Jacinta Nzinga is a Health Policy and Systems Researcher specialising in using social science and organisational management approaches relating to implementing innovations and behaviour change practices, evaluating public health interventions, and policy-practice engagement. She co-leads the Institute for Resilient Health Systems within Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and in Kenya. She holds various visiting or adjunct teaching positions including at the Kenya Medical Research Institute Graduate School, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, and Strathmore University.

In addition, Jacinta sits in several Technical Working Groups at the l Ministry of Health in Kenya, where she provides support and technical assistance in several health systems strengthening initiatives. She served as platform manager for the Kenya National Centre for the African Health Observatory Platform for Health Systems and Policies, a platform that fosters cross-country knowledge exchange for evidence informed decision making.

Jacinta’s research tackles health system resilience, governance, policy analysis, and human resources for health, blending organisational behaviour, change, and qualitative design. She explores how health systems function during calm times and when under pressure, using embedded health policy and systems research. Applying systems thinking, Jacinta examines health system governance, human resources for health, and service delivery, addressing today’s challenges and preparing for tomorrow’s threats across national, sub-national, service delivery, and community levels.

Her work deliberately adopts contextual analysis, co-producing research and innovative solutions with health system actors. She prioritises community and policy engagement, driving knowledge translation to embed evidence in decision-making. This approach ensures that the focus isn’t just on the systems but on how including voices across all levels of the health system-community to government reshapes systems for better functioning.

Currently, Jacinta is investigating health systems’ resilience to shocks, focusing on governance, human resources for health dynamics, and service delivery mechanisms in underserved settings. This research is supported by contextually driven capacity strengthening initiatives and practical knowledge translations strategies to ensure scalable solutions for stronger, adaptive health systems.

Her vision is to contribute to building health systems that don’t just survive but thrive, using rigorous evidence to guide transformative change by amplifying co-production and implementation science that responds to crises and serve all levels of society.