Skip to main content

Carol
R.
Underwood
,
PhD

Associate Professor

Carol Underwood, PhD '93, MA, MA, studies the role of gender, social class, and marginalization in global health outcomes to contribute to the wellbeing of populations.

Contact Info

111 Market Place, Suite 310
Baltimore
Maryland
21202
US        

Research Interests

social determinants of health; intersectionality; gender equity; decolonization; culture; health communication; Muslim world & Islamic thought; global health; HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; adolescent health; qualitative and participatory research methods; advanced quantitative methods; Persian (Farsi, Dari, Tajiki) speaker
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins University
1993
MA
University of Kansas
1983
Overview
My overarching research goal is to understand more fully the role of social, cultural, economic, and structural factors in enabling or constraining health-related actions and health outcomes in communities around the world. In particular, I strive to incorporate phenomenology, cultural studies, and critical theory into research designs to gain a deeper understanding of how social norms, social ties, and social structures affect health.

A key aspect of my work is to translate theory and research findings into workable programmatic recommendations, with particularly attention to achieving gender equality.
Select Publications
Selected publications from the past five years.
  • Hendrickson ZM, Owczarzak J, Lohani S, Shrestha BT, Underwood CR Accepted for publication, August 7, 2018. The (re)productive work of labour migration: The reproductive lives of women with an absent spouse in the central hill region of Nepal. Culture, Health, & Sexuality.
  • Underwood CR, *Broaddus ET, Kc S, Thapa RK. 2017. Community Theater Participation and Nutrition-Related Practices: Evidence from Nepal. Journal of Health Communication, 22(4), 327-336.
  • Underwood C and Schwandt HM. 2016. Assessing girls’ HIV vulnerability: Evidence from Botswana, Malawi, and Mozambique. Health Policy and Planning, 31(6), 729-735.
  • Underwood CR and Kamhawi SS. 2014. Friday sermons, family planning and gender equity attitudes and actions: evidence from Jordan. Journal of Public Health 2014;?doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdu090.
  • Underwood, C., Brown, J., Sherard, D., Tushabe, B. & Abdur-Rahman, A. 2011. “Ritual Communication and Changing Gender Norms in Uganda: A Study of African Transformation.”  Journal of Communication, 61: 197-218.