BSMS > About BSMS > Contact us > Staff > Dr Sarah Polack

Dr Sarah Polack

Dr Sarah Polack (PhD, MSc, BSc)

Research Fellow
E: S.Polack2@bsms.ac.uk
Location: Room 101, Trafford Centre, University of Sussex BN1 9RY

Area of expertise: Dementia, Disability

Research areas: Social inclusion, loneliness and isolation

Preferred gender pronouns: She/her

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Biography

Sarah completed her MSc and PhD at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). For the past 10 years she has worked as an Associate Professor with the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at LSHTM. Sarah joined BSMS in 2023 working with the Centre for Dementia Studies. Sarah has an NIHR dementia research fellowship with the NIHR-Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey, Sussex (ARC-KSS) – living well with dementia theme.

Research

Sarah’s research fellowship is focused on the well-being of people with dementia who live on their own, and particularly in underserved coastal communities, in the UK. Her research will include qualitative research, with people with dementia who live alone and service providers, as well as systematic reviews around dementia and loneliness. She is also interested in inclusive and participatory research and how to strengthen inclusion of under-represented populations in dementia research.

Sarah’s previous research has focused on generating evidence to support disability-inclusion in the global south. She has worked, with partners, on population survey assessing the prevalence of disability and impairments and inequalities in access to services, as well as mixed-methods research on lived experiences of disability in different settings, with a focus on inclusive approaches.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Teaching

Sarah is an academic skills tutor at BSMS.

Publications

Musendo, DJ; Scherer, N; Jepkosgei, J; Maweu, L; Mupiwa, A; Hara, O; Polack, S; Patel, D; (2023) A Systematic Review of Interventions Promoting Parental Involvement in the Education of School-Aged Children With Disabilities. Australasian journal of special and inclusive education. pp. 1-17. ISSN 2515-0731 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jsi.2023.11

Scherer N, Smythe T, Hussein R, Wapling L, Hameed S, Eaton J, Kabaja N, Kakuma R, Polack S. (2023) Communication, inclusion and psychological wellbeing among deaf and hard of hearing children: A qualitative study in the Gaza Strip. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Jun 6;3(6):e0001635. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001635. PMID: 37279194; PMCID: PMC10243624.

Tamblay, N; Boggs, D; Huidobro, B; Tapia-Mora, D; Anabalon, K; Delgado, C; Polack, S; Bright, Tess; Torrente, Mariela C; (2023) Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment and Its Association With Hearing Loss Among Adults Over 50 Years of Age: Results From a Population-Based Survey in Santiago, Chile. American journal of audiology, 32 (1). pp. 150-159. ISSN 1059-0889 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJA-22-00042

Boggs, Dorothy; Kuper, Hannah; Mactaggart, Islay; Bright, Tess; Murthy, Gvs; Hydara, Abba; McCormick, Ian; Tamblay, Natalia; Alvarez, Matias L; Atijosan-Ayodele, Oluwarantimi; Polack, S.. (2022) Exploring the Use of Washington Group Questions to Identify People with Clinical Impairments Who Need Services including Assistive Products: Results from Five Population-Based Surveys. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19 (7). p. 4304.

Danemayer, J; Boggs, D; Delgado R, V; Smith, E; Kular, A; Bhot, W; Ramos-Barajas, F; Polack, S; Holloway, C; (2022) Estimating need and coverage for five priority assistive products: a systematic review of global population-based research. BMJ Global Health, 7 (1). e007662-e007662. ISSN 2059-7908 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007662

Scherer, N; Bright, T; Musendo, D; O'Fallon, T; Kubwimana, C; Eaton, J; Kakuma, R; Smythe, T; Polack, S; (2022) Mental health support for children and adolescents with hearing loss: scoping review. BJPsych Open, 8 (1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.1045

Polack, S. Scherer, n. Yonso, H. Volkan, S. Pivato, I. Shaikhani, A. ; Boggs D. ; Beck, AH. ; Atijosan-Ayodele, O. ; Deniz, G. ; Örücü, A. ; Akıncı, İ. ; HAMEED, S. ; Acarturk, C. ; Patterson, A. ; Disability among Syrian refugees living in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul: Results from a population-based survey. PloS one, (2021).16 (11)

Magaqa Q, Ariana P, Polack S. Examining the Availability and Accessibility of Rehabilitation Services in a Rural District of South Africa: A Mixed-Methods Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. (2021)

Zuurmond, M., Seeley, J., Nyant, G. G., Baltussen, M., Abanga, J., Polack, S., Shakespeare, T. (2020). Exploring caregiver experiences of stigma in Ghana: They insult me because of my child. Disability & Society, 1-21. doi:10.1080/09687599.2020.1851172

Sakellariou, D., Anstey, S., Gaze, S., Girt, E., Kelly, D., Moore, B., Polack, S., Courtenay, M. (2019). Barriers to accessing cancer services for adults with physical disabilities in England and Wales: an interview-based study.. BMJ open, 9(6), e027555. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027555