Catherine Panter-Brick
Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs and Professor of Public HealthCards
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Contact Info
About
Titles
Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs and Professor of Public Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Professor Panter-Brick's research consists of critical analyses of health and wellbeing across key stages of human development, giving special attention to the impact of poverty, disease, malnutrition, armed conflict, and social marginalization.
She has directed large interdisciplinary projects in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom. These projects include work on global public health and health interventions, mental health, psychosocial stress, disease ecology, nutrition, and human reproduction. Her focus on children in global adversity has included biocultural research with street children, refugees, and war-affected adolescents. She teaches courses on wellbeing, livelihoods, and health, disease ecology, nutritional anthropology, and medical anthropology.
She has published widely on child and adolescent health, including articles on violence and mental health in Afghanistan, household decision-making and infant survival in famine-stricken Niger, the social ecology of growth retardation in Nepali slums, biomarkers of stress in contexts of violence and homelessness, the effectiveness of public health interventions, and human rights and public health approaches as applied to international work with street children.
She has edited several books to bridge research findings into teaching practice, including Health, Risk, and Adversity (2009), Hunter-Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (2001), Abandoned Children (2000), Hormones, Health and Behavior (1999), and Biosocial Perspectives on Children (1989). She is currently Senior Editor (Medical Anthropology section) for Social Science & Medicine. Prior to coming to Yale, Panter-Brick was Professor of Anthropology at Durham University in the United Kingdom.
Appointments
Social and Behavioral Sciences
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Research
Overview
Dr. Panter-Brick received her M.Sc. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. She serves as the senior editor of medical anthropology at Social Science & Medicine and serves on the editorial boards of American Anthropologist, American Journal of Human Biology and Human Nature. Dr. Panter-Brick was the director of the Biosocial Society and served on the executive board of the Human Biological Association and the Society for Medical Anthropology. She was a Wolfson research fellow and received the Sir James Knott Fellowship. Dr. Panter-Brick has edited several books including Health, Risk, and Adversity.
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
James Leckman, MD, PhD
Richard Bribiescas, PhD
Alyssa Ann Grimshaw, MBA, MLIS, MPH
Euripedes C. Miguel, MD, PhD
Kaveh Khoshnood, PhD, MPH
M. Yanki Yazgan, MD
Publications
2024
Syrian refugee young adults as community mental health workers implementing Problem Management Plus: Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial to measure the mechanisms of effect on their own wellbeing, stress and coping
Nakkash R, Ghandour L, Brown G, Panter-Brick C, Bomar H, Tleis M, Al Masri H, Fares M, Al Halabi F, Najjar Y, Louis B, Hodroj M, Chamoun Y, Zarzour M, Afifi R. Syrian refugee young adults as community mental health workers implementing Problem Management Plus: Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial to measure the mechanisms of effect on their own wellbeing, stress and coping. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications 2024, 40: 101325. DOI: 10.1016/j.conctc.2024.101325.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCommunity mental health workersProblem Management PlusMental health workersHealth workersYoung adultsEvidence-based psychosocial interventionsRandomized controlled trial protocolEngagement of young adultsNational Institute of Mental HealthInstitute of Mental HealthMental health consequencesRandomized controlled trialsPsychosocial interventionsMental healthMechanisms of effectCoping outcomesHealth consequencesEnhance wellbeingReduce stressTrial protocolWellbeingPrimary analysisRefugee populationsAdultsSyrian refugeesPublic discourse narratives: from ‘Secret Aid Worker’ discontent to shifting power in humanitarian systems
Strohmeier H, Karunakara U, Panter‐Brick C. Public discourse narratives: from ‘Secret Aid Worker’ discontent to shifting power in humanitarian systems. Disasters 2024, e12651. PMID: 39010640, DOI: 10.1111/disa.12651.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPublic discourseHumanitarian sectorHumanitarian structureHumanitarian systemCorpus of dataSexual abuseHumanitarian issuesWorker discontentSymbolic powerMainstream mediaGuardian newspaperDiscontentDiscourseDuty of carePersonal challengesHumanitarian lifeLife experiencesThematic analysisSectorSystem issuesResearch questionsRacismJusticeDissentNewspapersVolunteer programs, empowerment, and life satisfaction in Jordan: mapping local knowledge and systems change to inform public policy and science diplomacy
Panter-Brick C, Qtaishat L, Eggerman J, Thomas H, Kumar P, Dajani R. Volunteer programs, empowerment, and life satisfaction in Jordan: mapping local knowledge and systems change to inform public policy and science diplomacy. Frontiers In Sociology 2024, 9: 1371760. PMID: 38873342, PMCID: PMC11170447, DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1371760.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPublic policyVolunteer programsScience diplomacyLife satisfactionConcept of empowermentGlobal SouthSyrian refugeesCultural empowermentLocal communitiesDiverse narrativesEmpowermentLocal knowledgeLocal perspectiveParticipatory approachParticipatory methodologyIdentified several dimensionsReduce cultural biasTrained volunteersPolicyJordanian womenDiplomacyCatalyze changeCultural biasEmpirical evidenceProgram efficacyPhysiological and genomic signatures of war and displacement: A comprehensive literature review and future directions
