Ainul Hanafiah

Ainul Hanafiah, PhD (Cantab), serves as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Connected Communities, University of East London, within the Department of Research, Innovation and Enterprise. Her academic foundation includes doctoral training at the University of Cambridge.

Her research spans global health, mental health, community-based interventions, and children's wellbeing, with methodological expertise in program evaluation, qualitative research, and mixed methods. Current projects include leading a viability assessment for NHS social prescribing implementation in urban Malaysia.

Recent publication trends reveal deep engagement with community mental health sustainability, social prescribing models, and cross-cultural health interventions, particularly focused on vulnerable populations including disadvantaged women, youth, and disabled communities across England, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Her advisory and grant work encompasses high-impact initiatives such as:

• Youth safeguarding in Africa
• Diabetic retinopathy care evaluation in Kerala, India
• NHS Social Prescribing service evaluation in London boroughs
• Malaysian Mental Health Policy implementation assessment

She operates within the Institute for Connected Communities research ecosystem, contributing to urban health equity projects addressing social determinants of health through community asset mapping and participatory methodologies.