Dr. B.C. (Bregje) de Kok
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
- Room number: C5.08
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Postbus 15509
1001 NA Amsterdam
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Profile
I joined the Anthropology department as Assistant Professor in August 2015. I am a member of the Health , Care and the Body team.
In terms of my training and work, I straddle the domains of anthropology, sociology, psychology and public health. I received a PhD (2007) and MSc in psychology (2002) from the University of Edinburgh and a MA in Psychology (cum laude) from the Radboud University Nijmegen. Before joining the University of Amsterdam, I was lecturer at the Institute for International Health and Development (IIHD) at Queen Margaret University and I am still affiliated with IIHD. From 2006 until 2008 I worked as postdoctoral researcher in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh on an interdisciplinary ESRC-MRC fellowship . Before that, I worked in Nursing studies at the University of Edinburgh where I was part of a research team examining changes in the health visiting service in Scotland and whether this service addresses the needs of Pakistani and Chinese mothers in Scotland.
In 2012 I was awarded an early career fellowship by the Independent Social Research Foundation to study providers and community members interpretations of accountability and blame in relation to reproductive loss (e.g. miscarriages, abortions, infertility) and maternal mortality in Malawi. Through this project I seek to contribute to thinking about accountability 'from below' and people-centred health systems.
Since 2014 I work as discourse analyst on the project 'Generating accountability for maternal health outcomes in Nigeria through audit and improvement of maternity record linkage systems' funded by the MacArthur foundation (PI Dr. Julia Hussein, University of Aberdeen; Co-I Women's Health Action Research Centre, Nigeria). In this project we examine the process of maternal death reviews through a detailed analysis of the interactions between different team members in MDR meetings. We seek to unpack the 'black box' of these reviews by examining the discursive strategies used, and their functions and effects for instance in terms of multidisciplinary participation, joint problem solving and managing accountability for maternal deaths.
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Research
Research methods
- Ethnographic methods
- Discourse and conversation analysis
Recent grants & projects
2016: Perceptions of Respectful Maternity CAre in Malawi. An interdisciplinary study, embedded in a project seeking to improve Respectful Care in Malawi, funded by the Scottish Government (PI, Prof. T. Humphrey, Napier University). Using team-ethnography, we explore how midwives, women and guardians conceptualise and enact 'good and 'respectful' care, and how this chimes (or not) with currently popular rights-based Respectul care campaigns.
2014 : 'Generating accountability for maternal health outcomes in Nigeria through audit and improvement of maternity record linkage systems'. Funded by the MacArthur foundation (PI Dr. Julia Hussein, University of Aberdeen; Co-I Women's Health Action Research Centre, Nigeria).
In this project we use discourse analysis to examine the process of maternal death reviews through a detailed analysis of the interactions between different team members in MDR meetings. We seek to unpack the 'black box' of these reviews by examining the discursive strategies used, and their functions and effects for instance in terms of multidisciplinary participation, joint problem solving and managing accountability for maternal deaths .
2012: I was awarded an early career fellowship by the Independent Social Research Foundation to study providers’ and community members’ interpretations of accountability and blame in relation to reproductive loss (e.g. miscarriages, abortions, infertility) and maternal mortality in Malawi. Through this project I seek to contribute to our understanding of accountability 'from below' and people-centred health systems.
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Publications
- refereed (34)
- academic (4)
- professional (2)
- recognitions (6)
- supervised theses (1)
- working papers / preprints (1)
2024
- de Kok, B. C., Kajombo, M. C., Matinga, P., & Kaunda, B. (2024). (In)visibilising pregnancy loss in Southern Malawi. Culture, Health & Sexuality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2024.2324001
2023
Chattopadhyay, S., & De Kok, B. (2023). Making research ethics work for global health: towards a more agile and collaborative approach. BMJ Global Health, 8(7), Article e011415. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-011415 [details]- Olde Loohuis, K. M., de Kok, B. C., Bruner, W., Jonker, A., Salia, E., Tunçalp, Ö., Portela , A., Mehrtash, H., Grobbee, D., Srofeneyoh, E., Adu-Bonsaffoh, K., Brown Amoakoh , H., Amoakoh-Coleman, M., & Brown , J. L. (2023). Strategies to improve interpersonal communication along the continuum of maternal and newborn care: A scoping review and narrative synthesis. PLOS global public health, 3(10), Article e0002449. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002449 [details]
- de Kok, B. C. (2023). Childbirth and Birth Care. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health (Living ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96778-9_106-1, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25110-8_106 [details]
- de Kok, B. C. (2023). Childbirth and Birth Care. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health (pp. 1601-1626). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96778-9_106-1 [details]
- de Kok, B. C. (2023). Childbirth and Birth Care. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health (pp. 1601–1626). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25110-8_106, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96778-9_106-1 [details]
2022
- Mooij, R., Kapanga, R. R., Mwampagatwa, I. H., Mgalega, G. C., van Dillen, J., Stekelenburg, J., & de Kok, B. C. (2022). Role of male partners in the long-term well-being of women who have experienced severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 42(5), 906-913. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2021.1958766 [details]
