Turan

Janet Molzan Turan

Professor, Department of Health Policy and Organization, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Chapter Member: Alabama SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Janet

(205) 934-6780

About Janet

Turan is a social and behavioral scientist whose research focuses on the areas of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV prevention and treatment in low-resource settings of both developing and developed countries. Her work focuses on understanding and addressing health-related stigma. Turan is the Director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Sparkman Center for Global Health and Director of the Behavioral and Community Sciences Core of the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

The Reproductive Stigmas Faced by Low-Income Young Women in the Deep South

  • Whitney S. Rice
Key Findings Brief,

In the News

Research discussed by Alan Alexander, in "UAB Professor Awarded $600K Grant for HIV Study in Africa," Birmingham Business Journal, May 19, 2014.
Quoted by Donald Borenstein in "Solidarity and Stigma: The Challenge of Improving Maternal Health for Women Living with HIV," New Security Beat, April 25, 2014.
Research discussed by Donald G. McNeil Jr., in "Stigma of HIV is a Barrier to Parental Care," New York Times, August 27, 2012.

Publications

"Restrictive Abortion Laws Exacerbate Stigma, Resulting in Harm to Patients and Providers" (with Henna Budhwani). American Journal of Public Health 111, no. 1 (2021): 37-39.

Discusses abortion related stigmas and the psychological harms it creates. Elaborates on stereotypes.

"Intimate Partner Violence and Forced Migration during Pregnancy: Structural Constraints to Women’s Agency" (with Abigail H. Hatcher, Patrizia Romito, Emily Mangone, Modupeoluwa Durojaiye, and and Merab Odero). Global Public Health 11 (2016): 153-168.

Explores conceptions of women’s “agency”  within the phenomenon of women’s migration and violence during pregnancy, in a setting in Kenya with structural constraints including severe poverty, gender inequality and stigma.

"The Role of HIV-Related Stigma in Utilization of Skilled Childbirth Services in Rural Kenya: A Prospective Mixed-Methods Study" (with Abigail H. Hatcher, José Medema-Wijnveen, Maricianah Onono, Suellen Miller, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, Bulent Turan, and and Craig R. Cohen). PLoS Medicine 9, no. 8 (August 2012): e1001295.

Uses a prospective mixed-methods study design in rural Kenya to examine the role of women’s perceptions of HIV-related stigma during pregnancy in their subsequent utilization of maternity services.

"The Role of Norms and Stigma in Reproductive Decision-Making around Unintended Pregnancy in Alabama: A Qualitative Study" (with Whitney Dan Smith, Kari White, Kristi L. Stringer, Anna Helova, Tina Simpson, and and Kate Cockrill). Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health (forthcoming).

Explores the roles of stigmas around unintended pregnancy, adoption, abortion, and keeping the baby in reproductive decision-making for young women in Birmingham, Alabama.

"Structural Community Factors and Sub-Optimal Engagement in HIV Care among Low-Income Women in the Deep South of the USA" (with Melonie Walcott and Mirjam Kempf and Jessica Merlin). Culture Health & Sexuality 1, no. 55 (2015).

Describes the ways in which poverty and other structural factors create a risk environment for sub-optimal engagement in HIV care among low-income women living with HIV in the Southern USA, contributing to existing health disparities. Argues that interventions designed to improve engagement in HIV care should address structural factors to bolster low-income women's ability to engage in care.

"Travel for Abortion Services in Alabama and Delays in Obtaining Care" (with Kari White and Daniel Grossman). Women’s Health Issues (forthcoming).

Discusses how in 2013, Alabama's five abortion clinics required counseling in person or by mail, followed by a 24-hour waiting period. Examines the relationship between women's geographic access to services and timing of abortion care. Argues that regulations further restricting abortion would create substantial burdens for women and the limited provider network.

"Global Maternal and Child Health Goals Will Not be Achieved without Addressing Stigma and Discrimination" (with Laura Nyblade). Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 64, no. 1 (September 2013): e9-e10.

Discusses the fact that it is unlikely that the global commitments to virtual elimination of new HIV infections in children and reduced HIV-related maternal mortality by 2015 will be met unless major efforts at the global, national, community, and facility levels are made to identify and counter the multiple manifestations of HIV-related stigma facing pregnant women.