Sonia

Associate Professor Sonia Lewycka

Senior Epidemiologist

Associate Professor Sonia Lewycka, MA (Cantab) MPhil PhD is interested in the application of social learning, and collective action approaches to improve health behaviours.

She uses population-based studies to evaluate the coverage, equity, and impact of public health interventions and programmes.

She previously used Participatory Learning and Action and peer-led interventions to improve maternal and child survival in Malawi and is currently applying similar approaches to behaviour change interventions to tackle inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in Vietnam.

She leads the Collective Action Against AMR (Co-ACT) study, a whole system intervention that combines education-based and engagement-based approaches to address unnecessary antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across healthcare, community, and farm settings.
Sonia’s other implementation research related to AMR includes a pragmatic trial of point-of-care diagnostics to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use at the primary healthcare level (ICAT), and a pilot study to explore the feasibility and acceptability of point-of-care testing in community pharmacies to target over-the-counter antibiotic sales.

Alongside this, she is using population datasets to analyse global distributions and determinants of antibiotic use. By linking these population datasets with climate data, she is building geospatial models to look at the relationship between climate and AMR, as well as mathematical models to identify intervention points with the largest potential for impact on antibiotic use and resistance.

Sonia is also interested in social determinants of health and health inequalities and was an advisor to UNICEF/GAVI on evaluating missed opportunities for vaccination and trends in vaccination coverage equity in low and middle-income countries. Sonia maintains strong connections with the University of Auckland and AUT in New Zealand, where she worked on population-based research in child, youth, and family health and continues to collaborate on research related to indigenous and migrant health inequalities.

Sonia co-leads the SPEAR (Social Public Engagement and Action Research) Project about understanding the socio-cultural impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia, Nepal, and Vietnam. She has also led community engagement projects related to AMR, including Photovoice stories about antibiotic use and Antibioship, a serious game about AMR.

Publications

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Duy Vu Minh, Yen Nguyen Thi Hong, Shobhana Nagraj, Nga Do Thi Thuy, Huong Vu Thi Lan, Nam Nguyen Vinh, Tu Nguyen Thi Cam, Yen Nguyen Hai, Huong Cai Ngoc Thien, Hang Tran Thi, Nhi Nguyen Yen, Hannah Alban, Vinh Khuong Thanh, Huyen Duong Thi Thanh, Hoang Tran Huy; CoAct investigators; Jennifer Van Nuil, Sonia Lewycka
Antimicrob Resist Infect Control
September 30, 2024
DOI: 10.1186/s13756-024-01471-9
Just Transitions for AMR Working Group (Sheila Rose Varadan, Clare Isobel Rosina Chandler, Kym Weed, Syed Masud Ahmed, Caesar Atuire, Deepshikha Batheja, Susan Jane Bull, Sander Chan, Hindrik Rogier van Doorn, Ashish Giri, Ren Gerrets, Steve Hinchliffe, Calvin Ho, Pablo Imbach, Marina Joubert, Claas Kirchhelle, Taciano L Milfont, Sassy Molyneux, Edna Nduku Mutua, Christopher Pell, Nenene Qekwana, Yin Mo, Phaik Yeong Cheah, Sonia Lewycka)
Lancet
September 8, 2023
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01687-2
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