Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Rajiv N. Rimal, PhD, MA, works globally on social and behavior change interventions with a focus on women and children’s nutrition and well-being. He adopts a social norms-based approach to address health inequities in low- and middle-income countries.
Research Interests
Health communication; risk communication; risky behaviors; adolescent health; health promotion; climate communication; social norms; gender based studies; anemia; vaccination & immunization
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. Rimal’s work in global public health focuses on social and behavior change interventions aiming to improve the health, nutrition, and overall well-being of vulnerable populations, including women and children in resource-constrained settings. He is currently the principal investigator of the Collaborative for Research on Women and Nutrition (CROWN), which is involved in nutrition work in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and India. His work on social norms has led to innovative global public health interventions for behavior change in the areas of alcohol consumption, violence against women, family planning and use of modern contraception methods, AIDS prevention, road safety behaviors, and adolescent health. His health communication expertise has been used to evaluate work in climate communication, focusing on those who are skeptical about climate change. He is currently running a large randomized trial to reduce anemia among women of reproductive age in India and another project to reduce vaccine sekepticism. In Nepal, he is running an intervention to improve immunization rates among infants.
Honors & Awards
Everett M. Rogers Award in Public Health Promotion and Health Communication, American Public Health Association
Outstanding Teacher, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Combined ICA & NCA Distinguished Article Award, International Communication Association & National Communication Association
Advisor to the Master's Thesis of the Year (Sarah Gibson, Advisee), Joint International & National Communication Association
Past Chair, Health Communication Division, International Communication Association
Past Chair, Health Communication Division, National Communication Association
Top-Four Paper Awards, Health Communication Division, International Communication Association annual conferences in 2010, 2009 (two papers), 2008, 2004, 2003 (two papers), 2002, 2001, 2000, 1994.
Top-Four Paper Awards, Health Communication Division, National Communication Association annual conferences in 2004, 2002.
Nathan Maccobby Award for Excellence in Communication Research, Stanford University, 1995
Select Publications
Recent publications
Burleson, J., Stephens, D. E., Rimal, R.N. (in press). Adherence definitions, measurement modalities, and psychometric properties in HIV, diabetes, and nutritional supplementation studies: A scoping review. Patient Preference and Adherence.
Kang, B-A., Black, D. P., Poddar, M., *Luitel, A., Rimal, R. N., & Ayalew, B.M. (2025). Narrative review of human-centered design in public health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: Recommendations for practice, research, and reporting: Global Health: Science and Practice.
Ferra-Pascual P., Alperstein, N., Barnett, D., & Rimal, R. N. (in press). Social media memes and early public opinion formation regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) as a public health threat in the United States. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
Latkin, C., Dayton, L., Parker, K., & Rimal, R. N. (2024). Predictors of climate change activism communication. Climate. Climate-3233372.
Kang, B., Tamene, H., Lakew, Y., Stephens, D., & Rimal, R. (2024). Enhancing maternal health service utilization among highly vulnerable pregnant women through a human-centered design process: Study protocol for a quasi-experimental study in Oromiya, Ethiopia. Gates Open Research. https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.16277.1
Rimal, R. N., Ganjoo, R., Jamison, A., Parida, M., & Tharmaraja, S. (2024). Social norms, vaccine confidence, and interpersonal communication as predictors of vaccination intentions: Findings from slum areas in Varanasi, India. Vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.06.006