Erica Sedlander, DrPH, MPH
Assistant Professor
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Institute for Health and Aging
School of Nursing

erica.sedlander@ucsf.edu

Dr. Sedlander is an Assistant Professor and Social and Behavioral Scientist. Her research portfolio seeks to uncover mechanisms to help women achieve their reproductive goals throughout the life course (from pregnancy prevention to infertility prevention) with a focus on social norms and gender norms.

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Dr. Sedlander developed and validated the G-NORM, a gender norms scale, in India, Nepal, and Uganda. As part of her dissertation, Dr. Sedlander and colleagues also implemented and evaluated a randomized controlled trial in India to improve nutritional behaviors among women using a social norms approach.

In her prior research in Kenya and Ethiopia, she used mixed methods (including social network analysis) to show that women were not using contraception because they (or people in their networks) believed it would make them infertile, which is highly stigmatized. These findings inspired her to examine infertility more closely. She is currently studying beliefs about infertility among men, women, and providers in Tanzania. Given that women living with HIV have higher rates of infertility but antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves their chances of getting pregnant, she is also studying perceptions about how HIV and ART affect fertility among women living with HIV and their providers in Kenya.

Awards

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  • Society of Hellman Fellows Award, University of California, San Francisco, 2023-2024
  • UCSF Chancellors Fund Award, University of California, San Francisco, 2023
  • GWSPH Doctoral Professional Development Award, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 2019
  • Sigur Center Asian Research Fellow, The Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU, 2019
  • Clara Schiffer Fellow for Women's Health, The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, GWU, 2019
  • Lori & Michael Milken Public Health Scholar Award, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 2016

Education & Training

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  • DrPH Health Behavior George Washington University
  • MPH Health, Behavior, and Society University of California, Berkeley
  • BA Sociology University of California, Santa Cruz

Interests

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  • Fertility
  • Infertility
  • Social Norms
  • Gender Norms
  • Reproductive Health
  • Women's Health
  • HIV/AIDS

Grants and Projects

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  • Investigating a Novel ART Adherence Strategy – Harnessing Fertility Desires Among Women with HIV, NIH - KL2 Training Grant, 2024-2027
  • Advancing our understanding of attitudes, beliefs, and social norms related to infertility in Tanzania, UCSF Society of Hellman Scholars, 2023-2025
  • Understanding Women Living with HIV’s Perceptions of the Relationship between HIV, ART, and Fertility, CFAR - Center for AIDS Research, 2024-2025
  • Protecting fertility as a critical part of the sexual and reproductive lifecourse in Tanzania, UC Berkeley Population Center, 2023-2025
  • Optimizing Approaches to Implementation of Contraceptive Self-Injection, The Gates Foundation, 2019-2024
  • Dissemination of an Adapted and Validated Gender Norms Measure in Uganda, UCSF Resource Allocation Funds (RAP), 2023-2024

Publications (42)

Top publication keywords:
Contraception BehaviorIronFamily Planning ServicesAnemia, Iron-DeficiencyContraceptive AgentsIndiaInfertilityAnemiaMass MediaFolic AcidWatchful WaitingSocial NormsReproductive HealthContraceptionDietary Supplements

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