Links between cognitive impairment and exploitation in England
In this multidisciplinary project, I collaborated with teams across Sociology, Mathematics, and Health Sciences to deliver the first comprehensive evidence on the intersection between cognitive impairment and adult exploitation in England. I led the quantitative strand of the project using a mixed-methods design: (i) I reviewed national datasets including the National Referral Mechanism, Family Resources Survey, and Crime Survey for England and Wales. I applied econometric techniques in STATA to triangulate these with local authority-level data from the Office for National Statistics and the Safeguarding Adults Collection; (ii) I used Qualtrics for systematic textual data extraction and analysis of 58 Safeguarding Adults Reviews featuring exploitation; (iii) I designed and implemented a national survey to gather insights from safeguarding professionals on the prevalence of exploitation, as well as current policies and practices in adult safeguarding. Collectively, my analysis identified evidence-based risk factors for exploitation, highlighting an urgent need for policy and practice reform to address the systemic failures that leave adults with cognitive impairments vulnerable to exploitation and without adequate protection or redress. These findings have directly informed the development of training materials used by adult safeguarding teams in England. As part of knowledge exchange and policy engagements, I co-facilitated inception and dissemination workshops with external stakeholders, including people with lived experience, Safeguarding Adults Board Chairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, and safeguarding leads from local authorities.
Key policy-facing outputs:
November 2024: An Executive Summary and a Full Report co-authored with Gardner et. al. (2024). Exploitation of Adults with Cognitive Impairment in England: An Investigation into Evidence, Responses and Policy Implications, Project Report. The Rights Lab, University of Nottingham.
August 2023: TEB05: Cognitive impairment and exploitation. I led a written evidence submission to the UK Parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee on ‘Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base’, which relates to shortcomings in the evidence concerning exploitation risks among individuals with cognitive impairments in England. I submitted more insights on forced and early marriage risks among people with cognitive impairment to the House of Lords Committee on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in April 2024.
Vietnam Poverty and Equity Assessment – From the Last Mile to the Next Mile
Chapter 3 (Challenges to reducing poverty among the remaining poor), World Bank Report, 2022
The objective of this project was to provide a comprehensive picture of Vietnam's poverty reduction progress and the remaining challenges. I worked on micro-level analyses using multiple rounds of household surveys focusing on household-level agricultural activities among smallholder farmers. I used STATA to assess trends and constraints to poverty and productivity among small-scale rural agriculture households, estimated poverty across agriculture sub-sectors and other household characteristics and unpacked the reasons behind ethnic-based differences in key agricultural outcomes (within crop types and across agricultural activities). This work informed government strategies on reducing poverty and inequality in Vietnam.
Voluntary Migration in Ethiopia: In Search for Work and Better Opportunities
Chapter 3 (Motives and impacts of migration), World Bank Report, 2022
The project was aimed at providing a fresh perspective on migration in Ethiopia, dispelling some of the myths about the negative aspects of migration. I analysed multiple rounds of Labour Force Survey data to identify factors influencing the propensity to migrate as well as the labour market effects of migration in destination areas. My analysis provided a sound analytical base for decision-making on migration policies in Ethiopia.