Tanvi Rai

I am a mixed methods researcher with a PhD in public health. I have an interdisciplinary and international background that spans across public health and applied social sciences. I have a strong interest in health inequalities, and my research so far has been about social and structural determinants of health, inclusive research methods and practices, public health communication, as well as studies involving socially-sensitive health topics and working with socially marginalised populations.

I currently lead the process evaluation of the OBS UK study, which is a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial exploring the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of a clinical care bundle for managing postpartum haemorrhage in the UK. Given the inequities in maternal health outcomes in the UK, for this trial we have specifically recruited sites serving populations with high ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. I am also part of  the Implementation team of the Cancer group, exploring ways to translate research into changes in practice that benefit everyone affected by cancer. I am a tutor on the Oxford Qualitative Courses, and am currently supervising three DPhil students. I serve on the Steering Group for the Sheila Kitzinger Programme. 

Previously, I led the NOURISH-UK study exploring decision-making about infant feeding among mothers and birthing parents living with HIV in the UK. Through this work, we produced a free, public-facing resource for information and support on this topic. I was also a co-applicant and researcher on an ESRC-funded project exploring people's experiences of Covid-19, with a focus on how the pandemic worsened existing social and health inequalities. I joined the department in 2018 to develop a blood pressure management intervention for people who have experienced a stroke. I also delivered a project commissioned by the NIHR to explore ways to shift more health research to be conducted in areas of greatest patient need.

I completed my PhD in 2013 at Imperial College London. My thesis explored the relationship between labour migration and HIV in India. As a postdoctoral researcher after this I studied the experiences of people living with HIV in London in light of its transformation from a degenerative and fatal infection to a chronic, but still highly stigmatised, health condition.