HEIDI BART JOHNSTON, PHD REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS RESEARCH CONSULTANT ADDRESS: WEIDENWEG 1 EMAIL: heidibartjohnston@gmail.com 8620 WETZIKON ZH MOBILE: +41(0)77 438 2653 SWITZERLAND EDUCATION PHD BA Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Department of Population Dynamics, School of Public Health. Minor in Sociology. Doctoral thesis title: Induced Abortion in the Developing World: Evaluating an Indirect Estimation Technique. May 1999. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa. Major in Sociology, Concentration in Gender Studies. May 1989. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Reproductive Health and Rights Research Consultant. Wetzikon, Switzerland. 2009-present. Conduct monitoring and evaluation, cost analysis, indicator analysis and other research investigating reproductive health and rights and social determinants of health. Clients include ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Ipas, Chapel Hill, USA; World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; and Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Maternal and Child Health. 2003 present. Advise and mentor students in the school of public health. Social Scientist, ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2006-09. Developed, resourced and directed research projects; collaborated and coordinated with key stakeholders including NGO program managers, government counterparts, donors and international partners; disseminated findings to relevant local, national, and international audiences. Led the Asia Regional Hub of the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network of the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Conducted demographic and anthropological research as well as policy analysis in the areas of abortion, menstrual regulation, and social determinants of health. Conducted research to assess the costs to the health system of the in-place and alternative strategies of providing menstrual regulation (MR), abortion and postabortion care. Led a collaborative initiative to document the feasibility and acceptability of introducing MR with medication (medical abortion) into the national MR program. Health and Rights Research Consultant. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2004-2005. Conducted reproductive health program assessments and disseminated results. Topical areas included the national menstrual regulation program and new strategies for skilled attendance at home-based births. Clients included the Swedish International Development Cooperation, the Royal Netherlands Embassy Development Co-operation, and the Nongovernmental Organization Service Delivery Program (NSDP) / Pathfinder International. Senior Research Associate (2003-2004), Research Associate (1999-2003), Ipas. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Developed, resourced and led multiple international qualitative and quantitative research projects supporting Ipas s global work to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries. Research 1
projects included community-based behavioral studies, health system-wide demographic and economic modeling, and program monitoring and evaluation. Led the collaborative coordination of the first-ever international conference on the role of midlevel providers in menstrual regulation and elective abortion care (South Africa 2001). PUBLICATIONS Johnston HB, Schurmann A, Oliveras E and Akhter HH. 2011. Scaled up and marginalized: a review of Bangladesh s menstrual regulation programme and its impact in: Blas E, Sommerfeld J and Kurup AS (eds.). Social determinants approaches to public health: from concept to practice. Geneva: World Health Organization. Johnston HB, Oliveras E, Akhter S, Walker DG. 2010. Health system costs of menstrual regulation and care for abortion complications in Bangladesh. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health: 36(4):197 204. Johnston HB, Edmeades J, Nyblade L, Pearson E, Serbanescu F, and Stup P. 2010. Three Approaches to Improving the Use of Face-to-Face Interviews to Measure Abortion in Singh S, Remez L and Tartaglione A (eds.) Methodologies for Estimating Abortion Incidence and Abortion-Related Morbidity: A Review. New York: Guttmacher Institute; and Paris: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. Johnston HB and Westoff C. 2010. Examples of Model-Based Approaches to Estimating Abortion in Singh S, Remez L and Tartaglione A (eds.) Methodologies for Estimating Abortion Incidence and Abortion-Related Morbidity: A Review. New York: Guttmacher Institute; and Paris: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. Johnston HB, Lara D, Mario S and Pantelide E. 2010. Data Triangulation: Using Multiple Methods to Estimate and Validate Abortion Incidence and Prevalence in Singh S, Remez L and Tartaglione A (eds.) Methodologies for Estimating Abortion Incidence and Abortion-Related Morbidity: A Review. New York: Guttmacher Institute; and Paris: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. Huda FA, Ford E, Deshpande A, Al Haque N, Quaiyum MA, Healy J, Otsea K, Johnston HB. 2010. Strengthening Health System Capacity to Monitor and Evaluate Programs Targeted at Reducing Abortion-related Maternal Mortality. April 2010. ICDDR,B Reproductive Health Working Paper Series Working Paper No. 1. ICDDR,B: Dhaka, Bangladesh. Johnston HB (Guest editor). 