Dr Abel Fekadu Dadi
Outstanding Future Researcher
Qualifications:
PhD (Epidemiology); MPH (Epidemiology and Biostatistics); B.Sc. (Environmental health officer)
Location:
Biography:
Abel Dadi is a public health and social epidemiologist and biostatistician who has vast public health and research experience. He has worked as an expert (officer) and led public health departments in different districts in Ethiopia for more than five years. After completing his master’s degree at the University of Gondar in 2013, Abel joined the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics as a lecturer, promoted to the rank of assistant professor and led the department for more than two years. During his stay in the department, he led and actively participated in the development of teaching materials and curriculums (both masters and PhD). Abel has also supervised several graduate and postgraduate students from different public health backgrounds.
Abel’s previous experience and current research interest covers the area of maternal and child health, chronic and infectious diseases, and mental health. His recent PhD research investigated the epidemiology of maternal depression and its effect on birth and infant health outcomes. Methodologically, Abel is a mixed-method researcher, he is experienced in using the basic and advanced statistical approaches, designing epidemiological studies, and systematic reviews and meta-analysis. He has currently started a new position at Menzies, Centre for Child Development and Education and is working on predictive modelling of early childhood development in the NT.
Research Themes
- Maternal mental health and its adverse birth and childhood developmental outcomes
- Infectious disease epidemiology
- Maternal and child health
- Nutritional epidemiology
- Application of research methods and statistical tools for public health problems
- Outcomes of maternal mental health-related hospitalization prior to pregnancy
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
- Mid-school retention of Aboriginal children in NT
- Early childhood developmental outcomes
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MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researcher recognised for Excellence in Outstanding Early-Career Research
Dr Abel Dadi, has been named the winner of the 2022 Scopus Australia and New Zealand Researcher Award for Excellence in Outstanding Early-Career Research.
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Argentina Star | War in Ethiopia: addressing mental health needs to be made a priority
The effects of war on the mental wellbeing of people is given much less attention than the physical harms of conflict.
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The Conversation | War in Ethiopia: addressing mental health needs to be made a priority
The effects of war on the mental wellbeing of people is given much less attention than the physical harms of conflict.
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The Conversation | Mental health for pregnant women and new mothers: why extra care is needed
The experience of pregnancy and childbirth has been conventionally described as a happy and joyful period of time. On the other hand, the childbearing age for females is a risky time to develop depression. This is due to a range of hormonal and other changes women go through during pregnancy and childbirth.
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HealthTimes | Maternal depression rising in developing nations
Women living in low and medium-income nations experience many health-related issues during pregnancy and in childbirth. Still, little attention is given to antenatal depression, which a PLOS ONE study reveals is on the rise in developing countries.
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Pulse Nigeria | Study finds maternal depression on the rise in poor countries
“Depression during pregnancy is often believed to be an issue of developed countries,” says biostatistician Abel Fekadu Dadi, who led the systematic review and analysis of antenatal depression levels in low and middle-income countries.
- Dadi AF, Mersha TB. WHO's surveillance system for attacks on health care is failing Ethiopia. The Lancet. 2022 Mar 26;399(10331):1225-6.
- Dadi AF. The mental health consequences of war in northern Ethiopia: why we should be concerned. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2022 Mar 1;9(3):194-5.
- Dadi AF, Akalu TY, Wolde HF, Baraki AG. Effect of perinatal depression on birth and infant health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies from Africa. Archives of Public Health. 2022 Dec;80(1):1-1.
- Derseh BT, Tafese NM, Panari H, Bilchut AH, Dadi AF. Behavioral and environmental determinants of acute diarrhea among under-five children from public health facilities of Siyadebirena Wayu district, north Shoa zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia: Unmatched case-control study. PloS one. 2021 Nov 22;16(11):e0259828.
- Tessema GA, Kinfu Y, Dachew BA, Tesema AG, Assefa Y, Alene KA, Aregay AF, Ayalew MB, Bezabhe WM, Bali AG, Dadi AF. The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa: a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response. BMJ global health. 2021 Dec 1;6(12):e007179.
- Dadi AF, Miller ER, Azale T, Mwanri L (2021) Effect of perinatal depression on risk of adverse infant health outcomes in mother-infant dyads in Gondar town: a causal analysis, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 21(1)
- Dadi AF, Miller ER, Azale T, Mwanri L (2021) “We do not know how to screen and provide treatment”: a qualitative study of barriers and enablers of implementing perinatal depression health services in Ethiopia. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 15(41)
- Dadi AF, Miller ER, Woodman RJ, Azale T, Mwanri L (2020) Effect of antenatal depression on adverse birth outcomes in Gondar town, Ethiopia: A community-based cohort study. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0234728. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234728
- Dadi AF., Miller, ER. & Mwanri, L. Postnatal depression and its association with adverse infant health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 416 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-020-03092
- Dadi AF, Mwanri L, Woodman RJ, Azale T, Miller ER. Causal mechanisms of postnatal depression among women in Gondar town, Ethiopia: application of a stress-process model with generalized structural equation modeling. Reproductive Health. 2020 Dec; 17:1-5.
- Dadi AF, Miller ER, Bisetegn TA, Mwanri L. Global burden of antenatal depression and its association with adverse birth outcomes: an umbrella review. BMC Public Health. 2020 Dec 1;20(1):173.