Dr Jennika Virhia

Research Associate (Infectious Disease Ecology)

email: Jennika.Virhia@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: She/her/hers

Import to contacts

Biography

I am a postdoctoral research associate with a broad interest and expertise in qualitative social science and evaluation and implementation science. I specialise on issues relating to health and wellbeing, One Health, zoonoses, disease, livelihoods, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, feasibility studies, theory of change development and evaluability assessments.

My work is largely interdisciplinary and as a qualitative social scientist, with a background in Human Geography, I seek to understand lived experiences, behaviours and situated practices in relation to health and wellbeing. My expertise lies in understanding complex social phenomenon which may affect feasibility of intervention design, development and implementation. I have extensive experience working with health practitioners to understand how they engage with or resist technological innovations which may impede or facilitate the success of health-based interventions in the work place.

I am particularly interested in mobilising insights from research into actionable and meaningful change for societal benefit. I have expertise in the field of 'Evaluability Assessment' where I have worked closely with third sector organisations and an interdisciplinary team to align key activities with broader goals in order to evidence impact.

I also have experience and interest in policy stakeholder engagement and workshop facilitation. As part of this, Dr. Emma Laurie and I have developed the open-access 'Activating Research for Change' Toolkit. This resource is designed to unite diverse stakeholders in envisioning and planning the necessary steps and resources for collaborating and driving change. This open-access resource is available for not-for-profit use under CC BY-NC 4.0 International and availble by clicking on this link

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021

Number of items: 10.

2024

Langdridge, Darren, Virhia, Jennika, McMullan, Rachel, Banks, Duncan, Biard, Olivier, Charitonos, Koula, Alunyo, Jimmy Patrick, Kagoya, Enid Kawala and Olupot-Olupot, Peter (2024) Effectiveness of work-based educational interventions for antimicrobial stewardship: a systematic review. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 6(6), dlae192. (doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlae192) (PMID:39659641) (PMCID:PMC11631219)

Virhia, Jennika, Laurie, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6208-2011, Lembo, Tiziana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6405-1849, Seni, Jeremiah, Pollack, Roxana, Davis, Alicia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, Mapunjo, Siana, Mshana, Stephen E., Mmbaga, Blandina T. and Hilton, Shona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-8152 (2024) Developing a logic model for communication-based interventions on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). PLoS Global Public Health, 4(6), e0002965. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002965) (PMID:38870108)

2023

Laurie, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6208-2011, Virhia, Jennika, Yongolo, Nateiya, Biswaro, Sanjura, McIntosh, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6340-3083 and Mmbaga, Blandina (2023) Activating Equitable Engagement: from research to policy (and back again): a report on dissemination activities for 'NIHR Global Health Research Group on estimating the prevalence, quality of life, economic and societal impact of arthritis in Tanzania'. Project Report. NIHR Global Health Team. (Unpublished)

Virhia, J. et al. (2023) “If you do not take the medicine and complete the dose…it could cause you more trouble”: bringing awareness, local knowledge and experience into antimicrobial stewardship in Tanzania. Antibiotics, 12(2), 243. (doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12020243) (PMID:36830154) (PMCID:PMC9952761)

2022

Davis, Alicia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, Virhia, Jennika, Bunga, Catherine, Alkara, Shayo, Cleaveland, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0456-0959, Yoder, Jonathan, Kinung’hi, Safari and Lankester, Felix (2022) “Using the same hand”: the complex local perceptions of integrated one health based interventions in East Africa. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16(4), e0010298. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010298) (PMID:35377878) (PMCID:PMC9009769)

Barasa, Violet and Virhia, Jennika (2022) Using intersectionality to identify gendered barriers to health-seeking for febrile illness in agro-pastoralist settings in Tanzania. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2, 746402. (doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.746402) (PMID:35156085) (PMCID:PMC8835114)

Virhia, Jennika (2022) Contextualising health seeking behaviours for febrile illness: lived experiences of farmers in northern Tanzania. Health and Place, 73, 102710. (doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102710) (PMID:34801785)

2021

Davis, A. et al. (2021) "He who relies on his brother’s property dies poor": the complex narratives of livestock care in northern Tanzania. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 749561. (doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.749561) (PMID:34805339) (PMCID:PMC8595325)

Auty, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6181-3780, Swai, E.S., Virhia, J., Davis, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, de Glanville, W.A., Kibona, T., Lankester, F., Shirima, G. and Cleaveland, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0456-0959 (2021) How can we realise the full potential of animal health systems for delivering development and health outcomes? Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics), 40(2), pp. 483-495. (doi: 10.20506/rst.40.2.3239) (PMID:34542101)

Ferdous, Raihana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5319-9007, Perry, Mia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0886-7093, Watuleke, Joseph, Virhia, Jennika, Yeshitella, Parmilia, Strachan, Zoë ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-8284 and Catanzaro, Beatrice (2021) A Critical Resource for Understanding Research Impact for Participatory International Research. Sustainable Futures Global Network.