Jankovic-Rankovic J, Panter-Brick C. Physiological and genomic signatures of war and displacement: A comprehensive literature review and future directions. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024, 166: 107084. PMID: 38788460, DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107084.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsFather Involvement and Child Development: A Prospective Study of Syrian Refugee Families
Hadfield K, Al-Soleiti M, Dajani R, Mareschal I, Panter-Brick C. Father Involvement and Child Development: A Prospective Study of Syrian Refugee Families. Journal Of Child And Family Studies 2024, 33: 1029-1042. DOI: 10.1007/s10826-024-02809-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsLevels of father involvementImpact of father involvementFather involvementSyrian refugee familiesRefugee familiesMental healthChildren’s social-emotional learningAssociated with relationship qualityMothers' mental healthChild mental healthSocial-emotional learningForced displacementChild outcomesRefugee contextEmotional learningMan-childRelationship qualityChild developmentYear old childrenEvidence baseCaregiver interactionsFathersFamily functioningHelping parentsMothers' reportsDoes volunteering impact refugee women's life satisfaction, empowerment, and wellbeing? Experimental evidence, local knowledge, and causal reasoning
Panter-Brick C, Eggerman J, Jefferies P, Qtaishat L, Dajani R, Kumar P. Does volunteering impact refugee women's life satisfaction, empowerment, and wellbeing? Experimental evidence, local knowledge, and causal reasoning. Social Science & Medicine 2024, 347: 116735. PMID: 38552338, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116735.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsLife satisfactionMixed-methods program evaluationWomen's life satisfactionLocal knowledge systemsSyrian refugee womenGenerate social changePathways of influenceLevels of life satisfactionThematic analysisPoor householdsIndividual-level impactProgram evaluationPsychological wellbeingRefugee womenSocial changeVolunteer workLocal communitiesPanel dataEmpowermentLocal knowledgeLived experienceLocal conceptsVolunteer programsWomen's characteristicsMiddle East
2023
Coparenting, mental health, and the pursuit of dignity: A systems-level analysis of refugee father-mother narratives
Khraisha Q, Sawalha L, Hadfield K, Al-Soleiti M, Dajani R, Panter-Brick C. Coparenting, mental health, and the pursuit of dignity: A systems-level analysis of refugee father-mother narratives. Social Science & Medicine 2023, 340: 116452. PMID: 38171170, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116452.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsContext of precarityThematic analysisPursuits of dignitySemi-structured interviewsSocial changeRefugee parentsRefugee literatureFamily's dignityIntergenerational experiencesSyrian refugeesAgentic modelFamily unityIntergenerational changesFamily togethernessParenting approachesFamily systemDignityOrdinary parentsRefugeesDyadic understandingFamily cohesionMental healthCoparentingIntergenerational responsesSocial networks, empowerment, and wellbeing among Syrian refugee and Jordanian women: Implications for development and social inclusion
Eggerman J, Dajani R, Kumar P, Chui S, Qtaishat L, Kharouf A, Panter-Brick C. Social networks, empowerment, and wellbeing among Syrian refugee and Jordanian women: Implications for development and social inclusion. World Development 2023, 170: 106324. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106324.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsSocial inclusionSyrian refugeesPoor householdsSocial tiesSocial networksParticipatory network mappingCommunity leadership rolesUrban poor womenProductive research agendaCommunity-based workSocial networks matterSense of empowermentJordanian womenRefugee crisisDevelopment assistanceSocial actorsLocal meaningsSocial changeWomen's empowermentHost communitiesPoor womenDevelopment initiativesVolunteer workNetworks matterResearch agendaPathways to resilience and pathways to flourishing: Examining the added-value of multisystem research and intervention in contexts of war and forced displacement
Panter-Brick C. Pathways to resilience and pathways to flourishing: Examining the added-value of multisystem research and intervention in contexts of war and forced displacement. Development And Psychopathology 2023, 35: 2214-2225. PMID: 37766475, DOI: 10.1017/s095457942300113x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsContext of warHumanitarian crisesHumanitarian workSyrian refugeesHumanitarian researchRefugee populationsFamily contextSocial networksDistributive modelProfessional assistancePolicyNew mindsetWarSystems-based researchContextHuman experienceProgram evaluationResilienceResearch skillsPracticeHumanitarianismRefugeesResearchEmpowermentAfghanistanMental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30
Tol W, Le P, Harrison S, Galappatti A, Annan J, Baingana F, Betancourt T, Bizouerne C, Eaton J, Engels M, Hijazi Z, Horn R, Jordans M, Kohrt B, Koyiet P, Panter-Brick C, Pluess M, Rahman A, Silove D, Tomlinson M, Uribe-Restrepo J, Ventevogel P, Weissbecker I, Ager A, van Ommeren M. Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30. The Lancet Global Health 2023, 11: e969-e975. PMID: 37116530, PMCID: PMC10188364, DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(23)00128-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHumanitarian settingsResearch agendaResearch questionsHumanitarian agenciesHumanitarian crisesImproved partnershipConsensus-based research agendaPolicy makersQualitative studyImproved equityAgendaResearch prioritiesPrevious decadesMental healthMiddle-income countriesPsychosocial support interventionsImplementation researchQuestionsPriorityPsychosocial supportPartnershipResearchCrisisSupport interventionsAgencies
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
honor Lucy Mair Medal, to honour excellence in the application of anthropology to the relief of poverty and distress, and to the active recognition of human dignity
International AwardRoyal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandDetails05/04/2011United Kingdom
Links & Media
News
- December 21, 2023
Songs and words for hope: Raising voices of children and youth through music
- May 02, 2022
Snapshots
- December 19, 2021
Promoting Love and Peace Across Generations through Science and Global Partnerships
- June 05, 2019
New Video Series: Powers of Science and Practice Advance Real Hope for Raising Children of Peace