., Munthe-Kaas, H., Garside, R., Carlsen, B., Rashidian, A., Booth, A., Glenton,C., Bohren, M., Lewin, S. & Tuncalp, O. (2015). Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual): Development and Future Directions of a Novel Approach. Cochrane Methods (Suppl 1): 45-47.
• Wainwright, M. (2013). Faltar el aire. Enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva cronica en Uruguay. Anuario de Antropologia Social y Cultural en Uruguay 11: 275-278.