Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
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
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
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers. 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.
Underwood, C. R., Casella, A., & *Hendrickson, Z. M. (2023). Gender norms, contraceptive use, and intimate partner violence: A six-country analysis. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 35, 100815.
Broaddus-Shea, E. T., Shrestha, B. T., Rana, P. P., Winch, P. J., & Underwood, C. R. (2020). Navigating structural barriers to the implementation of agriculture-nutrition programs in Nepal. Food Security, 12, 679-690.
Underwood, C. R., Dayton, L. I., & *Hendrickson, Z. M. (2020). Concordance, communication, and shared decision-making about family planning among couples in Nepal: A qualitative and quantitative investigation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37(2), 357-376.
Underwood, C., *Skinner, J., Osman, N., & Schwandt, H. (2011). Structural determinants of adolescent girls’ vulnerability to HIV: views from community members in Botswana, Malawi, and Mozambique. Social Science & Medicine, 73(2), 343-350.