2009. Special Social Exclusion Issue and Inaugural Issue of the Gender, Health and Human Rights section of the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition: 27(4). http://www.icddrb.org/publication.cfm?classificationid=30&pubid=10422 Johnston HB. 2009. Relationships of Exclusion and Cohesion with Health: The Case of Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition: 27(4):426-440. Schurmann AT, Johnston HB. 2009. The Group-lending Model and Social Closure: Microcredit, Exclusion, and Health in Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition: 27(4):518-527. Patel L, Bennett TA, Halpern CT, Johnston HB, Suchindran CM. 2009. Support for provision of early medical abortion by mid-level providers in Bihar and Jharkhand, India. Reproductive Health Matters: 17(33). 2
Johnston HB, Naved RT. 2008. Spousal Violence in Bangladesh: A Call for a Public-health Response. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition: 26(3). Mathieson J, Popay J, Escorel S, Hernandez M, Johnston HB and Rispel L. 2008. Social Exclusion: Meaning, measurement and experience and links to health inequalities: A review of literature. WHO Social Exclusion Knowledge Network Background Paper 1. Lancaster University: UK. Johnston HB, Schurmann A, Oliveras E and Akhter HH. 2007. Addressing Abortion-Related Mortality and Morbidity: The Bangladesh Menstrual Regulation Program. Report to the Priority Public Health Conditions Knowledge Network. WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Johnston HB. 2007. Review of Preventing Unsafe Abortion and Its Consequences: Priorities for Research and Action / Ina K. Warriner and Iqbal H. Shah, editors. Studies in Family Planning: 38(3). Johnston HB, Gallo MF, Benson J. 2007. Reducing the Costs to Health Systems of Unsafe Abortion: A Comparison of Four Strategies. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care: 33(4). Popay J, Escorel S, Hernández M, Johnston HB, Mathieson J, and Rispel L. 2007. Understanding and Tackling Social Exclusion. Final Report to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Johnston HB, Gallo MF, Benson J. 2007. Reducing Abortion Costs to Health Systems. id21 Health Focus. Institute of Development Studies. University of Sussex. August 2007. Oliveras E, Johnston HB. 2007. Increasing Levels of Abortion and Decreasing Abortion-related Mortality. Health Sciences Bulletin. 5(2). ICDDR,B. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Oliveras E, Johnston HB, Nahar L, Chowdhury ME, Sabir AA, Islam MS. 2007. Situation Analysis of Unsafe Abortion and Menstrual Regulation in Bangladesh. ICDDR,B. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Johnston HB. 2004. Evaluation of Swedish Support to the Menstrual Regulation Programme of Bangladesh, June 2003 June 2004. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Dhaka, Bangladesh. December 2004. Johnston HB. 2003. Safe and Accessible Abortion: Strategizing the Future. Seminar. 532: 41-46. www.india-seminar.com. Johnston HB, Ved R, Lyall N, Agarwal K. 2003. Where Do Rural Women Obtain Postabortion Care? The Case of Uttar Pradesh, India. International Family Planning Perspectives. 29(4):182-187. Ganatra B, Johnston HB. 2002. Reducing Abortion-Related Mortality in South Asia: A Review of Constraints and a Roadmap for Change. Journal of the American Women s Medical Association. Volume 57 (3). Nguyen TA, Johnston HB. 2002. Can Vietnam s Family Planning Collaborators Improve Grassroots Reproductive Health Services? Results of an Assessment in Two Communes. Ipas. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Johnston HB. 2002. Induced Abortion Practice in India: A Review of the Literature. CEHAT. Mumbai, India. 3
