Renee Thomas-Venugopal, MPH, CPH
Instructor, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Biography
Renée Thomas-Venugopal is an Instructor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at St. George’s University and a PhD student in Health Economics and Policy at Lancaster University. Her research interests focus on health financing and health systems strengthening in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), particularly within the broader movement toward universal health coverage (UHC).
Her current work examines household perceptions of private health insurance (PHI), legislative approaches to health financing, and the impact of high out-of-pocket expenditure in the Caribbean. She also conducts comparative policy analyses to explore how health financing reforms in small states can draw on both regional experiences and international frameworks.
Renée’s broader academic agenda includes understanding how policy environments influence population health outcomes, with emphasis on non-communicable disease prevention and health system resilience. Her aim is to generate evidence that supports pragmatic reforms adapted to the Caribbean context, where resource limitations and systemic vulnerabilities demand innovative approaches.
Through her research, teaching and policy engagement, she seeks to bridge the gap between scholarship and practice, equipping policymakers and stakeholders with evidence to advance equitable and sustainable health systems in SIDS.
Contact Information
Areas of Interest
- Health financing and universal health coverage in SIDS
- Private health insurance policy and regulation
- Non-communicable disease prevention and control
- Health policy analysis and evaluation
- Public health management and systems strengthening
Affiliations
- Lancaster University, UK
- ISPOR – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
- Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)
- National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), Certified in Public Health (CPH)
- Healthy Caribbean Coalition / Healthy Caribbean Youth
- National Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Commission, Grenada
Selected Publications
- Thomas-Venugopal, R., Hem-Lee-Forsyth, S., Gómez, A. R. G., Edwards, N., & James, D. (2023). Evaluating existing policies to address overweight and obesity in the Anglophone Caribbean: A narrative review. Obesity Pillars, 6, 100060.
- Hem-Lee-Forsyth, S., Thomas, R., Pierre-Romain, L., et al. (2022). The Economic and Psychosocial Effects of COVID-19 on Alcohol Use in Grenada during Lockdown. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 5(2), 244–255.
- Hem-Lee-Forsyth, S., & Thomas, R. (2021). Caribbean Faith-Based Organisations: Friend or Foe in the fight against the feminisation of HIV/AIDS. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(10), 9–16.
Selected Projects
- Legislative Approaches to Health Financing in the Caribbean (under review, Health Policy Open)
- Challenges with Health Financing in SIDS: Analysis of PHI in Grenada (manuscript in preparation)
- Household Perceptions of Private Health Insurance in Grenada (ISPOR 2025 poster)
- Grenada School Health Data (data analysis ongoing)
- Preliminary Mapping of Physician Distribution in Grenada (manuscript in preparation)
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