Dr Patricia Apenteng BA (Hons), MPhil, PhD

Dr Patricia Apenteng

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Research Fellow

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 8666
Email
p.n.k.apenteng@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@p_apenteng
View my research portal
Address
Murray Learning Centre
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Patricia is an applied health researcher with a background in Sociology.  She has a varied research portfolio that focuses on health inequalities, maternity care, and delays to cancer care. She has expertise in qualitative research, mixed-methods research and cohort studies.

 ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0835-3495

Google Scholar profile

ResearchGate profile

Qualifications

  • PhD in Health Sciences, University of Warwick, 2020
  • MPhil in Development Studies, University of Cambridge, 2002
  • BA (Hons) in Sociology, University of Ghana, 1999

Biography

Patricia is an NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Fellow based in the Midlands Patient Safety Collaboration.  In this role, she conducts research using a range of methodologies to better understand risks in maternity care, with a focus on electronic maternity notes and pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism. 

Patricia has a keen interest in health inequalities in the UK and globally.  She holds a Wellcome Accelerator award to lead research on ethnic inequalities in the diagnosis of breast cancer in the UK.  She is also part-funded by the NIHR (NIHR:158242 - Reducing Delays in Cancer Care in sub-Saharan Africa) using UK international development funding from the UK government to support global health research.  Her previous health inequalities research includes inequalities in menopause care, endometriosis, and HIV.  She co-leads a new Health Inequalities module on the MSc International Population Health Management programme at the University of Birmingham.  

Patricia has expertise in atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism, and her PhD was on the prevention of atrial fibrillation-related stroke and venous thromboembolism.    

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Patricia is available to supervise PhD students in the following areas:

Understanding and/or addressing delays to cancer care
Inequalities in women's health
Pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism

Research

Current projects

  • Pathways to the diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black women in the UK: a qualitative interview study (PI)
  • Reducing Delays in Cancer Care in sub-Saharan Africa (named researcher)
  • A qualitative study exploring service users’ and healthcare professionals’ opinions of electronic maternity notes (Co-PI)
  • Clinical decision prompts to improve the quality of maternity care: a systematic review (PI)

Previous grants

  • NIHR RfBP (Co-investigator): Menopause GAP: exploring inequalities in menopause care in GenerAl Practice using qualitative methodology (2023 – 2024)
  • Research England QR Funding (Co-investigator): Supporting policy to improve delayed diagnosis of cancer in Nigeria (2023-2024)
  • NIHR i4i (Co-investigator and PPI lead) Case finding of obstructive sleep apnoea in primary care using a novel device: a randomised controlled trial (2022-2025)
  • NIHR RfBP (Chief Investigator): The Patient Path to a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation: a qualitative study in primary care (2022-2023)
  • NIHR RfBP (Co-investigator): GARFIELD-AF in Primary Care - Optimising prediction of mortality, stroke, and major bleeding for patients with atrial fibrillation using routinely collected primary care electronic health records (2019-2021)
  • Thrombosis Research Institute (Co-investigator): Global Anticoagulation Registry in the Field (GARFIELD in the UK) Follow-up extension (2018-2019)
  • NIHR SPCR & PCRT (Co-investigator): A prospective observational cohort study to determine the incidence of venous thromboembolism among care home residents (2013-2016)

 

Other activities

Peer review

Patricia has acted as a peer reviewer for the following funding programmes:

  • NIHR Policy Research Programme
  • NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme

Patricia is a peer reviewer for several journals including:

  • British Journal of General Practice
  • BMJ Open
  • Journal of Public Health
  • Australasian Journal on Ageing

Honorary Research Fellow

Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Apenteng, PN, Akoko, L, Kotecha, V, Mwakyembe, T, Mwashambwa, M, Himid, R, Hando, D, Komba, C, Mwanga, A, Mbele, P, Itule, P, Jackson, J, Misidai, M, Gaskill, C, Ozgediz, D & Brand, N 2026, 'Surgeons’ perspectives of factors affecting the quality of surgical cancer care in public facilities in Tanzania: findings from a qualitative interview study', Ecancermedicalscience, vol. 20, 2201. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2026.2201

Eccles, A, Keating, S, Mann, C, Shah, L, Dale, J, Apenteng, P, Heera, N, Kuypers, N, Tatnell, L & Hillman, S 2025, 'Accessing Equitable Menopause Care in the Contemporary NHS - Women's Experiences', The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0781

