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Rachel Hall-Clifford, PhD, MPH, MScAssistant Professor

Biography

Rachel Hall-Clifford, PhD, MPH, MSc, is an Assistant Professor in the Center for the Study of Human Health and the Department of Sociology at Emory University. She is a medical anthropologist who applies social science approaches to global health research and implementation.

Dr. Hall-Clifford has conducted fieldwork in the central highlands of Guatemala on the delivery of health services for 15 years. Her research areas include accessible health care for marginalized populations, health systems strengthening in post-genocide contexts, and global health fieldwork ethics.

She has held medical anthropology research positions at Oxford University, Harvard University, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Hall-Clifford is the Director of the NAPA-OT Field School in Guatemala and the Co-Founder of safe+natal.

Dr. Hall-Clifford is also the President of the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology, a section of the American Anthropological Association.

Education

  • PhD in Anthropology, Boston University, 2009
  • Master of Public Health, Boston University, 2005
  • MSc in Medical Anthropology, University of Oxford, 2002
  • BA in Anthropology, University of the South, 2001

Recent Publications

  • 2022  R Hall-Clifford. Can co-design promote equity in global health? Plos Speaking of Medicine and health. Nov. 15. https://speakingofmedicine.plos.org/2022/11/15/can-co-design-promote-equity-in-global-health/
  • 2022 R Hall-Clifford, A Arzu, S Contreras, MG Croissert Muguercia, DX de Leon Figueroa, MV Ochoa Elias, AY Soto Fernández, A Tariq, I Banerjee, P Pennington. Toward co-design of an AI solution for detection of diarrheal pathogens in drinking water within resource-constrained contexts. PLOS Global Public Health 2(8):e0000918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000918
  • M Juarez, Y Juarez, E Coyote, T Nguyen, C Shaw, R Hall-Clifford, G Clifford, and P Rohloff. Working with lay midwives to improve the detection of neonatal complications in rural Guatemala. BMJ Open Quality, 9(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2019-000775 
  • R Hall-Clifford and R Cook-Deegan.  “Ethically managing risks in global health fieldwork:  Human rights ideals confront real world challenges.” Health and Human Rights Journal, 21(1), 7-18. https://cdn2.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/125/2019/07/Hall_Cook.pdf 
  • S Roche, M Brockington, S Fathima, M Nandi, B Silverberg, HE Rice, R Hall-Clifford.  Freedom of choice, expressions of gratitude: Patient experiences of short-term surgical missions in Guatemala. Social Science & Medicine, 208:117-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.021
  • R Hall-Clifford, S Roche, S Fathima, N Palmius, K Hollingworth, J Kennedy, J Merida, M Stephens, R Lavalley, P Rohloff, P Garcia, G Clifford. Sustainable Technology for Surgical Referrals: Pilot Implementation of an Electronic Referral System for Short-Term Surgical Missions. Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries, 11(2). http://www.jhidc.org/index.php/jhidc/article/view/166/219
  • B Nichols, K Umana, T Britton, L Farias, R Lavalley, RHall-Clifford. Transnational Information Politics and the “Child Migration Crisis”: Guatemalan NGOs Respond to Youth Migration. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 28(5):1962-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1126
  • R Hall-Clifford, R Amerson.  From Guidelines to Local Realities:  Evaluation of oral rehydration therapy and zinc supplementation in Guatemala.  Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health41:e8

Research Expertise

  • Childhood diarrheal disease and oral rehydration therapy
  • Maternal health in resource-constrained contexts
  • Global health program evaluation and operational research