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Astha
Ramaiya
,
DrPH

Assistant Scientist

Astha Ramaiya, DrPH, is a scientist who studies the role of gender as a power system on health outcomes across the life course in LMICs.

Contact Info

Research Interests

adolescent health; maternal child health; mixed methods; reproductive health; menstrual hygiene and health management; monitoring and evaluation; life course; gender

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
DrPH
Drexel University
2018
MSPH
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2011
BS
University of Waterloo
2007
Overview

Astha Ramaiya has a Dr.PH from the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University and a Masters of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has a background in maternal and child health and focuses on adolescent health and M&E. She is particularly interested in understanding how gendered systems affect health outcomes across the lifecourse from childhood to adulthood using mixed methods research. 

Before joining the Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2009, Astha worked for nine years in Canada, Tanzania, Nepal, United States and India in the field of infectious diseases and maternal/child health. Her dissertation focused on evaluating the GARIMA program in Uttar Pradesh and its association with Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management behavior. She speaks seven languages, including Kutchi, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Kiswahili and Nepali.

Honors & Awards

2024 Faculty Innovation Fund 

2018 Beta Omega chapter of Delta Omega
2011 Young Alumni Award, University of Waterloo

Select Publications

Most recent and relevant publications

  • Ramaiya A, Fine S, Wheeler J, Stones W, Blum R. (in press). Understanding adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of violence victimization and its perceived impact on mental health and coping: a qualitative study across 13 countries. Journal of Adolescent Health. 

  • Mmari K, Gayles J, Lundgren R, Barker K, Austrian K, Levtov R, Kato-Wallace J, van Reeuwijk M, Richardson L, Green J, Kagesten A, Ramaiya A. Implementing Interventions to Address Gender and Power Inequalities in Early Adolescence: Utilizing a Theory of Change to Assess Conditions for Success. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.032

  • Ramaiya A, Chandra-Mouli V, Both R, Beckwith S, Li M, Blum R. Assessing the health, social, educational and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in low-and middle-income countries: A rapid review of literature. SRH Matters, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2023.2187170 

  • Ramaiya, A., Zimmerman, L., Mafuta, E., Lulebo, A., Chipeta, E., Stones, W., & Moreau, C. (2021). Assessing the relationship between agency and peer violence among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Blantyre, Malawi: A cross-sectional study. PLoS medicine, 18(12), e1003552.

  • Ramaiya A, Choiriyyah I, Heise L, Pulerwitz J, Blum R, Levtov R, Lundgren R, Richardson L, Moreau C. Understanding the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Peer-violence Perpetration and Gender Norms among Very Young Adolescents in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.01.025

  • Sood S, Ramaiya A. On the Wings of Wishes” (Icchedana), Adolescent Girls in Bangladesh Taking Flight Using a Social Behavioral Change Communication Program to address Child Marriage Related Social Norms: A Longitudinal Panel Study. Journal of Health Communication, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2022.2104970

Projects
Adolescent Health in the time of COVID
Global Early Adolescent Study
Gender Equity Unit