Dr Joanna Garstang MBChB, MRCPCH, PhD

Dr Joanna Garstang

School of Nursing and Midwifery
Visiting Senior Lecturer in Child Protection

Contact details

Email
j.garstang@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@jogarstang
View my research portal
Address
Institute of Clinical Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Joanna Garstang is a Consultant Community Paediatrician and Honorary Research Fellow. Her specialist areas are in safeguarding children, Child Death Review and Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood. Joanna's PhD was an evaluation of multi-agency investigation of unexpected infant death from both the parents' and professionals' perspectives, more recently her research has focussed on improving multi-agency working in safeguarding and preventable child mortality.

Qualifications

  • PhD Health Sciences University of Warwick, 2015
  • MSc Child Health, University of Warwick, 2010
  • Membership of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) 2000
  • MBChB, University of Bristol 1995

Biography

Dr Garstang is a Consultant Community Paediatrician at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, and Designated Doctor for Child Death for Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board.  Much of her clinical work involves learning from child deaths, supporting families and working with police and other agencies to determine why children die. Dr Garstang’s research interests are closely aligned with her clinical work, focusing on improving the Child Death Review process, reducing child mortality, and improving multi-agency working in Child Protection.

Dr Garstang works closely with the National Child Mortality Database at the University of Bristol.

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Garstang is happy to supervise doctoral research on:
• Child protection as a public health issue
• Child maltreatment
• Child abuse and neglect
• Child Death Review – process, outcomes and families experiences

Joint Agency Response to unexpected child deaths

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) – investigation and support for families

Research

Current projects

Reducing Infant mortality in the West Midlands – funded by WM CRN 01 June 2022 for 12 months

Involving parents and staff in learning from child deaths.  Funded by NIHR RfPB, 15 months from 01 August 2022

Other activities

Dr Garstang is Chair of the Association of Child Death Review Professionals, medical advisor to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood UK (SUDC-UK) and on the scientific committee of the Lullaby Trust.

Dr Garstang is Chair of the Child Death Review working group of the International Society for the prevention and study of infant and perinatal death (ISPID)

Dr Garstang works as an expert witness for courts in cases relating to Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy or Childhood

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Garstang, J, Dickens, J, Menka, M & Taylor, J 2023, 'Improving professional practice in the investigation and management of intrafamilial child sexual abuse: Qualitative analysis of serious child protection reviews', Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 137, 106053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106053

Dowell, AC, Butler, MS, Jinks, E, Tut, G, Lancaster, T, Sylla, P, Begum, J, Bruton, R, Pearce, H, Verma, K, Logan, N, Tyson, G, Spalkova, E, Margielewska-Davies, S, Taylor, GS, Syrimi, E, Baawuah, F, Beckmann, J, Okike, IO, Ahmad, S, Garstang, J, Brent, AJ, Brent, B, Ireland, G, Aiano, F, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Jones, S, Borrow, R, Linley, E, Wright, J, Azad, R, Waiblinger, D, Davis, C, Thomson, EC, Palmarini, M, Willett, BJ, Barclay, WS, Poh, J, Amirthalingam, G, Brown, KE, Ramsay, ME, Zuo, J, Moss, P & Ladhani, S 2022, 'Children develop robust and sustained cross-reactive spike-specific immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection', Nature Immunology, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 40-49. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-01089-8

Quinn, LM, Shukla, D, Greenfield, SM, Barrett, T, Garstang, J, Boardman, F, Litchfield, I, Dayan, C, Gardner, C, Connop, C, Lepley, A & Narendran, P 2022, 'EarLy Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes: protocol for a qualitative study of general population and stakeholder perspectives on screening for type 1 diabetes in the UK (ELSA 1)', BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, vol. 10, no. 2, e002750. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002750

Garstang, J, Hallett, N, Cropp, G, Kenyon-Blair, D, Morgans, C & Taylor, J 2021, 'Child abuse in children living with special guardians, a service evaluation of child protection medical examinations', BMJ Paediatrics Open, vol. 5, no. 1, e001103. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001103

Garstang, J, Cohen, M, Mitchell, EA & Sidebotham, P 2021, 'Classification of sleep‐related sudden unexpected death in infancy: a national survey', Acta Paediatrica, vol. 110, no. 3, pp. 869-874. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15472

