Jlateh Jappah

Graduate Student Research Funding | 2023–2024 Academic Year

Do non-cash incentives increase blood donation: Evidence from Sierra Leone, West Africa

Blood shortage is a global phenomenon. There is a high demand for blood and blood products globally, with a disproportionately higher demand in Africa, where every country in the African region has a significant shortage. There is an existence of global blood deserts, especially in rural settings, which impede access to critical blood transfusions for marginalized populations. There are also logistical complexities and resources needed to address blood shortages and improve blood supply and delivery systems. The lack of adequate capacities for blood collection and storage is particularly acute in resource-limited settings. The aim of Jappah's research project is to explore the impact of non-cash incentives on blood donations. While the demand for blood and blood products are disproportionately higher in developing countries due to higher rates of medical conditions that necessitate these products, supplies are lower as compared to high-income developed countries. Thus, Jappah's project seeks to understand the role of non-cash incentives in augmenting (altruistic) blood donations in low-income countries in Africa.

Jlateh Jappah, Department of Health Policy

Jlateh Vincent Jappah is a PhD Candidate in Health Policy (Health Economics) at Stanford School of Medicine and Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His research interests intersect between methods that enhance access to the social determinants of health and the provision of appropriate and timely healthcare services, with the aim of reducing avoidable morbidity and mortality and improving overall health and well-being, especially for underserved and vulnerable populations. Jlateh contends that although health insurance and access to healthcare services are important elements in the health production function, other structural and socio-economic factors collude to either foster or erode health. As such, he has a keen interest in public policy, economics, medicine, global public health, maternal and child health, and a curiosity to understand those socio-political and institutional forces that shape health and well-being. He is also interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare.

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