Dr Sam Watson

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Senior Lecturer

Contact details

Email: s.i.watson@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @siwatson

Address: Murray Learning Centre
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Health Sciences working on applied statistics in public health and healthcare. Dr Watson's current research looks at methods of evaluation in low resource settings including cluster trial and survey methodology particularly using Bayesian methods. Current grants/projects include evaluation of water and sanitation interventions in the Cox's Bazar displaced person's camps in Bangladesh, efficient geographical cluster design, NIHR RIGHT programme on leprosy and Buruli ulcer, NIHR Global Heath Research Unit on Improving Health in Slums, stepped-wedge cluster trial of a mental health programme in Malawi (NIH), geostatistical analysis of Covid-19 data for routine surveillence (MRC/UKRI), and healthcare access and use survey in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Open all sections

Qualifications

PhD in Health Sciences, University of Warwick, 2014
MSc in Health Economics, City University of London, 2011
BSc. (Hons) in Natural Sciences, University of Bath, 2010

Postgraduate supervision

Applied statistics: experimental design, cluster trials, spatial statistics

Research

I am a statistician in the Instititue of Applied Health Research. My research interests relate to experimental design, particularly cluster randomised trials, spatial statistics, and their intersection. Recent and ongoing grants I lead include an MRC/NIHR funded project examining the design and analysis of evaluations of interventions in space (and time), particularly focussing on generalised linear geospatial and mixed models; an NIHR/UKRI funded project on methods for real-time disease surveillance using geospatial prevalence mapping methods; and a small GCRF project piloting use of low-cost imperfect tests as outcome measures for prevalence estimation and evaluation of local interventions.

I am also a co-investigator for several global health trials and survey-based projects including the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Improving Health in Slums (NIHR), a stepped-wedge trial of integrating depression care into routine HIV and chronic illness services in Malawi (NIH), the NIHR RIGHT programme on leprosy and Buruli ulcer, and a stepped-wedge trial of remote telephone consulting in Tanzania and Nigeria (NIHR/GCRF).

Publications

Highlight publications

I. Watson, S 2021, 'Efficient design of geographically-defined clusters with spatial autocorrelation', Journal of Applied Statistics. https://doi.org/10.1080/02664763.2021.1941807

Watson, SI, Lilford, RJ, Sun, J & Bion, J 2021, 'Estimating the effect of health service delivery interventions on patient length of stay: a Bayesian survival analysis approach', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C (Applied Statistics), vol. 70, no. 5, pp. 1164-1186. https://doi.org/10.1111/rssc.12501

Watson, S, Girling, A & Hemming, K 2021, 'Design and analysis of three-arm parallel cluster randomized trials with small numbers of clusters', Statistics in Medicine, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 1133-1146. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.8828

Watson, SI, Dixon-Woods, M & Lilford, RJ 2020, 'Randomised evaluation of government health programmes does present a challenge to standard research ethics frameworks', Journal of Medical Ethics, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 34-35. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-106003

Recent publications

Article

McBain, RK, Mwale, O, Mpinga, K, Kamwiyo, M, Kayira, W, Ruderman, T, Connolly, E, Watson, SI, Wroe, EB, Munyaneza, F, Dullie, L, Raviola, G, Smith, SL, Kulisewa, K, Udedi, M, Patel, V & Wagner, GJ 2024, 'Effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and positive externalities of integrated chronic care for adults with major depressive disorder in Malawi (IC3D): a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised, controlled trial', The Lancet, vol. 404, no. 10465, pp. 1823-1834. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01809-9

Watson, SI, Ul Alam, MA, Rego, RTT, Lilford, R, Barman, AK, Alam, B, Faruque, ASG & Islam, MS 2024, 'Low cost and real-time surveillance of enteric infection and diarrhoeal disease using rapid diagnostic tests in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh', Conflict and Health, vol. 18, 62. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-024-00617-1

Watson, SI, Gkini, E, Bishop, J, Scandrett, K, Napit, I & Lilford, R 2024, 'Modelling wound area in studies of wound healing interventions', BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 24, 206 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-024-02326-y

