Alexandra Blackwell

Dr Alexandra Blackwell is a National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She specialises in implementation science for violence prevention and mental health promotion with conflict-affected and marginalized populations. Her work includes mixed-methods evaluations of humanitarian interventions, human-centred and trauma-informed design in collaboration with clients and providers, and translating findings into action to support marginalized communities globally. Her current efforts include conducting a randomized controlled trial of an intervention to support conflict-affected families experiencing recruitment of children into armed forces and armed groups in the Central African Republic and adapting a youth violence intervention for trauma-affected adolescents living in diverse contexts.

Alexandra received her doctorate in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation as a Barnett Scholar at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, where her thesis focused on implementation science for evaluating humanitarian interventions to promote child and family wellbeing.

Selected Publications

Journal articles

Backhaus, S., Blackwell, A., & Gardner, F. (2024). The effectiveness of parenting interventions in reducing violence against children in humanitarian settings in low‑and middle‑income countries: A systematic review and meta‑analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106850.

Blackwell, A.H., Agengo, Y., Ozoukou, D., Wendt, J. U., Nigane, A., Goana, P., ... & Falb, K. (2023). Drivers of ‘voluntary’ recruitment and challenges for families with adolescents engaged with armed groups: Qualitative insights from Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(5), e0001265.

Blackwell, A.H., Hategekimana, J.D.D., Bauma, D. et al. Violent Discipline in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: The Role of Child Gender and Disability Status in Cross-sectional Analysis. Matern Child Health J (2023).

Blackwell, A., Colleen, G., Scharf, J., Hussein, T., Lomena, A. P., Ayella, C., Okot, A. S., Mansi, E., Yimam, K. A., & Falb, K. (2023). Children’s schooling experiences and child hope in South Sudan. International Journal of Educational Development, 97, 102717.

Falb, K. L., Asghar, K., Blackwell, A., Baseme, S., Nyanguba, M., Roth, D., & de Dieu Hategekimana, J. (2023). Improving family functioning and reducing violence in the home in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial of Safe at Home. BMJ open, 13(3), e065759.

Blackwell, A. H., Asghar, K., de Dieu Hategekimana, J., Roth, D., O’Connor, M., & Falb, K. (2022). Family Functioning in Humanitarian Contexts: Correlates of the Feminist-Grounded Family Functioning Scale among Men and Women in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-14.

Blackwell, A., Casey, J., Habeeb, R., Annan, J., & Falb, K. (2019). Women's status and qualitative perceptions of a cash assistance programme in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. Gender and Development, 27(2), 253-271.

Murphy, M., Blackwell, A., Contreras, M., Ellsberg, M. (2017). Gender-Based Violence Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation with Refugee and Conflict-Affected Populations: A Manual and Toolkit for Researchers and Practitioners. Washington DC: George Washington University.

Reports and Guidance

Gardner, F.*, Blackwell, A.*, Fang, Z., Herero, R., Lachman, J.M., Parra‑Cardona, Siu, G., J.R., & Thakur, S. (2024). Designing, implementing, evaluating and scaling up parenting interventions: a handbook for decision‑makers and implementers. World Health Organization. License: CC BY‑NC‑SA 3.0 IGO.

Murphy, M., Blackwell A., Contreras, M., & Ellsberg, M. (2017). Gender‑Based Violence Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation with Refugee and Conflict‑Affected Populations: A Manual and Toolkit for Researchers and Practitioners. Washington DC: George Washington University.