Ms Olatundun Gafari
Lecturer in Public Health, University of Southampton
BRC Equity Champion
Profile page(s)
Olatundun Gafari is a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Southampton with a background in public health nutrition and dietetics. She is involved in developing and implementing public health programmes to improve nutrition and health in Africa and in the UK.
She was the lead researcher on the health-focused work package of a UKRI-ESRC funded multicentre project (Co-POWeR), where she led the implementation of novel participatory and co-production methods to improve health, engaging over 50 public partners from underserved communities in the UK.
In her role as a BRC Equity champion, together with Sanjay Ramamoorthy, she leads on strategic and operational activities to foster an equitable and inclusive environment within the BRC, valuing the diverse groups of people who engage with the centre.
An early-career researcher, she is skilled in quantitative, qualitative, and participatory research, with interests in food and nutrition security, climate change, and health.
Olatundun welcomes discussions on equity, diversity and inclusion and is pleased for anyone with suggestions or concerns to reach out via email.
Landmark publications:
Gafari, O., Bahrami-Hessari, M., Norton, J., Parmar, R., Hudson, M., Ndegwa, L., Agyapong-Badu, S., Asante, K.P., Alwan, N. A., McDonough, S., Tully, M. A., Calder, P. C., Barker, M. and Stokes, M. (2024). Building trust and increasing inclusion in public health research: co-produced strategies for engaging UK ethnic minority communities in research. Public Health, 233, 90-99. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.05.007
Schoenaker, D., Gafari, O., Taylor, E., Hall, J., Barker, C., Jones, B., Alwan, N. A., Watson, D., Jacob, C. M., Barker, M., Godfrey, K. M., Reason, E., Forder, F., Stephenson, J. & Partnership, F. T. U. P. 2024. What Does ‘Preconception Health’ Mean to People? A Public Consultation on Awareness and Use of Language. Health Expectations, 27, e14181
Gafari, O., Stokes, M., Agyapong-Badu, S., Alwan, N. A., Calder, P. C., McDonough, S., Tully, M. A. and Barker, M. (2024). Including the values of UK ethnic minority communities in policies to improve physical activity and healthy eating. Discover Public Health, 21, 40. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-024-00163-4
Gafari, O., Agyapong-Badu, S., Alwan, N. A., Tully, M. A., McDonough, S., Stokes, M. and Barker, M. (2024). Misaligned or misheard? Physical activity and healthy eating messaging to ethnic minority communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study and scoping review. PLOS Global Public Health, 4(10), e0003345. pp. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003345