Research

As a health economist, I am fascinated about exploring the profound interconnectedness of population health and the larger social, economic, and environmental contexts. Understanding some aspects of these links can better inform policies towards sustainable and broader outcomes. My primary research interest is identifying the socioeconomic determinants and consequences of population health disparities and exploring the linkages.

My objective is to evolve as a principal investigator in research projects. To achieve that, I am developing concrete research ideas that could inform policy interventions and apply for funds to support the research.

Working Papers

Is Tuberculosis Control Caste-blind? An Empirical Investigation of Socio-economic Dimensions of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program Performance in India

In a society with sharp social hierarchies and divisions, overall tuberculosis (TB) control efforts may suffer. In this paper, I examine if the spatially varying degrees of marginalization of the most deprived castes in India are associated with the overall performance of the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) at local levels. The study utilizes multiple data sources and employs multilevel modeling to incorporate the program's multilevel operational aspect into the analysis. I measure the deprived castes' economic and social marginalization based on between-caste consumption expenditure inequality and urban residential segregation index, respectively. The results show that, at a 95% confidence interval, urban residential segregation has a significant negative correlation with the composite index for districts in the south with less than 80% rural population. In the poor states of the north, the composite index has a weak negative association with inter-caste inequality at very high levels of Dalit presence. Important policy implications are continual monitoring of the local caste dynamics by the program and balanced inclusion of people from deprived communities into various levels of program functioning.

Caste Dynamics and Tuberculosis Stigma in India- An Empirical Investigation

This paper analyzes the caste dimensions of tuberculosis (TB) stigma in India. Associating the disease with deprived castes, who are marginalized in society, can foster stigma, resulting in a negative impact on the TB control program's performance and individuals' choices regarding service access and treatment adherence. However, the relative position of the deprived castes varies across the country. In this study, I use logistic regression to examine the association between spatially varying economic and social marginalization of the most deprived castes and the tendency to hide TB cases. The results indicate that disease hiding tendency increases as economic marginalization increases, more so in the north. Higher urban spatial segregation, proxying social marginalization also critically exacerbates hiding tendencies, especially in the south.

Surveys

Utah COVID-19 Vaccine Attitude Survey (May-June, 2021)

Implemented the COVID-19 Vaccine Attitude Study under the Utah Health and Economic Recovery Outreach Project. Developed a web-based survey to track the prevalent attitudes towards and barriers in COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Utah. Stratified random sampling method, based on the census data, was used to ensure sufficient representation of critical socioeconomic and demographic groups. The sampling frame has high coverage of all households in the state.

Reports

Web-based Vaccine Attitude Survey Reports (2021)

Conducted data analysis and generated contents of two survey reports from the web-based vaccine attitude survey conducted under the Utah Health and Economic recovery Outreach Project.

To be published in eccles.utah.edu/utah-hero/resources-and-media/

HERO Door-to-Door Vaccination Survey Reports (2021)

Conducted data analysis for the reports on HERO Door-to-Door Vaccination surveys. The surveys, which began in May 2021, used ‘Community Assessment of Public Health Emergency Response’ methods to gather information on vaccine uptake and attitudes in Utah communities with low vaccine uptake.

eccles.utah.edu/utah-hero/resources-and-media/

Utah COVID-19 Economic Sentiment Reports (2020-2021)

Contributed to the data analysis for the Utah Health and Economic Recovery Outreach Project’s economic impact reports: Consumer Sentiment Reports (Nov 2020, Dec 2020, Jan 2021); Business Sentiment Report (Dec 2020). These reports compile critical insights gathered from monthly web-based surveys of consumers and businesses in Utah about their economic conditions, beliefs, and expectations amid the pandemic.

To be published in econ-update.com/

Work in Progress

  • Previous studies have identified a difference in test positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 between remote and in-person high school students. The present study aimed to uncover potential reasons for this disparity through a survey of ~1,500 current high school students in Salt Lake County. Our findings demonstrate that out of school behaviors – such as event attendance, frequency of social gatherings, extracurricular participation and masking habits – differed based on in-school status.

  • The study investigates the major reasons that impede vaccine uptake among the unvaccinated population in Utah. Based on the information gathered from a survey of 2,399 respondents across several counties, the findings demonstrate that perceptions about vaccine development and effects are generally critical across population groups.

  • The paper uses vaccine attitude survey conducted in Utah to explore and compare the trusted sources of information about COVID-19 disease and vaccination across population groups in Utah.