Ipas and IHCAR. 2002. Deciding Women s Lives are Worth Saving: Expanding the Role of Midlevel Providers in Safe Abortion Care. Ipas. Chapel Hill, NC. Ipas. 2002. Safe Abortion Care: An Imperative for Health Care Workers. Ipas. Chapel Hill, NC. (Video) Johnston HB, Otsea K (eds.). 2001. Expanding Access: Advancing the Role of Midlevel Providers in Menstrual Regulation and Elective Abortion Care. Ipas. Chapel Hill, NC. Johnston HB, Ved R, Lyall N, Agarwal K. 2001. Postabortion Complications and their Management: A Community Assessment Conducted in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India. PRIME II Technical Report No. 25. Intrah. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Johnston HB, Ved R, Lyall N, Agarwal K. 2001. Managing Postabortion Complications in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India: A Qualitative Study. PRIME II Dispatch. Intrah. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Johnston HB. 2001. Menstrual Regularity in Matlab, Bangladesh: Women s Perspectives and Practices, in E. van de Walle and E. Renne (eds.), Regulating Menstruation: Beliefs, Practices, Interpretations. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Salter CL, Johnston HB, Hengen NZ. 1997. Care for Postabortion Complications: Saving Women s Lives. Population Reports. Series L, No. 10. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Population Information Program. Johnston HB, Hill KH. 1996. Induced Abortion in the Developing World: Indirect Estimates. International Family Planning Perspectives. 22:108-114. SELECT PRESENTATIONS Johnston HB. 2010. Assessing the cost-efficiency of menstrual regulation and care for abortion complications in Bangladesh: A comparison of multiple service delivery strategies. International Seminar on the Health, Economic, and Social Consequences of Unsafe Abortion. 10-12 November 2010, San Juan del Rio, Mexico. Benson J, Johnston HB, Okoh M, Manibo M, KrennHrubec K, Gebreselassie H. 2010. Health facility costs of treatment of abortion complications in Nigeria. International Seminar on the Health, Economic, and Social Consequences of Unsafe Abortion. 10-12 November 2010, San Juan del Rio, Mexico. Alam A, Johnston HB, Bracken H, Reichenbach L., Raghavan S, Winnikoff B., Oliveras E. 2010. Menstrual Regulation using Mifepristone and Misoprostol: A new method for Bangladesh. The First International Congress on Women's Health and Unsafe Abortion. January 20-23, 2010: Bangkok, Thailand. Johnston HB, Oliveras E, Akhter S, Walker DG. 2009. Health System Costs of Menstrual Regulation and Postabortion Care: The Case of Bangladesh. 26th IUSSP International Population Conference. 27 September to 2 October 2009. Marrakech, Morocco. Johnston HB, Huda FA, Nafis-Al-Haque, Quaiyum MA. 2009. The Status of MR and Care for Complications of Unsafe Abortion in Jessore District: Preliminary Data. New Monitoring Strategies for Reducing Abortion Related Maternal Mortality in Jessore District. 4 May 2009. Jessore, Bangladesh. 4
Johnston HB, Schurmann A, Oliveras E, and Akhter HH. 2009. Scaling up the Bangladesh MR Program: Lessons for Addressing Abortion-Related Mortality and Morbidity. ICDDR,B 12th Annual Scientific Conference: Health Systems Research: People s Needs First. 9-12 February 2009. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Johnston HB. 2009. Contribution of public, private and NGO sectors to reducing social exclusion and impacting health equity in Bangladesh. ICDDR,B 12th Annual Scientific Conference: Health Systems Research: People s Needs First. 9-12 February 2009. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Johnston HB. 2008. The Social Exclusion Knowledge Network: Process, Findings, and Implications. National Institutes of Health Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities. National Center of Minority Health and Health Disparities. 16-18 December 2008. Washington, DC. Johnston HB. 2008. Integrating menstrual regulation with medication into existing midlevel provider menstrual regulation program: Challenges and opportunities. Medical Abortion in South Asia: What is New? What is Next? 23-24 October, 2008. Kathmandu, Nepal. Johnston HB. 2007. Residual estimation of induced abortion rates: Results of a validation study conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh. International seminar on Measurement of abortion incidence, abortion-related morbidity and mortality. 7-9 November 2007. Paris, France. Johnston HB, Benson J. 2007. Assessing the cost-effectiveness of implementing WHO-recommended best practices for safe abortion care: An application using Uganda data. Global Safe Abortion Conference 2007. 23-24 October 2007. London, United Kingdom. Johnston HB, Naved RT. 2007. Spousal Violence in Bangladesh: A Public Health Concern. ICDDR,B Centre Scientific Forum. 26 February 2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Johnston HB, Benson J. 2003. Implementing reproductive rights: Identifying cost-effective strategies to increase access to safe abortion care. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. May 1-3, 2003. Minneapolis, MN. Johnston HB, Farr S, Ved R. 2002. Abortion decision-making: Actors and their priorities. Presentation at Abortion in India: How Can Research Help us Move Forward? Population Council Conference. 10-12 November 2002. Goa, India. Maimbolwa MC, Johnston HB. 2002. Expanding Access: Advancing the Role of Midwives in Menstrual Regulation and Elective Abortion Care. Presentation at American College of Nurse Midwives Annual Meeting. May 24-30, 2002. Atlanta, GA. 5