Professor Maria Lohan

Maria Lohan is Professor of Social Science and Health, Director of Research at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Fellow of QUB’s Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation (CESI).

Maria leads the Maternal and Child Health research group in the School. Her own research focuses on men’s reproductive and sexual health and involvement in parenting.

Maria is currently a consultant for the World Health Organization, advising on the evidence to engage men in sexual and reproductive health and rights. In recent years, she has been a Visiting International Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Visiting Professor at the School of Nursing at UBC, where she is a collaborator on a number of studies. Maria received funding from the ESRC to design a relationship and sexuality education intervention to involve young men in preventing unintended pregnancy. She is now leading a multi-site RCT of this intervention in schools across the whole of the UK, funded by the NIHR http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/IfIWereJack/ 

The intervention she developed -- “If i were Jack” --is being rolled out universally to schools in Ireland, and the Australian version that she helped to develop with colleagues at Flinders University is being implemented in schools in South Australia. Maria is now beginning new work, funded by the MRC, with incarcerated young men which aims to understand better their experiences of fatherhood and to co-design an early intervention fatherhood programme with young men in prisons.

Leadership Roles (QUB)

Director of Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery

Member of Queen’s Gender Initiative Executive Committee
Co-convenor of Queen’s Gender Initiative Mentoring Programme

Member of University Research Forum

Director of Research Representative for the Faculty on the Collaborative Provision Group

Member of University Research Strategy Group 

Member of Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account Steering Committee 

Member of Queen's Engaged Research Advisory Group

Leadership Roles (External)

Associate Editor of BMC Public Health

Member of the Editorial Board of International Journal of Men’s Social and Community Health

External Assessor for Faculty Promotions at UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems

Member of the ESRC College of Reviewers

Member of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada reviewers

Current Graduate Supervision

Joleen Kane, Nadhira Karim, Shane O'Donnell and Molly Goyer (School of Creative Arts, mollygoyergorman.com)

Currently Funded Research Projects

1. Research consultancy on masculinity and the engagement of men in sexual and reproductive health and rights. World Health Organization

2. ‘The Jack Trial’: A multi-site cluster randomised trial of an interactive film-based intervention to reduce teenage pregnancy and promote positive sexual health. National Institute of Health Research (NIHR, UK).

3. Relationships and Future Fatherhood Programme for Young Incarcerated Men: Co-design and development of an Intervention. Medical Research Council, UK.

4. Investigating the Influences of Social Context and Structure on Young People's Parenting Experiences. Canadian Institute of Health Research    

5. Positive Choices: Optimisation, feasibility testing and pilot randomised trial of Positive Choices: a school-based social marketing intervention to promote sexual health, prevent unintended teenage pregnancies and address health inequalities in England

Recently Completed Research

1. Increasing boys’ and girls’ intention to avoid teenage pregnancy: feasibility trial of an interactive video drama based intervention in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. National Institute of Health Research (NIHR, UK).

2. Teenage Men and Unintended Pregnancy: An educational resource. Economic and Social Research Council, UK

3. Transition of young people with complex health needs from child to adult services. National Institute of Health Research (NIHR, UK).

4. Ready to Reproduce? Teenage Men’s Attitudes and Decision-Making in Relation to an Unplanned Pregnancy. Department of Health, Crisis Pregnancy Programme (IRL)

5. If I were Jack? The development of an Interactive CD on adolescent men and unintended pregnancy for adolescents in Northern Ireland. Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland.

6. Fathers in Families: An Evaluability Assessment.. HSC Research and Development Enabling Award.

7. Fathering high-risk infants: An in-depth study of parenting babies admitted to a neonatal unit and follow-up at home. TinyLife and School of Nursing and Midwifery QUB.

8. HIV and Pregnancy: A resource to inform Midwives and other health professionals about caring for men and women in relation to pregnancy. Health and Social Care Research and Development Office (Northern Ireland).

9. Sexual Education Needs of Young People in Care. Department of Health, Crisis Pregnancy Programme (IRL). 

10. Masculinities and Men’s Depression and Suicide Network. Movember.

11. An evaluation of If I were Jack in post-primary schools in Ireland with regard to the Relationship and Sexuality Education requirements of teenage men. Health Services Executive, Crisis Pregnancy Programme (IRL).