Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Research Interests
Health Systems; Health Policy; Health Financing; Primary Health Care; Monitoring and Evaluation; Implementation Science; Qualitative Methods; Low- and Middle-Income Countries
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Experiences & Accomplishments
Rachel Neill, PhD MA, is an independent consultant and health policy and systems researcher who analyzes both the technical considerations and political economy implications of health systems reforms, particularly in health financing, service delivery, and governance. Her work aims to bridge the gap between innovative measurement approaches, rigorous mixed methods, and policy-relevant implementation to strengthen health systems. She holds an associate appointment in the International Health Department at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has consulted for the World Bank Group, UNICEF, John Snow, Inc., Results for Development Institute, and other global health organizations.
Dr. Neill has published widely on health systems resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as a consultant supporting the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, established by the World Health Organization Director-General per World Health Assembly resolution 73.1 to conduct an independent review of the global COVID-19 response. Her work has been published in the BMJ, BMJ Global Health, and other leading peer-reviewed journals.
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Selected publications
Neill, R., Peters, M.A., Bello, S., Dairo, M.D., Azais, V., Jegede, A.S., Adebowale, A.S., Nzelu, C., Azodo, N., Adoghe, A., Wang, W., Bartlien, R., Liu, A., Ogunlayi, M., Yaradua, S.U., Shapira, G., Hansen, P.M., Fawole, O.I., Ahmed, T. (2023) What made primary health care resilient against COVID-19? A mixed-methods positive deviance study in Nigeria, 8, e012700. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012700
Neill, R., Neel, A.H., Cardona, C., Bishai, D., Gupta, S., Mohan, D., Jain, N., Basu, S., & Closser, S. (2023) Everyday capabilities were a path to resilience during COVID-19: A case study of five countries. Health Policy and Planning, 38(2), 192 - 204. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czac085
Neill, R., Shawar, Y., Ashraf, L., Das, P., Champagne, S.N., Kautsar, H., Zia, N., Michlig, G.J., Bachani, A.M. (2023). The Prioritization of Rehabilitation in Low- and Middle-income Country National Health Systems: a qualitative analysis and novel policy framework. International Journal for Equity in Health, 22, 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01896-5
Hasan MZ., Neill R., Das P., Venugopal, V., Jain, N., Arora, D., Gupta, S. Integrated health service delivery during COVID-19: a scoping review of published evidence from low-income and lower-middle-income countries. (2021). BMJ Global Health, 6, e005667. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042872
Neil, R., Lopez-Hernandez, A., Koon, A.D., Bachani, A.M. Translating global evidence into local implementation through technical assistance: a realist evaluation of the Bloomberg philanthropies initiative for global Road safety. (2024). Globalization and Health, 20:42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01041-z