Maternal and Adolescent Health Equity (MAHE)

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Driving equity across the maternal and adolescent health life course

The Maternal and Adolescent Health Equity (MAHE) Research Group is dedicated to improving health and wellbeing across the maternal to adolescent life course, with a strong focus on equity, evidence synthesis, and implementation science. Maternal, newborn, and adolescent health outcomes continue to be shaped by persistent social, cultural, and structural inequities, particularly among migrant, refugee, and other marginalised populations.

Led by Associate Professor Zohra Lassi, the MAHE Research Group brings together multidisciplinary researchers, implementation scientists, epidemiologists, and community partners to generate high-quality evidence and translate it into meaningful policy and practice impact in Australia and globally. The group’s work spans preconception health, maternal and perinatal care, adolescent health, nutrition, and health systems strengthening across the continuum of care.

Through rigorous systematic reviews, global guideline contributions, priority-setting partnerships, and implementation-focused research, we aim to strengthen health systems and ensure that every woman, mother and adolescent has equitable access to quality care. The group works closely with international collaborators and policy agencies, including World Health Organisation (WHO) and national health bodies, to support evidence-informed decision-making and reduce preventable inequities in health outcomes.

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Evidence synthesis and systematic reviews in maternal and adolescent health

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Implementation science to translate evidence into policy and practice

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Health equity research focusing on migrant, refugee, and vulnerable populations in low and middle income countries

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Preconception, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health across the life course

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Global guideline development and policy translation

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Consumer and community-engaged research and priority setting partnerships

Explore MAHE

The group has contributed to global and national improvements in maternal and adolescent health policy and practice. The team’s systematic reviews and evidence syntheses have informed multiple international guidelines, including WHO recommendations, particularly in areas such as preconception care, adolescent health, and maternal nutrition.

The group’s work has strengthened understanding of health inequities affecting migrant and refugee populations and has directly supported the design of more inclusive and equitable health programs. Through priority-setting partnerships and implementation research, MAHE has helped shape research agendas that reflect community and consumer priorities.

The research outputs are widely cited across global health policy documents and have contributed to improved frameworks for integrating equity into reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent (RMNCAH) programs, ensuring better health outcomes across the life course.

Associate Professor Zohra Lassi, MAHE group lead; Robinson Research Institute Accelerator Programme Co-Lead – Epidemiology and Community

Dr Engida Yisma Derbie, Research Fellow

The group is leading a portfolio of research projects focused on improving equity and outcomes across the maternal and adolescent health continuum.

This project develops a comprehensive, evidence-informed adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) toolkit tailored for Pakistan. The work integrates evidence gap mapping, structured priority-setting exercises, youth engagement through trained youth champions, and mixed-methods research capturing the needs of adolescents in both rural and urban settings. Quantitative analyses complement qualitative insights to ensure contextual relevance and scalability.

The toolkit will directly address critical gaps in adolescent SRH service delivery in Pakistan, strengthen youth-friendly health systems, and support evidence-based programming. It is expected to inform national policy, improve access to SRH services, and build local capacity for adolescent-responsive health system design.

Funded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia

This program investigates sexual health needs, barriers to care, and service access among migrant and refugee women in high-income settings across Australia and Canada, using mixed-methods and equity-focused frameworks.

Findings will inform culturally responsive sexual health services, reduce inequities in access and outcomes, and guide policy reforms in migrant health and women’s sexual health service delivery across high-income countries.

Funded by International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH); Women’s Health Research Translation Network (WHRTN); Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI), Canada

This program synthesises global evidence and conducts secondary data analyses to examine preconception health risks, behaviours, and interventions among adolescents and young populations.

The work informs global and national preconception health policy, identifies intervention gaps, and strengthens the evidence base for early-life interventions aimed at improving maternal and intergenerational health outcomes.

Partly funded by NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Health in Preconception and Pregnancy (CRE HiPPP)

This project evaluates the effectiveness of a structured preconception health education intervention aimed at improving uptake of preconception care and reducing modifiable lifestyle risk factors among women in Northern Ethiopia.

The study provides critical evidence on scalable, community-based interventions to improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes in low-resource and post-conflict settings.

This research explores SRH knowledge, attitudes, service access, and unmet needs among migrant and refugee men in Australia, using qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The study addresses a major evidence gap in male reproductive health within migrant populations and supports the development of inclusive, gender-responsive SRH services and health promotion strategies.

This program applies consumer-driven priority setting, systematic evidence synthesis, and knowledge translation approaches to identify and address sexual and reproductive health priorities among migrant and refugee adolescents.

The work ensures that adolescent SRH research and programs are guided by lived experience, improving relevance, equity, and implementation of health interventions in diverse populations.

This study develops and validates a multidimensional women’s empowerment index and examines its association with mental health outcomes using population-based datasets.

The index provides a robust measurement tool for assessing empowerment in diverse settings and generates evidence on the role of empowerment in shaping women’s mental health and wellbeing.

Partly funded by HDA/PHSA

This research contributes to evidence synthesis and clinical guideline development on optimal surgical techniques for abdominal wall closure following caesarean section.

Findings directly inform global clinical guidelines, improving surgical outcomes, reducing post-operative complications, and standardising evidence-based obstetric surgical practice.

Partly funded by World Health Organization (WHO); Cochrane Collaboration

This interdisciplinary project integrates Indigenous knowledge systems into climate resilience strategies, focusing on sustainability, community adaptation, and environmental health.

The project strengthens inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in global climate policy and promotes culturally grounded, sustainable approaches to climate resilience.

Funded by Global Affairs Canada

This project develops and validates machine learning and AI-based predictive models to identify risk factors and early indicators of postnatal depression among women in Pakistan.

The study advances digital mental health innovation in low- and middle-income countries, enabling early detection, targeted interventions, and improved maternal mental health outcomes.

Funded by AI-SARSH Initiative; International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada

Contact us

Location

Location
Maternal and Adolescent Health Equity
Robinson Research Institute, Adelaide University
50 Rundle Mall Plaza, Level 4, Adelaide University

Telephone

Phone: +61 8 8303 9266

Email

Email: zohra.lassi@adelaide.edu.au