Working to Advance
Health Equity in Africa

Sean Beckett

  • Research Fellow
  • Health Systems Strengthening

Sean’s work at HEARD has focused on health systems strengthening and HIV prevention and care in Southern Africa. Sean has been involved in several evaluations and consultancies with a specific focus on the quantitative analysis of health data. Most recently he assisted with the evaluation of the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) programme in four districts in South Africa and the Evaluation of the REACH III Adolescent HIV Combination Prevention and Impact Mitigation Project in Eswatini. Sean is currently a PhD candidate at UKZN.

Latest Publications

Research outputs

Journal article

Govender, K. Durevall, D. Cowden, R. Beckett, S. Kharsany, A. Lewis, L. George, G. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. 2022. Depression symptoms, HIV testing, linkage to ART, and viral suppression among women in a high HIV burden district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: A cross-sectional household study. Journal of Health Psychology. 27(4): 936–945.

Lewis, L. Kharsany, A. Humphries, H. Maughan-Brown, B. Beckett, S. Govender, K. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. George, G. 2022. HIV incidence and associated risk factors in adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: A population-based cohort study. Plos One,17(12), e0279289.

Govender, K. Beckett, S. Reddy, T. Cowden, R. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. Kharsany, A. George, G. Puren, A. 2022. Association of HIV intervention uptake With HIV prevalence in adolescent girls and young women in South Africa. JAMA Network Open. 5(4): e228640.

George, G. Beckett, S. Reddy, T. Govender, K. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. Kharsany, A The role of schooling and comprehensive sexuality education in reducing HIV and pregnancy among adolescents in South Africa Journal of AIDS, 90(3), 270–275.

Maughan-Brown, B. Venkataramani, A. Kharsany, A. Beckett, S. Govender, K. Lewis, L. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. George, G. 2020. Recently formed age-disparate partnerships are associated with elevated HIV incidence among young women in South Africa. AIDS, 34(1),1-10.

Kharsany, A. McKinnon, L. Lewis, L. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. Maseko, D. Goodman, T. Beckett, S. Govender, K. George, G. Ayalew, K. 2020. Population Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in a high HIV burden district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Implications for HIV epidemic control. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 98, 1-8

Maughan-Brown, B. Beckett, S. Kharsany, A. Cawood, C. Khanyile, D. Lewis, L. Venkataramani, A. George, G. 2020. Poor rates of linkage to HIV care and uptake of treatment after home-based HIV testing among newly diagnosed 15-to-49 year-old men and women in a high HIV prevalence setting in South Africa. AIDS care, 33(1), 1-11.

George, G. Cawood, C. Adrian Puren, A. Khanyile, D. Gerritsen, A. Govender, K. Beckett, S. Glenshaw, M. Diallo, K. Ayalew, K. Gibbs, A. Reddy, T. Madurai, L. Kufa-Chakezha, T. Kharsany, A. 2020. Evaluating DREAMS HIV prevention interventions targeting adolescent girls and young women in high HIV prevalence districts in South Africa: protocol for a cross-sectional study. BMC Women's Health, 20(7)

Maughan-Brown, B., George, G., Beckett, S., et al Age-disparate partnerships and HSV-2 among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: implications for HIV infection risk. Sex Transm Infect Published Online First: 08 February 2019. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2018-053577

George, G., Maughan-Brown, B., Beckett, S. et al. An Examination of Men’s Wealth and Age Disparate Partnerships in South Africa: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey Sexuality & Culture (2019) 23: 45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9561-z

George, G., Nene, S., Beckett, S., Durevall, D., Lindskog, A., Govender, K. (2019) Greater risk for more money: the economics of negotiating condom use amongst sex workers in South Africa, AIDS Care, 31:9, 1168-1171, DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2018.1563284

Kharsany ABM, Cawood C, Khanyile D, Lewis L, Grobler A, Puren A, Govender K, George G, Beckett S, Samsunder N, Madurai S, Toledo C, Chipeta Z, Glenshaw M, Hersey S, Abdool Karim Q Community-based HIV Prevalence in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Results of a Cross-sectional Household Survey https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(18)30104-8/fulltext

Brendan, MB., George, G., Beckett, S., Evans,., M, Lewis, L., Cawood, C., David, K., Kharsany., ABM (2018) HIV risk among adolescent girls and young women in age-disparate partnerships: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001656

George, G., Govender, K., Beckett, S., Montague, C & Frohlich, J (2017) Factors associated with the take-up of voluntary medical male circumcision amongst learners in rural KwaZulu-Natal African Journal of AIDS Research, 16:3, 251-256, DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2017.1369441

Govender, K., George, G., Beckett, S., Montague, C and Frohlich, J (2017) Risk Compensation Following Medical Male Circumcision: Results from a 1-Year Prospective Cohort Study of Young School-Going Men in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, DOI 10.1007/s12529-017-9673-0

George, G., Govender, K., Beckett, S., Montague, C and Frohlich, J (2016) Early resumption of sex following voluntary medical male circumcision amongst school-going males PLoS ONE 11(12): e0168091. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168091