This list was generated on Thu Oct 30 06:21:39 2025 GMT.

Jump to: Articles | Books | Research Reports or Papers

Number of items: 10.

Articles

Langdridge, Darren, Virhia, Jennika, McMullan, Rachel, Banks, Duncan, Biard, Olivier, Charitonos, Koula, Alunyo, Jimmy Patrick, Kagoya, Enid Kawala and Olupot-Olupot, Peter (2024) Effectiveness of work-based educational interventions for antimicrobial stewardship: a systematic review. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 6(6), dlae192. (doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlae192) (PMID:39659641) (PMCID:PMC11631219)

Virhia, Jennika, Laurie, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6208-2011, Lembo, Tiziana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6405-1849, Seni, Jeremiah, Pollack, Roxana, Davis, Alicia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, Mapunjo, Siana, Mshana, Stephen E., Mmbaga, Blandina T. and Hilton, Shona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-8152 (2024) Developing a logic model for communication-based interventions on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). PLoS Global Public Health, 4(6), e0002965. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002965) (PMID:38870108)

Virhia, J. et al. (2023) “If you do not take the medicine and complete the dose…it could cause you more trouble”: bringing awareness, local knowledge and experience into antimicrobial stewardship in Tanzania. Antibiotics, 12(2), 243. (doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12020243) (PMID:36830154) (PMCID:PMC9952761)

Davis, Alicia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, Virhia, Jennika, Bunga, Catherine, Alkara, Shayo, Cleaveland, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0456-0959, Yoder, Jonathan, Kinung’hi, Safari and Lankester, Felix (2022) “Using the same hand”: the complex local perceptions of integrated one health based interventions in East Africa. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16(4), e0010298. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010298) (PMID:35377878) (PMCID:PMC9009769)

Barasa, Violet and Virhia, Jennika (2022) Using intersectionality to identify gendered barriers to health-seeking for febrile illness in agro-pastoralist settings in Tanzania. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2, 746402. (doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.746402) (PMID:35156085) (PMCID:PMC8835114)

Virhia, Jennika (2022) Contextualising health seeking behaviours for febrile illness: lived experiences of farmers in northern Tanzania. Health and Place, 73, 102710. (doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102710) (PMID:34801785)

Davis, A. et al. (2021) "He who relies on his brother’s property dies poor": the complex narratives of livestock care in northern Tanzania. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 749561. (doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.749561) (PMID:34805339) (PMCID:PMC8595325)

Auty, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6181-3780, Swai, E.S., Virhia, J., Davis, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-7708, de Glanville, W.A., Kibona, T., Lankester, F., Shirima, G. and Cleaveland, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0456-0959 (2021) How can we realise the full potential of animal health systems for delivering development and health outcomes? Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics), 40(2), pp. 483-495. (doi: 10.20506/rst.40.2.3239) (PMID:34542101)

Books

Ferdous, Raihana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5319-9007, Perry, Mia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0886-7093, Watuleke, Joseph, Virhia, Jennika, Yeshitella, Parmilia, Strachan, Zoë ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-8284 and Catanzaro, Beatrice (2021) A Critical Resource for Understanding Research Impact for Participatory International Research. Sustainable Futures Global Network.

Research Reports or Papers

Laurie, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6208-2011, Virhia, Jennika, Yongolo, Nateiya, Biswaro, Sanjura, McIntosh, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6340-3083 and Mmbaga, Blandina (2023) Activating Equitable Engagement: from research to policy (and back again): a report on dissemination activities for 'NIHR Global Health Research Group on estimating the prevalence, quality of life, economic and societal impact of arthritis in Tanzania'. Project Report. NIHR Global Health Team. (Unpublished)

This list was generated on Thu Oct 30 06:21:39 2025 GMT.