Virginia Irene Kotzias
About
Ms. Kotzias is a senior researcher in the Department of Design at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She is trained in health policy research methods and project management with experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She has over a decade of experience conducting mixed methods health services research, and is specially trained in qualitative methodologies and survey development.
Prior to NTNU, Ms. Kotzias conducted research on health disparities and inequalities, barriers to health services and systems, long term services and supports, patient experience of care, telemedicine, stakeholder engagement, and suicide prevention. As a health policy administrator in the U.S., she supported the implementation of home and community-based service designs at the state-level, and led a stakeholder group focused on program design. The balance of her career has been spent in health services research across a variety of topics and population groups. She has a special interest in using mixed-methods approaches and emerging digital methodologies to answer complex questions about social, political, and economic phenomena and their effects on health and wellness.
She is a member of the Promoting Access to Health Services through Participatory Approach (PATHS) research team under the supervision of project lead, Ashis Jalote-Parmar. Funded by Nordforsk (2025-2029), the project aims to develop effective digital health interventions to improve mental health, vaccination, and cancer screening outcomes among Ukrainian refugee women in Norway, Sweden, and Estonia.
Publications
2025
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Svorkdal, Annika;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Sripada, Kam.
(2025)
Partners, mentors, sponsors & friends: Qualitative analysis of a cervical cancer global health collaboration in Tanzania.
Zenodo
Research report
2024
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Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Sieu, Celine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2024)
Exploring health equity in Lesotho’s Child Grants Programme.
Health Policy and Planning
Academic article
2023
-
Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Sieu, Celine;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2023)
Exploring health equity in Lesotho’s child grants program.
Population Medicine
Conference abstract
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McNamara, Courtney L.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Bambra, Clare;
Labonté, Ronald;
Stuckler, David.
(2023)
Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic.
The International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Service (IJSDOHS)
Academic article
-
Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Sieu, Celine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2023)
Exploring economic empowerment and gender issues in Lesotho’s Child Grants Programme: a qualitative study.
Health Policy and Planning
Academic article
2021
-
Friedman, Esther M.;
Shih, Regina A.;
Ahluwalia, Sangeeta C.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Phillips, Jessica L.;
Siconolfi, Daniel;
Saliba, Debra.
(2021)
Factors Explaining State Differences in Applying for a Recent Long-Term Care Program that Promotes Aging in Place: Perspectives of Medicaid Administrators.
Journal of Applied Gerontology
Academic article
2020
-
Yang, Joshua S.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Crosbie, Eric;
Mackey, Tim K..
(2020)
COVID-19 and a Window of Opportunity: Guiding Principles for a Health-Promoting Trade Agenda.
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Commentary
Journal publications
-
Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Sieu, Celine;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2023)
Exploring health equity in Lesotho’s child grants program.
Population Medicine
Conference abstract
-
Friedman, Esther M.;
Shih, Regina A.;
Ahluwalia, Sangeeta C.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Phillips, Jessica L.;
Siconolfi, Daniel;
Saliba, Debra.
(2021)
Factors Explaining State Differences in Applying for a Recent Long-Term Care Program that Promotes Aging in Place: Perspectives of Medicaid Administrators.
Journal of Applied Gerontology
Academic article
-
Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Sieu, Celine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2024)
Exploring health equity in Lesotho’s Child Grants Programme.
Health Policy and Planning
Academic article
-
Yang, Joshua S.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Crosbie, Eric;
Mackey, Tim K..
(2020)
COVID-19 and a Window of Opportunity: Guiding Principles for a Health-Promoting Trade Agenda.
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Commentary
-
McNamara, Courtney L.;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Bambra, Clare;
Labonté, Ronald;
Stuckler, David.
(2023)
Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic.
The International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Service (IJSDOHS)
Academic article
-
Besnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne;
Hlabana, Thandie;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Beck, Kathryn Christine;
Sieu, Celine;
Muthengi, Kimanzi.
(2023)
Exploring economic empowerment and gender issues in Lesotho’s Child Grants Programme: a qualitative study.
Health Policy and Planning
Academic article
Report
-
Svorkdal, Annika;
Kotzias, Virginia Irene;
Sripada, Kam.
(2025)
Partners, mentors, sponsors & friends: Qualitative analysis of a cervical cancer global health collaboration in Tanzania.
Zenodo
Research report
Outreach
2023
-
Conference posterBesnier, Elodie Anne Suzanne; Kotzias, Virginia Irene; Hlabana, Thandie; Beck, Kathryn Christine; Sieu, Celine; Muthengi, Kimanzi. (2023) Exploring health equity in Lesotho’s Child Grants Pro. World Congress on Public Health