Miriam N. Nkangu
MSc, PhD
Affiliate Investigator
About:
Miriam Nkangu, PhD is an Affiliate Investigator at the Bruyère Health Research Institute, concentrating her research efforts on fortifying health systems and translating research into action. Her research revolves around leveraging digital platforms to enhance access, coordination of care, and improve quality and data availability for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH).
As the founder and co-director of the BornFyne digital health platform, she and her team developed the BornFyne prenatal management system www.bornfyne.org. This digital system aims to bolster maternal health services, improve maternal outcomes, and enhance health systems’ sustained capacity in the digital health domain.
She employs implementation research approaches and frameworks to investigate behaviour change patterns from both the demand and supply sides to inform policy. Her overarching goal is to establish a research team and network grounded in evidence-based practices, supporting digital health initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular emphasis on the Digital Adaptation Kit (DAK) tools as part of the SMART guideline’s initiative. She engages with the WHO’s Digital Health Unit and work closely with Ministries of Public Health aligning with international and country policies to facilitate evidence uptake.
She received her Masters of Science (2008) with a focus on Primary Health Care at the Helsinki University, Finland and a PhD (2023) in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She has received awards at conferences and Grand Challenges Canada funding.
Research Interests:
Health equity, health systems, health policy, global health, digital health and innovation, health financing, community and stakeholder engagement, implementation research, reproductive maternal newborn child and adolescent health.
Select Publications:
Nkangu M, Little J, Asahngwa C, Deonandan R, Pongou R, Adams O, Yaya S. (2022). Examining the Implementation of the Performance-Based Financing Equity Strategy in Improving Access and Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Nkangu M, Little J, Deonandan R, Pongou R, Yaya S. (2023). An in-depth qualitative study of health care providers’ experiences of performance based financing program as a nation-wide adopted policy in Cameroon: A principal-agent perspective. PLoS ONE.
Nkangu M, Little J, Omonaiye O, Pongou R, Deonandan R, Geneau R, YayaS. (2023). A systematic review of the effect of performance-based financing interventions on out-of-pocket expenses to improve access to, and the utilization of, maternal health services across health sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Global Health.
Nkangu MN, Olatunde, OA, Yaya S. (2017). The perspective of gender on the Ebola virus disease using a risk management and population health framework: A scoping review. Infectious Diseases of Poverty.
Obegu P, Nkangu M, Ngo NV, Wanda F, Kasonde M, Kibu OD, Abong N, Ndiforchu V, Fantaye AW, Buh A, Gobina RM, Foretia DA, Fobellah N, Yaya S. (2023). Community participation for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health: insights from the design and implementation of the BornFyne-prenatal management system digital platform in Cameroon. Frontiers in Digital Health.
Contact:
mngui058@uottawa.ca
Follow BornFyne project at www.bornfyne.org