Research

HEALTH FACILITY ELECTRIFICATION

• Vinci, S, Kwong, LH, Miles, SB, McCord, R, Tang, K, Ye, W, Kammen, DM, Adair-Rohani, H. Reliable Electricity to Advance Quality Healthcare. Accepted, in press. Lancet Global Health, Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5218088 

• McCord, R, Miles, S, Mughuma, J, Kammen, D, Kwong, L. Assessing the Impacts of Sufficient and Reliable Power at Healthcare Facilities. [Under review].

Digital monitoring of electricity at health facilities in the DRC

• Li, A, McCord, R, Miles, S, Kwong, LH. Evaluating the impact of heat, humidity, and precipitation on power quality in healthcare facilities: a case study of North Kivu, DRC. Environmental Research Letters, 10.1088/1748-9326/ae4b57 

• Miles, S, Sitompul, D, Jiturkar, S, Grinde-Hollevik, P, Mughuma, J, Osunmuyiwa, O, McCord, R, Taneja, J, Kammen, D, Kwong, LH. A digital metering and auditing methodology for health facility electrification and climate finance. 2025 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. doi: 10.1109/GHTC66843.2025.11265999 

Improving environmental health conditions in healthcare facilities in Malawi

• McCord, R, Cronk, R, Tomaro, J, Reuland, F, Behnke, N, Mmodzi Tseka, J, Banda, C, Kafanikhale, H, Mofolo, I, Hoffman, I, Bartram, J. (2019). The implementation of environmental health policies in health care facilities: The case of Malawi. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 22(4): 705-716. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.05.003.

• Reuland, F, Behnke, N, Cronk, R, McCord, R, Fisher, M, Abebe, L, Suhlrie, L, Joca, L, Mofolo, I, Kafanikhale, H, Mmodzi Tseka, J, Rehfuess, E, Tomaro, J, Hoffman, I, Bartram, J. (2019). Energy access in Malawian healthcare facilities: consequences for health service delivery and environmental health conditions. Health Policy and Planning, czz118. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czz118

• Schram, H, Cronk, R, Behnke, N, Mmodzi Tseka, J, Kafanikhale, H, Mofolo, I, Reuland, F, McCord, R. (2022). The role of cleaners in establishing and maintaining essential environmental conditions in healthcare facilities in Malawi. Journal of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Development, 12(3): 302-317. doi: 10.2166/washdev.2022.206.

• Oza, H, Fisher, M, Abebe, L, Cronk, R, McCord, R, Reuland, F, Behnke, N, Kafanikhale, H, Mofolo, I, Hoffman, I, Bartram, J. (2020). Application of tools to monitor environmental conditions, identify exposures, and inform decision-making to improve infection prevention and control practices in Malawian maternity wards. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192: 134. doi: 10.1007/s10661-020-8089-5.

HOUSEHOLD ENERGY TRANSITIONS:

• Beach, KB, McCord, R, Entwisle, B, Floess, E, Grieshop, A, Jumbe, C, Kabwe, G, Mahieu, A, Richardson, L, Sills, E, Jagger, P. Improving household and community energy access through sustainable energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. [Working paper].

• Mahadevan, M, McCord, R,  Meeks, R, Pradhananga, M. Understanding the effects of infrastructure upgrades on household behavior and utility review. [Working paper].

Malawi solar home system study

• Mahieu, A, McCord, R, Beach, KEB, Chilongo, T, Dai, C, Jumbe, C, Jagger, P. Can solar provide sustainable energy for all? Adoption and sustained use of household solar technologies in Malawi. Energy Research & Social Science, 127: 104249). doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2025.104249

• Dai, C, McCord, R, Beach, KB, Mahieu, A, Chilongo, T, Jumbe, C, Jagger, P. Unlocking financial inclusion through solar technology adoption in Malawi. Energy Economics, 154:109138. doi: 10.1016/j.eneco.2026.109138.

• McCord, R, Beach, KB, Chilongo, T, Jumbe, C, Mahieu, A, Jagger, P. Shining a light on household solar and energy access for rural Africa. Energy Research & Social Science, 104616, doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2026.104616.

Gendered time-use benefits from improved cooking solutions

• McCord, R, Jeuland M. Time-money tradeoffs and the value of time women spend obtaining firewood. [Working paper].

• Chandrasekaran, M., Jeuland, M, Litzow, E, McCord, R, Sonke, K, PP Krishnapriya, SK Pattanayak. Gendered time-use benefits from improved cookstoves: A pathway to a new type of development impact bond and cooking solutions market stimulus. [Working paper].

• Litzow, E, Chandrasekaran, M, McCord, R, PP Krishnapriya, SK Pattanayak. Intra-household bargaining power over budgets: Evidence from four African countries. [Working paper].

Zambia Clean Cooking Study

• McCord, R, Parsons, S, Bittner, A, Jumbe, C, Kabwe, G, Pedit, J Serenje, N, Grieshop, A, Jagger, P. (2024). Carbon monoxide exposure and risk of cognitive impairment among cooks in four sub-Saharan African settings. Indoor Air, 7363613. doi: 10.1155/2024/7363613.

• McCord, R, Beach, KB, Thompson, J, Bailis, R, Serenje, N, Kabwe, G, Jagger, P. Fragile Transitions: Cookstove disadoption and energy backsliding in urban Zambia. [Working paper].

Other cookstove papers

• Jagger, P, McCord, R, Gallerani, A, Hoffman, I, Jumbe, C, Pedit, J, Phiri, S. (2024). Household air pollution exposure and tuberculosis risk in adult women living in urban Malawi. BMJ Public Health, 0: e00176. doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2023-000176

• Reuland C, Nicolaou L, McCord R, Williams K, Hossen S, Chiang M, Hartinger S, Checkley W; HAPIN investigators. Cooking with liquefied petroleum gas or biomass fuels on growth on growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in two-year-old children. Environmental Health Perspectives, 133(6): 067004. doi: 10.1289/EHP15500 

• Mahadevan, M, Martinez, A, McCord, R, Meeks, R, Pradhananga M. On the Back Burner: Experimental Evidence for the Energy Transition. [Working paper].