Dr. Karen Cowgill’s Work

Karen Cowgill is an epidemiologist based in Seattle, and was a Visiting Fulbright Fellow to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2016. She has co-authored (with Abel Ntambue) a pivotal article on hospital detention, which includes a mixed methods case study of a maternity ward in Lubumbashi. This article “Hospital detention of mothers and their infants at a large provincial hospital: a mixed-methods descriptive case study, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo” is published in the journal Reproductive Health and includes a literature review on hospital detention, a review of media reports, and multiple other points of interest for researchers of this global issue—including a conclusion that compellingly argues that the issue is a gendered violence.

Dr. Cowgill is also the co-author of an article on catastrophic expenditures in maternal health in the DRC, “Incidence of catastrophic expenditures linked to obstetric and neonatal care at 92 facilities in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015 (Ntambue et al 2019)“. This article  provides important context for the issue of hospital detention in the region.

Dr. Cowgill’s main research interests are in the area of maternal and child health, including reducing maternal mortality and improving breastfeeding and child nutrition, infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases of childhood, and parasitic infections. Dr. Cowgill most recently assisted Public Health-Seattle & King County on the COVID-19 response.

Dr. Cowgill’s past research with Dr. Abel Ntambue has been critical to the development of the podcast “Birthing Resistance” and “Akouchman ak Rezistans”, and we offer her our sincere thanks!

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