- van Blarikom, E., de Kok, B., & Bijma, H. H. (2022). “Who am I to say?” Dutch care providers' evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women. Social Science and Medicine, 307, Article 115181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115181 [details]
2021
- Camara, B. S., Delamou, A., Grovogui, F. M., de Kok, B. C., Benova, L., El Ayadi, A. M., Gerrets, R., Peeters Grietens, K., & Delvaux, T. (2021). Interventions to increase facility births and provision of postpartum care in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review. Reproductive Health, 18, Article 16. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01072-4 [details]
- Mooij, R., Kapanga, R., Mwampagatwa, G., Stekelenburg, J., van Dillen, J., Mgalega, G., & de Kok, B. C. (2021). Beyond severe acute maternal morbidity: a mixed‐methods study on the long‐term consequences of (severe pre‐) eclampsia in rural Tanzania. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 26(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13507
- Vestering, A., de Kok, B. C., Browne, J. L., & Adu-Bonsaffoh, K. (2021). Navigating with logics: Care for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Social Science & Medicine, 289, Article 114402. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114402 [details]
2020
- Xie, Y., & de Kok, B. C. (2020). Discursive psychology: an overview. KWALON, 25(2), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.5117/2020.025.002.004
- de Kok, B. C., Uny, I., Immamura, M., Bell, J., Geddes, J., & Phoya, A. (2020). From Global Rights to Local Relationships: Exploring Disconnects in Respectful Maternity Care in Malawi. Qualitative Health Research, 30(3), 341-355. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319880538 [details]
2019
- Uny, I., de Kok, B., & Fustukian, S. (2019). Weighing the options for delivery care in rural Malawi: community perceptions of a policy promoting exclusive skilled birth attendance and banning traditional birth attendants. Health Policy and Planning, 34(3), 161–169. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czz020 [details]
- de Kok, B. C. (2019). Between orchestrated and organic: Accountability for loss and the moral landscape of childbearing in Malawi. Social Science & Medicine, 220, 441-449. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.09.036 [details]
2018
- Bennett, L. R., & de Kok, B. (2018). Reproductive Desires and Disappointments. Medical Anthropology, 37(2), 91-100. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2017.1416609 [details]
- Pot, H., de Kok, B. C., & Finyiza, G. (2018). When things fall apart: local responses to the reintroduction of user-fees for maternal health services in rural Malawi. Reproductive health matters, 26(54), 126-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/09688080.2018.1535688 [details]
- de Kok, B. C., Widdicombe, S., Pilnick, A., & Laurier, E. (2018). Doing patient-centredness versus achieving public health targets: A critical review of interactional dilemmas in ART adherence support. Social Science and Medicine, 205, 17-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.030 [details]
2017
- Cook, S., de Kok, B., & Odland, M. L. (2017). 'It's a very complicated issue here': understanding the limited and declining use of manual vacuum aspiration for postabortion care in Malawi: a qualitative study. Health Policy and Planning, 32(3), 305-313. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czw128 [details]
- Shahi, P., De Kok, B., & Tamang, P. D. (2017). Inequity in the Utilization of Maternal-Health Care Services in South Asia: Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 7(1), 271-281. http://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR_Vol.7_Issue.1_Jan2017/IJHSR_Abstract.039.html [details]
- Zaluchu, F., Wieringa, S., & de Kok, B. (2017). Maternal Deaths: Do Women still have the Right to Life? A Case Study in Nias Island. Jurnal Perempuan, 22(2), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.34309/jp.v22i2.175 [details]
- de Kok, B., Imamura, M., Kanguru, L., Owolabi, O., Okonofua, F., & Hussein, J. (2017). Achieving accountability through maternal death reviews in Nigeria: a process analysis. Health Policy and Planning, 32(8), 1083-1091. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx012 [details]
2016
- de Kok, B., Imamura, M., Kanguru, L., Owolabi, O., Okonofua, F., & Hussein, J. (2016). Achieving accountability through maternal death reviews in Nigeria: a process analysis. Health Policy and Planning, 32(8), 1083-1091. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx012 [details]
2015
- Hogg, R., de Kok, B., Netto, G., Hanley, J., & Haycock-Stuart, E. (2015). Supporting Pakistani and Chinese families with young children: perspectives of mothers and health visitors. Child: Care, Health and Development, 41(3), 416-423. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12154
- Ugwu, N. U., & de Kok, B. (2015). Socio-cultural factors, gender roles and religious ideologies contributing to Caesarian-section refusal in Nigeria. Reproductive Health, 12(1), Article 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-015-0050-7 [details]
2014
- Simwaka, A. N. K., de Kok, B. C., & Chilemba, W. (2014). Women’s Perceptions of Nurses’ Caring Behaviours during Perinatal Loss in Lilongwe, Malawi: An Exploratory Study. Malawi Medical Journal, 26(1), 8-11. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/mmj/article/view/104156/94255
2013
- Hogg, R., Ritchie, D., de Kok, B., Wood, C., & Huby, G. (2013). Parenting support for families with young children - a public health, user-focused study undertaken in a semi-rural area of Scotland. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(7-8), 1140-1150. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12185
- de Kok, B. C. (2013). Infertility and relationships: the importance of constructions in context. Families, Relationships and Societies, 2(1), 23-42. https://doi.org/10.1332/204674313X664680
2012
- de Kok, B. C. (2012). Discursive Psychology and its potential to make a difference. In Advances in Health Psychology: Critical Approaches Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
2010
- de Kok, B. C. (2010). Interpersonal issues in expressing lay knowledge: A discursive psychology approach. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 1190-1200. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105310364437
- de Kok, B. C., Hussein, J., & Jeffery, P. (2010). Introduction: Loss in childbearing in resource-poor settings. Social Science & Medicine, 71(10), 1702-1710.
