Martin Mickelsson

Martin Mickelsson researches the socio-environmental determinants of health, focusing on antimicrobial resistance education and health literacy. His work uses participatory methods with practitioners in Zimbabwe, alongside research on governance of chemical contamination in water systems.

Affiliated Researcher

Department of Women's and Children's Health at Uppsala University

martin.mickelsson@uu.se

Martin's profile page

Martin's project page

Research focus and interests

  • Socio-environmental determinants of health
  • Antimicrobials as cornerstones and quick fixes in everyday health practices
  • Healthcare waste and co-pollutants impact on health
  • Boundaries of responsibility in polluted water systems

Research expertise and methodologies

  • Qualitative Interview and Focus Group Research
  • Participatory research workshops
  • Case-vignette methods
  • Health governance and policy analysis
  • Socio-ecological and Relational Research Design

Ongoing research projects

The Living with Microbial Roommates project explored how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) education can cultivate real-world health literacy capabilities rather than just awareness by engaging health and education practitioners in Zimbabwe in participatory co-creation, revealing how antimicrobial use is profoundly shaped by structural conditions and everyday practices and advancing context-sensitive approaches to stewardship. This work connects with ongoing research into the governance of environmental health risks from persistent chemical contaminants such as PFAS, where I have examined how individuals and public authorities negotiate responsibility for safe drinking water in contexts of groundwater contamination outside regulated systems, and how perceptions, communication, and institutional responses shape health outcomes and trust in governance systems. Both projects foreground the entanglement of microbial and chemical hazards with social, infrastructural, and governance dynamics, highlighting that effective AMR mitigation and chemical risk management require understanding lived realities, inequalities in responsibility, and the ways that education, policy, and community engagement intersect to influence exposure, decision-making, and collective action around health and environmental risks.

Key Publications

  1. Mickelsson M., Simbini T. (2026) Antimicrobial redistribution: health practitioner One Health perspectives on antimicrobial use in livestock for antimicrobial resistance education in Zimbabwe. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 8(1), dlag019. https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlag019
  2. Mickelsson M., Simbini T. (2026) Building antimicrobial stewardship capacity through participatory health literacy workshops in Zimbabwe. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 8(1), dlaf255. https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlaf255
  3. Mickelsson M., Simbini T. (2025) Health care integration for addressing antimicrobial resistance: traditional and conventional medical practices in AMR education. Global Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2025.2579685
  4. Mickelsson M., Oljans E. (2025) Agile policies for antimicrobial resistance: a contextual approach to sustainable health challenges. Global Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2025.2522913
  5. Mickelsson M., Simbini T. (2025) Antimicrobials as cornerstones and quick fixes in Zimbabwean healthcare and society: health practitioners' critical reflections on two stories of antimicrobial use as part of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) education. PLOS Global Public Health, 5(7): e0004793. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004793


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