Background

Frances commenced her PhD in 2015, under the supervision of Associate Professor Stanley Luchters and Dr Megan Lim. Her work focuses on the sexual and reproductive health of female sex workers in low-income settings. As part of her PhD she is working on the WHISPER trial in Mombasa, Kenya, and will be analysing the results of this study to determine whether a mobile phone-based intervention is effective in reducing unintended pregnancy among female sex workers.

Frances is a medical doctor and Public Health Physician, having being awarded fellowship with the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (Royal Australian College of Physicians). She has a background in public health policy and health research, having previously worked for the Victorian Chief Health Officer as well as other roles within the Victorian Government.

Frances joined Burnet institute in 2013, when she completed a research project on male involvement in maternal and newborn health as part of her Masters of Public Health. Since then she has been involved in research in diverse areas of public health in both domestic and international settings, including infectious disease surveillance, viral hepatitis, alcohol and other drugs and women’s and children’s health.

Appointments

• Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal Australian College of Physicians

Positions

• PhD candidate, Centres for International and Population Health, Burnet Institute
• Public Health Registrar, Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute
• MPH Research Placement, Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute
• Hospital Medical Officer, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria
• Public Health Medical Officer, Office of the Chief Health Officer, Victorian Department of Health
• Victorian Government Graduate Recruitment and Development Scheme (GRADS) positions in the Department of Human Services, Department of Justice and Victorian - Auditor-General’s Office
• Hospital Medical Officer, Western Hospital, Victoria

Qualifications

• 2016: FAFPHM, Royal Australian College of Physicians
• 2013: MPH (International Health), Monash University
• 2008: MBBS (Hons), UNSW
• 2008: BA (Spanish & Latin American Studies), UNSW

Awards

• 2016: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Postgraduate Scholarship
• 2015: Australian Postgraduate Award
• 2015: Sexual Health Society of Victoria Educational Support Grant

Projects (1)

Past (1)

• WHISPER and SHOUT - mHealth interventions among Kenyan sex workers
  Mobile phone-based health promotions sent to sex workers in Mombasa.

Publications (7)

2019 (1)

• Use of long-acting reversible contraception in a cluster-random sample of female sex workers in Kenya.
  Ampt FH, Lim MSC, Agius PA, Chersich MF, Manguro G, Gichuki CM, Stoové M, Temmerman M, Jaoko W, Hellard M, Gichangi P, Luchters S
  Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2019 May; Epub ahead of print

2018 (1)

• Incidence of unintended pregnancy among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
  Ampt FH, Willenberg L, Agius PA, Chersich M, Luchters S, Lim MSC
  BMJ Open. 2018 Sep; 8(9):e021779

2017 (2)

• Anorectal swabs as a marker of male-to-male sexual exposure in STI surveillance systems.
  Ampt FH, El Hayek C, Agius PA, Bowring AL, Bartnik N, Van Gemert C, Fairley CK, Chow EPF, Bradshaw CS, Stephens N, Lim MSC, Hellard ME
  Epidemiol Infect. 2017 Sep; 145(12):2530-2535
• WHISPER or SHOUT study: protocol of a cluster-randomised controlled trial assessing mHealth sexual reproductive health and nutrition interventions among female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya.
  Ampt FH, Mudogo C, Gichangi P, Lim MSC, Manguro G, Chersich M, Jaoko W, Temmerman M, Laini M, Comrie-Thomson L, Stoové M, Agius PA, Hellard M, L'Engle K, Luchters S
  BMJ Open. 2017 Aug; 7(8):e017388

2016 (1)

• "A Baby Was an Added Burden": Predictors and Consequences of Unintended Pregnancies for Female Sex Workers in Mombasa, Kenya: A Mixed-Methods Study.
  Luchters S, Bosire W, Feng A, Richter ML, King'ola N, Ampt F, Temmerman M, Chersich MF
  PLoS One. 2016 Sep; 11(9):e0162871

2015 (2)

• Challenging gender inequity through male involvement in maternal and newborn health: critical assessment of an emerging evidence base.
  Comrie-Thomson L, Tokhi M, Ampt F, Portela A, Chersich M, Khanna R, Luchters S
  Cult Health Sex. 2015 Jul; 17(Suppl 2):S177-S189
• Correlates of male involvement in maternal and newborn health: a cross-sectional study of men in a peri-urban region of Myanmar.
  Ampt F, Mon MM, Than KK, Khin MM, Agius PA, Morgan C, Davis J, Luchters S
  BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015 May; 15(1):122

News Articles (2)

2016 (2)

• Towards an HIV Cure 2016: global strategy released
• NHMRC Scholarship for Frances Ampt