Dr Markus Chilaka

Lecturer in Environmental Health

• Peel Building Room G35
• T: +44 (0)161 295 6922
• E: m.chilaka@salford.ac.uk
• SEEK: Research profile

I obtained my BSc (Hons) in Medical Laboratory Sciences (Biomedical Science) in 1989 (with major specialisation in Heamatology & Blood transfusion); following which I practiced as a Biomedical Scientist in the public health sector in Nigeria. I moved on to become the head of Laboratory Services in the federal government institution where I worked until 2002 when I went on to postgraduate studies & research.

My MBA was in Health, Population and Nutrition in Developing countries and my PhD in Health Planning and Management. I was lecturer in Health Services Management at the University of East London from Sept 2007 - April 2008 before joining the University of Salford as Lecturer in Environmental Health.

I co-ordinate and teach on modules relating to Environmental and Public Health, Environmental Epidemiology and Research Methods; these are at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. My teachings focus largely on the wider determinants of health and wellbeing and strategies for improving health at population level.

My research interests focus on Health Impact Assessment (HIA), the wider socio-environmental determinants of health, community participation in health & development, and Environmental & Public Health policy.

I have conducted health impact assessments for a number of public sector organisations on a wide range of issues, including public transportation strategies, urban regeneration programmes, recycling and reclamation projects and housing market renewal programmes. The findings establish links and pathways through which different development endeavours can impact on human health in both positive and negative ways. Recommendations are then made to enhance projected positive health impacts and to mitigate identified potential negative impacts. HIA thus serves as a veritable public health support tool.

Furthermore I am engaged in a research to explore ways of integrating HIA into the health systems of developing countries, with the aim of strengthening these health systems and  to enhance public health policy and practices; Nigeria and Zambia are case study countries in this research which includes a PhD studentship.

I am also interested in approaches for integrating HIA and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); as well as the promotion of community participation in health and other development endeavours, towards enhancing sustainable development (a Millennium Development Goal).

• BSc, University of Calabar, 1989
• MBA, Keele University, 2004
• PhD, Keele University, 2008
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Faculty of Public Health
• International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
• Society of Practitioners of Health Impact assessment (SOPHIA)

• Chilaka M A (2010): Evidence Based Health Impact Assessment (EBHIA)- A Situation Report. International Journal of Health Planning and Management
• Chilaka, MA (2009): Vital statistics relating to the practice of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the United Kingdom. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30 (2010), pp. 116-119 DOI information: 10.1016/j.eiar.2009.05.006
• Chilaka MA (2005): Ascribing quantitative value to community participation: A case study of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative in five African countries. Public Health (2005) 119, 987-994
• Usanga, AE, Chilaka, M and Archibong, EI (1994): Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among Nigerian pregnant women. J.Med.Lab.Sci, 4:107-113