
Lead Research
Saju Joseph
Research Consulting
About me
With a PhD in anthropology & over 23 years of experience in behavioural and public health research, I offer expertise in study design, data analysis using SPSS, and mixed methods. Trained at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, I mentor students in survey development, data interpretation, qualitative tools (Atlas.ti & MaxQDA), and manuscript preparation. As a visiting faculty member with 20+ workshops conducted, I help strengthen research rigour from proposal to publication.
Interests: My research interests lie at the intersection of behavioural adaptation, stigma, and mental health in chronic illness. I study how individuals psychologically adjust to life-threatening conditions such as cancer, tuberculosis, HIV, and advanced palliative care needs. Specifically, I focus on understanding the cognitive and emotional strategies people use, such as mental adjustment and resilience, and how these influence treatment adherence, help-seeking, and quality of life. A second major strand of my work examines the cultural dimensions of stigma across stigmatised conditions, including leprosy, TB, HIV/AIDS, and now cancer. Using validated frameworks like the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC), I explore how social, moral, and emotional responses to illness affect patient outcomes, family support, and access to care. This has led to a sustained interest in developing and psychometrically validating culturally sensitive measurement tools for low-resource settings. Finally, I am deeply engaged in intervention research aimed at strengthening psychosocial support for vulnerable populations, tribal communities, rural households, and those with serious health-related suffering. My current work on mental adjustment to cancer and resilience in palliative care shows my commitment to translating behavioural insights into practical, community-centred interventions.