Garstang, J, Eatwell, D, Sidebotham, P & Taylor, J 2021, 'Common factors in serious case reviews of child maltreatment where there is a medical cause of death: qualitative thematic analysis', BMJ open, vol. 11, no. 8, e048689. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048689

Pease, A, Garstang, JJ, Ellis, C, Watson, D, Ingram, J, Cabral, C, Blair, PS & Fleming, PJ 2021, 'Decision-making for the infant sleep environment among families with children considered to be at risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy: a systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis', BMJ Paediatrics Open, vol. 5, no. 1, e000983. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000983

Ladhani, SN, Ireland, G, Baawuah, F, Beckmann, J, Okike, IO, Ahmad, S, Garstang, J, Brent, AJ, Brent, B, Aiano, F, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Kall, M, Borrow, R, Linley, E, Zambon, M, Poh, J, Warrener, L, Lackenby, A, Ellis, J, Amirthalingam, G, Brown, KE & Ramsay, ME 2021, 'Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England', Journal of Infection, vol. 83, no. 5, pp. 573-580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019

Aiano, F, Jones, SEI, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Flood, J, Okike, I, Brent, A, Brent, B, Beckmann, J, Garstang, J, Ahmad, S, Baawuah, F, Ramsay, ME & Ladhani, SN 2021, 'Feasibility and acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 testing and surveillance in primary school children in England: prospective, cross-sectional study', PLOS One, vol. 16, no. 8, e0255517. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255517

Sundaram, N, Bonell, C, Ladhani, S, Langan, SM, Baawuah, F, Okike, I, Ahmad, S, Beckmann, J, Garstang, J, Brent, BE, Brent, AJ, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Aiano, F & Hargreaves, J 2021, 'Implementation of preventive measures to prevent COVID-19: a national study of English primary schools in summer 2020', Health Education Research, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 272–285. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyab016

Preprint

Dowell, A, Butler, MS, Jinks, E, Tut, G, Lancaster, T, Sylla, P, Begum, J, Bruton, R, Pearce, H, Verma, K, Logan, N, Tyson, G, Spalkova, E, Margielewska-Davies, S, Taylor, G, Syrimi, E, Baawuah, F, Beckmann, J, Okike, I, Ahmad, S, Garstang, J, Brent, AJ, Brent, B, Ireland, G, Aiano, F, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Jones, S, Borrow, R, Linley, E, Wright, J, Azad, R, Waiblinger, D, Davis, C, Thomson, E, Palmarini, M, Willett, BJ, Barclay, WS, Poh, J, Saliba, V, Amirthalingam, G, Brown, KE, Ramsay, ME, Zuo, J, Moss, P & Ladhani, S 2021 'Children develop strong and sustained cross-reactive immune responses against Spike protein following SARS-CoV-2 infection, with enhanced recognition of variants of concern' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.12.21255275

Garstang, J, Eatwell, D, Sidebotham, P & Taylor, J 2021 'Common factors in serious case reviews of child maltreatment where there is a medical cause of death: qualitative thematic analysis' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.05.20248250

Aiano, F, Jones, S, Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Flood, J, Okike, I, Brent, AJ, Brent, B, Beckmann, J, Garstang, J, Ahmad, S, Baawuah, F, Ramsay, ME & Ladhani, S 2021 'Feasibility and acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 testing and surveillance in primary school children in England' SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3803334

Amin-Chowdhury, Z, Bertran, M, Kall, M, Ireland, G, Aiano, F, Jones, SE, Brent, A, Brent, B, Baawuah, F, Okike, I, Beckmann, J, Garstang, J, Ahmed, S & Ladhani, SN 2021 'Implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures in primary and secondary schools following reopening of schools in Autumn 2020; a cross-sectional study of parents’ and teachers’ experiences in England' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.03.21258289

Review article

Garstang, J, Watson, D, Pease, A, Ellis, C, Blair, PS & Fleming, P 2021, 'Improving engagement with services to prevent Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) in families with children at risk of significant harm: a systematic review of evidence', Child: Care, Health and Development, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 713-731. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12875

View all publications in research portal