Lena Merkel, joined ESHPM as a visiting PhD student from the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Hamburg, Germany. Her research focuses on the spread of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens in an increasingly urbanised society - a pressing issue that ranks high on the list of looming global health crises.
She uses experimental methods to investigate the role of beliefs and perceptions in the overuse of antibiotics, particularly in community settings in Burkina Faso and health facilities in Ghana. In one of her studies, she conducted a lab-in-field experiment in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to explore consumer preferences for self-medication when uncertainty about the quality of antibiotic drugs changes. This study will soon be published in the Ruhr Economic Papers series.
In an upcoming study, she plans to investigate overconfidence among prescribers in Ghana, specifically the role of cognitive biases in patient care. This research will assess the affects treatment decisions and patient outcomes, and explore strategies to mitigate these negative effects, ultimately aiming to improve the overall quality of patient care.
Lena has a background in Development Economics at the intersection of Global Health. Her interdisciplinary interest motivated her visit to ESHPM and RGHI, where she sought to collaborate and exchange ideas with leading researchers in the field, such as Dr. Igna Bonfrer and Dr. Matthias Rieger.