Fayehun, O, Apenteng, P, Umar, UAU, Adebayo, KO, Owoaje, E, Sartori, J, Popoola, O, Nnabuife, U, Oladejo, A, Odubanjo, O, Ayandipo, O, Odukogbe, A-T, Irabor, D, Ijitola, J, Muhammad, A, Haruna, I, Ajiya, A, Suleiman, AR, Muhammad, ID, Adamou, N, Abdullahi, NG, Muhammad, S, Tijjani, I, Nagwamutse, TN, Abdullahi, SU, Shittu, L, Ado, KA, Umar, AA, Bello , AS, Yakasai, IA, Omigbodun, A & Lilford, R 2025, 'Diagnosis of cancer in the south and north of Nigeria: duration and causes of delay', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 25, 738. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12707-8

Mann, C, Shah, L, Eccles, A, Keating, S, Dale, J, Apenteng, P & Hillman, S 2025, 'Menopause care for diverse communities: a qualitative study of GP clinician experiences', British Journal of General Practice. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0780

Apenteng, P, Nanton, V, Lobban, T & Lilford, R 2025, 'Pathways to diagnosis of atrial fibrillation: findings from a qualitative study in primary care', BJGP Open. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2025.0006

FOUND Trial study group, Miller, MA, Yu, L-M, Ali, A, Apenteng, P, Auguste, P, Dale, J, Hope, K, Shanyinde, M, Grabey, J, Scott, E, Smith, A & Cappuccio, FP 2024, 'FOUND Trial: randomised controlled trial study protocol for case finding of obstructive sleep apnoea in primary care using a novel device', BMJ Open, vol. 14, no. 7, e090000. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090000

The GARFIELD-AF Investigators 2023, 'Determinants and clinical outcomes of patients who refused anticoagulation: findings from the global GARFIELD-AF registry', BMJ Open Heart, vol. 10, no. 1, e002275. https://doi.org/10.1136/openhrt-2023-002275

Apenteng, P, Prieto-Merino , D, Hee , SW, Lobban , T, Caleyachetty, R & Fitzmaurice, D 2023, 'Optimising prediction of mortality, stroke, and major bleeding for patients with atrial fibrillation: external validation of the GARFIELD-AF model in UK primary care electronic records', British Journal of General Practice. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0082

Akanuwe, JNA, Siriwardena, AN, Bidaut, L, Mitchel, P, Bird, P, Lasserson, D, Apenteng, P & Lilford, R 2023, 'Practitioners’ views on community implementation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the UK: a qualitative interview study', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 23, no. 1, 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09069-4

Dale, J, Nanton, V, Day , T, Apenteng, P, Bernstein , CJ, Smith , GG, Strong , P & Procter , R 2023, 'Uptake and use of Care Companion, an online information resource to support informal carers of older people: a convergent parallel mixed methods, real-world evaluation', JMIR Aging, vol. 6, e41185. https://doi.org/10.2196/41185

Apenteng, P, Virdone, S, Hobbs, R, Camm, AJ, Fox, KAA, Pieper, KS, Kayani, G, Fitzmaurice, D & GARFIELD UK investigators 2022, 'Two-year outcomes of UK patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation: findings from the prospective observational cohort study GARFIELD-AF', British Journal of General Practice, vol. 72, no. 723, 0548, pp. E693-E701. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0548

Bassand, J-P, Apenteng, PN, Atar, D, Camm, AJ, Cools, F, Corbalan, R, Fitzmaurice, DA, Fox, KA, Goto, S, Haas, S, Hacke, W, Jerjes-Sanchez, C, Koretsune, Y, Heuzey, J-YL, Sawhney, JP, Oh, S, Stępińska, J, Cate, VT, Verheugt, FW, Kayani, G, Pieper, KS, Kakkar, AK & GARFIELD-AF Investigators 2021, 'GARFIELD-AF: a worldwide prospective registry of patients with atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke', Future Cardiology, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 19-38. https://doi.org/10.2217/fca-2020-0014

Apenteng, PN, Gao, H, Hobbs, FR, Fitzmaurice, DA & UK GARFIELD-AF Investigators and GARFIELD-AF Steering Committee 2018, 'Temporal trends in antithrombotic treatment of real-world UK patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: findings from the GARFIELD-AF registry', BMJ Open, vol. 8, no. 1, e018905. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018905

Apenteng, PN, Hobbs, FR, Roalfe, A, Muhammad, U, Heneghan, C & Fitzmaurice, D 2017, 'Incidence of venous thromboembolism in care homes: a prospective cohort study', British Journal of General Practice, vol. 67, no. 655, pp. e130-e137. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp17X688873

Comment/debate

Apenteng, PN & Lilford, R 2023, 'UK medical education should include training in point-of-care ultrasound', BMJ (Clinical research ed.), vol. 380, p574. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p574

View all publications in research portal