Dr Marija Pantelic

Research

Marija is a health stigma researcher using a range of mixed methods, including social epidemiology, co-production and evidence synthesis. Her work aims to depict, quantify, and identify risk and protective pathways to shame, discrimination, marginalisation and resilience among people living with or affected by stigmatised health conditions such as HIV and Long Covid. Her PhD was the first large-scale epidemiological study of stigma experienced by adolescents living with HIV in South Africa. She is currently working on studies examining stigma and health inequities in HIV, gender-affirming care, and Long Covid in the UK, Argentina, Ghana, the Philippines, and Trinidad and Tobago. 

Marija is passionate about maximising the utility of research for evidence-based practice and is lucky to work closely with public health and human rights advocates from across the world, including global and national networks of people living with HIV. All of Marija’s work is indebted to marginalised communities, who mobilise, generously share their experiences and advance research for the benefit of health services and their peers.

Selected publications

Clutterbuck, D., Ramasawmy, M., Pantelic, M., Hayer, J., Begum, F., Faghy, M., Nasir, N., Causer, B., Heightman, M., Allsopp, G., Wootton, D., Khan, M. A., Hastie, C., Jackson, M., Rayner, C., Brown, D., Parrett, E., Jones, G., Clarke, R., … Alwan, N. A. (2024). Barriers to healthcare access and experiences of stigma: Findings from a coproduced Long Covid case‐finding study. Health Expectations, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.14037 

Gittings, L., Hodes, R., Kom, P., Mbula, S., & Pantelic, M. (2024). ‘Remember there is that thing called confidentiality’: experiences of institutional discrimination in the health system among adolescent boys and young men living with HIV in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 26(5), 575–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2023.2232023 

Pantelic, M., Ziauddeen, N., Boyes, M., O’Hara, M. E., Hastie, C., & Alwan, N. A. (2022). Long Covid stigma: Estimating burden and validating scale in a UK-based sample. PLOS ONE, 17(11), e0277317. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277317 

Pantelic, M., Martin, K., Fitzpatrick, C., Nixon, E., Tweed, M., Spice, W., Jones, M., Darking, M., Whetham, J., & Vera, J. H. (2022). “I have the strength to get through this using my past experiences with HIV”: findings from a mixed-method survey of health outcomes, service accessibility, and psychosocial wellbeing among people living with HIV during the Covid-19 pandemic. AIDS Care, 34(7), 821–827. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2021.1975628 

Pantelic, M., Steinert, J.I., Ayala, G., Sprague, L., Chang, J., Thomas, R.M., Nininahazwe, C., Caswell, G., Bach-Mortensen, A.M. and Bourne, A. (2022) Addressing epistemic injustice in HIV research: a call for reporting guidelines on meaningful community engagement. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 25 (1). a25880 1-5. ISSN 1758-2652  

Pantelic, M., Casale, M., Cluver, L., Toska, E., & Moshabela, M. (2020). Multiple forms of discrimination and internalized stigma compromise retention in HIV care among adolescents: findings from a South African cohort. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25488  

Boyes, M. E., Pantelic, M., Casale, M., Toska, E., Newnham, E., & Cluver, L. D. (2020). Prospective associations between bullying victimisation, internalised stigma, and mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV. Journal of Affective Disorders, 276, 418–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.101  

Pantelic, M., Steinert, J., Murau, F., Mellors, S. (2019). ‘Management of a spoiled identity’: Systematic review of interventions to address self-stigma among people living with and affected by HIV. BMJ Global Health, 4:e001285  

Yi, S., Sok, S., Chhim, S., Chhoun, P., Chann, N., Tuot, S., Mun, P., & Pantelic, M. (2019). Access to community-based HIV services among transgender women in Cambodia: findings from a national survey. International Journal for Equity in Health, 18(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-0974-6  

Casale, M., Boyes, M., Pantelic, M., Toska, E., & Cluver, L. (2019). Suicidal thoughts and behaviour among South African adolescents living with HIV: Can social support buffer the impact of stigma? Journal of Affective Disorders, 245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.10.102 

Click here to elements profile >