2009
- de Kok, B. C. (2009). 'Automatically you become a polygamist': 'Culture' and 'norms' as resources for normalisation and managing accountability in talk about infertility. Health, 13, 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459308099684
2008
- de Kok, B. C. (2008). The role of context in conversation analysis: Reviving an interest in ethno-methods. Journal of Pragmatics, 40(5), 886-903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2007.09.007
- de Kok, B. C., & Widdicombe, S. (2008). ‘I really tried’: Management of normative issues in accounts of responses to infertility. Social Science & Medicine, 67, 1083-1093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.05.007
2017
- de Kok, B. C., Gerrits, G. J. E., van der Sijpt, E., Picavet, C., Dechau, D. M., Russel, S., Elbers, C., & Temmerman, M. (2017). Synthesis Evaluation of SRHR Subsidy Frameworks 2011-2015: Final Report. University of Amsterdam.
2015
- de Kok, B. (2015). Global maternal health: From women's survival to respectful care. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 122(2), 248. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.13156
2008
- de Kok, B. C. (2008). Infertility in Malawi: Exploring its impact and social consequences. CRFR. https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/2767/1/rb41.pdf
- de Kok, B. C. (2008). Talking about infertility in Malawi. A starting point for developing interventions in order to alleviate the problem of infertility. University of Edinburgh. http://www.qmu.ac.uk/iihd/docs/2009/Malawi%20Report%20New.pdf
2017
- de Kok, B. C., Gerrits, G. J. E., van der Sijpt, E., Picavet, C., Dechau, D. M., Russell, S. J., Elbers, C., & Temmerman, M. (2017). Synthesis Evaluation of SRHR Subsidy Frameworks 2011-2015. Report for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. AIGHD/AISSR.
2013
- de Kok, B. (2013). The role of discourse analysis in critical health psychology. Connected : newsletter for the international Society of Critical Health Psychology, 1(4), 3.
Prize / grant
- de Kok, B. (2019). Severe Pre-eclampsia adverse Outcome Triage (SPOT) score for women with pre-eclampsia remote from term: SPOT-implementation and impact assessment study (SPOT-impact).
Membership / relevant position
- de Kok, B. (2018-2023). Maternal Health working group, Sharenet Netherlands.
Talk / presentation
- de Kok, B. (speaker) (2020). Matchmaking Meet-Up: Impact evaluation in SDG international cooperation programmes, Sharenet Netherlands.
Others
- de Kok, B. (participant) (4-12-2018). Maternal health of refugees and undocumented migrants in the Netherlands, Utrecht. Event organized by the maternal health working group of SHARE-NET. We seek to bring together medical practitioners and scholars in order to identify (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
- de Kok, B. (consultant) (15-5-2018 - 16-5-2018). WHO Temporary Adviser: Technical workshop to develop guidance on post hoc evaluations of adolescent sexual and reproductive health projects and programmes, Geneva, Switzerland, 15-16 May 2018, WHO, Genève (Sw) (consultancy).
- de Kok, B. C. (organiser) (10-9-2015). Panel organized for MAGic at European Association of Social Anthropologists, Sussex. The panel explores the meaning of reproductive risk as a conceptual category and in terms of how it emerges and is articulated in household (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
2012
- de Kok, B. C., Laurier, E., & Widdicombe, S. (2012). Managing adherence to ART: What lessons can we learn from the analysis of provider-client interactions? Queen Margaret University. https://sites.google.com/site/communicationandartadherence/home
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Ancillary activities
- No ancillary activities
Chattopadhyay, S., & De Kok, B. (2023). Making research ethics work for global health: towards a more agile and collaborative approach. BMJ Global Health, 8(7), Article e011415.