Jennifer J. Infanti
Background and activities
Research areas/methods/contexts of interest: global health, gender-based violence, reproductive health, migration and health, medical anthropology, resilience, implementation/applied research, narrative research, arts-based research, Nepal, South Asia.
Current research funding & project management:
2020-2025 Co-Principal Investigator of the second phase of the Addressing Domestic Violence in Antenatal Care Environments study (ADVANCE 2)
- Awarded 5-years of funding from the Research Council of Norway (FRIPRO)
- Collaboration between the Department of Public Health and Nursing at NTNU, University of South-Eastern Norway, Linnaeus University (Sweden), Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital (Nepal), Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu School of Medical Sciences (Nepal), and Johns Hopkins University (USA).
2019-2022 Principal Investigator of the OPTIMISE study - Optimising pregnancy and childbirth care for immigrant women in Central Norway
- Awarded 3-years of funding from the Regional Health Authority of Central Norway/Samarbeidsorganet
- Collaboration between the Department of Public Health and Nursing at NTNU and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Kvinneklinikken) at St. Olavs University Hospital
Current supervision of research students:
- PhD candidates: 3 (main supervisor), 1 (co-supervisor)
- Research-medical students (medisinstudenter i forskerlinje): 1 (main supervisor)
- Master's students: 1 (main supervisor), 1 (co-supervisor)
Academic & professional history:
I completed my doctoral degree in social anthropology in New Zealand (2004-2008). My PhD research explored children's capacities for resilience in the context of domestic violence and other life adversities through a community-based intervention and life-story interviews.
I worked at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland from 2008-2011 in project officer roles in the proposals, performance and strategic information teams. This work experience reinforced the challenges of providing global health financing and policy guidance that reflects the needs of intended beneficiaries; of fostering local participation and leadership in aid-donor relationships; and of accurately and meaningfully evaluating project results. I continue to explore these challenges in my current research.
I was postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) from 2011-2013, in the interdisciplinary Atlantic Diabetes in Pregnancy (ATLANTIC-DIP) project team. This project investigated screening and lifestyle modification to reduce long-term diabetes risks among women with gestational diabetes in two randomised controlled trials.
In 2014, I moved to Norway to take up a position at NTNU as postdoctoral researcher and project coordinator for the first phase of the Addressing Domestic Violence in Antenatal Care Environments (ADVANCE) study, led by Professor Berit Schei. I am now co-leading the second phase of the ADVANCE project, funded by the Research Council of Norway until 2025.
In addition to my research positions at NTNU, I have held temporary part-time positions as associate professor of global health since 2016. From 2016-2019, I supported the establishment of a new master's program in global health and shared responsibility for lecturing, input on student research protocols, grading assignments, developing examinations, course coordination, and supervising and examining thesis research projects. Since August 2021, I have been the scientific leader of the master of science degree program in global health at NTNU.
Scientific, academic and artistic work
A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database
Journal publications
- (2020) Feasibility of Participatory Theater Workshops to Increase Staff Awareness of and Readiness to Respond to Abuse in Health Care: A Qualitative Study of a Pilot Intervention Using Forum Play among Sri Lankan Health Care Providers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). vol. 17 (20).
- (2020) ‘Violence exists to show manhood’: Nepali men’s views on domestic violence–a qualitative study. Global health action. vol. 13 (1).
- (2020) Improving Safety Among Pregnant Women Reporting Domestic Violence in Nepal—A Pilot Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). vol. 17 (7).
- (2019) Perceptions on the sexual harassment of female nurses in a state hospital in Sri Lanka: a qualitative study. Global health action. vol. 12 (1).
- (2019) Domestic violence and perinatal outcomes – a prospective cohort study from Nepal. BMC Public Health. vol. 19.
- (2019) Can Forum Play Contribute to Counteracting Abuse in Health Care? A Pilot Intervention Study in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). vol. 16 (9).
- (2018) Factors shaping political priorities for violence against women-mitigation policies in Sri Lanka. BMC International Health and Human Rights. vol. 18 (22).
- (2018) ‘When helpers hurt’: Women’s and midwives’ stories of obstetric violence in state health care institutions, Colombo district, Sri Lanka. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. vol. 18 (1).
- (2018) Exposure to domestic violence influences pregnant women's preparedness for childbirth in Nepal: A cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE. vol. 13:e0200234 (7).
- (2017) How are private medical colleges collaborating with the National TB Control Programme in Nepal, a qualitative study. Health and Primary Care (HPC). vol. 1 (4).
- (2016) Community perceptions on domestic violence against pregnant women in Nepal: a qualitative study. Global health action. vol. 9 (1).
- (2015) "The fairer the better?" Use of potentially toxic skin bleaching products. African Health Sciences. vol. 15 (4).
- (2015) Addressing domestic violence through antenatal care in Sri Lanka's plantation estates: Contributions of public health midwives. Social Science and Medicine. vol. 145.
- (2014) Reasons for participation and non-participation in a diabetes prevention trial among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus. BMC Medical Research Methodology. vol. 14 (13).
- (2014) Screening uptake rates and the clinical and cost effectiveness of screening for gestational diabetes mellitus in primary versus secondary care: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. vol. 15 (27).
- (2013) An evaluation of Croí MyAction community lifestyle modification programme compared to standard care to reduce progression to diabetes/pre-diabetes in women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. vol. 14 (121).
- (2013) ATLANTIC DIP: simplifying the follow-up of women with previous gestational diabetes. European Journal of Endocrinology (EJE). vol. 169 (5).
Books
- (2013) The Many Facets of Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative Complexity. 2013. ISBN 978-1-84888-166-2. At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries (1).
Part of book/report
- (2013) Telling Lives: Narrative Experiments in Research on Children's Experiences of Domestic Violence. The Many Facets of Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative Complexity.
- (2008) Children's Experiences of Family Violence in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Manifesto for Hope. Hope: Probing the Boundaries.