Lauren Suchman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Institute for Health & Aging
School of Nursing

Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender equity, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Dr. Suchman’s current work focuses on improving access to quality SRH care for women living with HIV who are going through the menopausal transition, and growing the workforce in qualitative research with a focus on young women researchers in SRH globally. This work has been funded by the NIH, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the University of California, among others. Previously, Dr. Suchman has led the qualitative components of multi-country studies that aimed to improve women's access to person-centered sexual and reproductive healthcare products and services. She has conducted research in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and the U.S.

Dr. Suchman received her PhD in Anthropology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, her MA in Population and Reproductive Health Research from the Institute for Population and Social Research at Mahidol University, Thailand, and her BA in History from Yale University.

• Knowledge, confidence and social support: Kenyan women's priority needs for contraceptive self-injection learning through a social cognitive theory lens.
  BMC women's health 2025 Gitome S, Suchman L, Okumu S, Wekesa P, Vallin J, Ndunyu L, Kwena ZA, Liu J, Holt K, Bukusi EA
• Improving contraceptive agency through peer social support: findings from a longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the I-CAN intervention in Uganda.
  Frontiers in global women's health 2025 Sedlander E, Phillips B, Thapar I, Birabwa C, Suchman L, Griffith M, Amongin D, Wasswa R, Atuyambe L, Liu J, Waiswa P, Holt K
• Behavioral Drivers Influencing Women's Decision to Use Self-Injectable Contraception Provided by Community Health Surveillance Assistants in Rural Malawi.
  Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) 2025 Kamanga M, Walker D, Malata A, Nyando M, Salamba J, Nkhoma A, Mtalimanja I, Jumbe T, Potolani E, Maluwa A, Zimba C, Changole J, Bika R, Himes E, Suchman L, Vallin J, Phillips B, Liu J, Holt K
• [Analysis of the reports of contraceptive service providers in Mexico: between reproductive autonomy and contraceptive coercion].
  Cadernos de saude publica 2025 Quintero-Veloz X, Vallin J, Suchman L, Holt K
• "COVID-19 affected me greatly (sigh), imagine I'm being called a mother and yet I'm also a child": the effect of COVID-19 on fertility management practices among women in Nairobi and Kisumu cities, Kenya.
  Frontiers in global women's health 2025 Kwena ZA, Wekesa P, Gitome S, Okumu S, Ndunyu L, Bukusi E, Himes E, Holt K, Liu J, Vallin J, Suchman L
• Women's Perspectives on the Unique Benefits and Challenges of Self-Injectable Contraception: A Four-Country In-Depth Interview Study in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  Studies in family planning 2024 Himes E, Suchman L, Kamanga M, Birabwa C, Gitome S, Omoluabi E, Okumu S, Nmadu G, Kwena Z, Liu J, Challa S, Amongin D, Wekesa P, Ndunyu L, Bukusi E, Malata A, Atuyambe L, Nyando M, Okoli C, Tijani A, …
• Many Cooks in the Kitchen: Iterating a Qualitative Analysis Process Across Multiple Countries, Sites, and Teams.
  Global health, science and practice 2023 Suchman L, Gitome S, Nyando M, Kwena ZA, Wekesa P, Okumu S, Ndunyu L, Okoli C, Tijani A, Jegede A, Idiodi I, Nmadu G, Dimowo S, Maluwa A, Atuyambe L, Birabwa C, Alitubeera P, Kaudha B, Kayego A, Jumbe…
• Balancing client preferences and population-level goals: a qualitative study of the ways in which public health providers and facility administrators interpret and incentivise quality of care in contraceptive counselling in Ethiopia, Mexico and India.
  Sexual and reproductive health matters 2023 Suchman L, Vallin J, Quintero Veloz X, Kanchan L, Gebrehanna E, Uttekar B, Reed R, Santos L, Holt K
• Analyzing fast and slow: Combining traditional and rapid qualitative analysis to meet multiple objectives of a complex transnational study.
  Frontiers in sociology 2023 Suchman L, Omoluabi E, Kramer J, Vallin J, Sedlander E, Gitome S, Wekesa P, Kwena Z, Granovsky R, Kayego A, Kaudha B, Atuyambe L, Amongin D, Alitubeera P, Tijani A, Okoli C, Jegede A, Kamanga M, …
• Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small private providers in Kenya.
  Gates open research 2021 Suchman L, Montagu D
• HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for women: Claiming risk and recognizing responsibility to end the AIDS epidemic in New York
  Journal of Health and Social Sciences 2020 Suchman L
• Bridging the gap with a gender lens: How two implementation research datasets were repurposed to inform health policy reform in Kenya.
  Health policy and planning 2020 Suchman L, Appleford G, Owino E, Seefeld CA
• Private Providers' Experiences Implementing a Package of Interventions to Improve Quality of Care in Kenya: Findings From a Qualitative Evaluation.
  Global health, science and practice 2020 Syengo M, Suchman L
• Equity lessons from a large scale private-sector healthcare intervention in Ghana and Kenya: Results for a multi-year qualitative study.
  Gates open research 2020 Montagu D, Suchman L, Seefeld CA
• Correction to: Seeking care in the context of social health insurance in Kenya and Ghana.
  BMC public health 2020 Suchman L, Verde Hashim C, Adu J, Mwachandi R
• Seeking care in the context of social health insurance in Kenya and Ghana.
  BMC public health 2020 Suchman L, Hashim CV, Adu J, Mwachandi R
• Methodologic approach to sampling and field-based data collection for a large-scale in-depth interview study: The Social Position and Family Formation (SPAFF) project.
  PloS one 2019 Romero D, Kwan A, Suchman L
• Factors Influencing the Successful Implementation of HIV Linkage and Retention Interventions in Healthcare Agencies Across New York State.
  AIDS and behavior 2019 Addison D, Baim-Lance A, Suchman L, Katz B, Swain CA, Piersanti K, Steinbock C, Sawicki S, Agins B, Nash D, NYLinks Implementation Team
• Accrediting private providers with National Health Insurance to better serve low-income populations in Kenya and Ghana: a qualitative study.
  International journal for equity in health 2018 Suchman L
• Public-private partnerships in practice: collaborating to improve health finance policy in Ghana and Kenya.
  Health policy and planning 2018 Suchman L, Hart BA, Montagu D
• Private healthcare provider experiences with social health insurance schemes: Findings from a qualitative study in Ghana and Kenya.
  PloS one 2018 Sieverding M, Onyango C, Suchman L