Scandrett, K, Lilford, R, Nepogodiev, D, Katikireddi, SV, Davies, J, Tabiri, S & Watson, SI 2024, 'Predicting the effects of introducing an emergency transport system in low-income and middle-income countries: a spatial-epidemiological modelling study', BMJ Public Health, vol. 2, no. 1, e000321. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjph-2023-000321

Hemming, K, Thompson, JY, Taljaard, M, Watson, SI, Kasza, J, Thompson, JA, Kahan, BC & Copas, AJ 2024, 'Re-analysis of data from cluster randomised trials to explore the impact of model choice on estimates of odds ratios: study protocol', Trials, vol. 25, no. 1, 818. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-024-08653-1

Quinn, L, Martin, J, Asamane, E, Manaseki-Holland, S, Lilford, RJ, Traore, L, Thompson, J, Watson, SI & Hemming, K 2024, 'Statistical analysis plan for cluster randomised trial to evaluate a community-level complementary food safety and hygiene and nutrition intervention in Mali: the MaaCiwara study', Trials, vol. 25, no. 1, 483. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-024-08328-x

Napit, IB, Shrestha, D, Neupane, K, Adhikari, A, Dhital, R, Koirala, R, Gopali, L, Ilozumba, O, Gill, P, Watson, S, Choudhury, S & Lilford, R 2023, 'Autologous blood products: Leucocyte and Platelets Rich Fibrin (L-PRF) and Platelets Rich Plasma (PRP) gel to promote cutaneous ulcer healing – a systematic review', BMJ open, vol. 2023, no. 13, e073209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073209

Higgins, J, JEROME, JG, Boima, F, Dally, E, Krangar, L, Boley, EJ, Toussaint, S, Dibba, Y, Kachimanga, C, Mhango, M, Chung, V, Watson, S & The Impact Consortium 2023, 'Community and facility-level barriers to achieving UHC in Kono District, Sierra Leone and Maryland County, Liberia', PLOS Global Public Health, vol. 3, no. 6, e0002045. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002045

Watson, SI & Pan, Y 2023, 'Evaluation of combinatorial optimisation algorithms for c-optimal experimental designs with correlated observations', Statistics and Computing, vol. 33, no. 5, 112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11222-023-10280-w

Watson, S, Girling, A & Hemming, K 2023, 'Optimal Study Designs for Cluster Randomised Trials: An Overview of Methods and Results', Statistical methods in medical research. , pp. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/09622802231202379

Review article

Thompson, J, Watson, SI, Middleton, L & Hemming, K 2025, 'Estimating relative risks and risk differences in randomised controlled trials: a systematic review of current practice', Trials, vol. 26, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-024-08690-w

Thompson, JY, Shaw, J, Watson, S, Wang, Y, Robinson, C, Taljaard, M & Hemming, K 2025, 'Review of the quality of reporting of statistical analysis plans for cluster randomized trials', Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2025.111726

Napit, IB, Shrestha, D, Choudhury, S, Gkini, E, Ilozumba, O, Gill, P, Bishop, J, Neupane, K, Adhikari, A, Sartori, J, Watson, SI & Lilford, R 2024, 'A randomised Trial of Autologous Blood products, leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF), to promote ulcer healing in LEprosy: The TABLE trial', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 18, no. 5, e0012088. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012088

Kachapila, M, Watson, S, Pinkney, T, Hall, JA, Andronis, L & Oppong, R 2024, 'Economic considerations in designs and modifications of multi-arm, multi-stage adaptive, and adaptive-platform randomised control trials: A systematic literature review', Value in Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2024.10.3849

Udo, S, Ogbu Sunday, P, Alumbugu Tsaku, P, Olaoluwa Oladejo, I, Meka, A, Chinonso Ugwu, L, Ajisola, MM, Akinyemi, J, Oladejo, A, Omigbodun, A, Choudhury, SM, Sartori, J, Ilozumba, O, Watson, S & Lilford, R 2024, 'Raw, Unadulterated African Honey for Ulcer Healing in Leprosy: Protocol for the Honey Experiment on Leprosy Ulcer (HELP) Randomized Controlled Trial', JMIRx Med, vol. 5, e50970. https://doi.org/10.2196/50970

View all publications in research portal