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Tia M. Palermo, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine Division of Evaluative Sciences Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine Program in Public Health OFFICE: HSC 112B |
[Currently on leave at UNICEF Office of Research—Innocenti (Florence, Italy) www.unicef-irc.org]
Education:
Ph.D., Public Policy, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, (2009)
M.S., Economics, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (2005)
B.A., Economics and Spanish, State University of New
York at Geneseo (2002)
Research Interests:
Social policy, economic empowerment and linkages to health, violence and well-being
Recent Presentations:
1. “Impact Evaluation of a Tanzanian Conditional Cash Transfer (TASAF III/PSSN) on Youth Well-being and the Transition to Adulthood: Preliminary Baseline Findings.” Presented to Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) Mission. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: January 2016.
2. “Impacts of a national government’s social cash transfer program on violence against adolescent girls and boys.” (with Zambia CGP Evaluation Team). Research from The Transfer Project at UNICEF's Office of Research - Innocenti. Presented at Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 17, 2015.
3. “Effect of education on women’s experience of intimate partner violence: Universal Primary Education as a natural experiment in Malawi and Uganda.” (with Amber Peterman & Julia Behrman). Research from a grant to Stony Brook University from SVRI/South Africa Medical Research Council (MRC). Presented at Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 16, 2015
4. “Impacts of a national government’s social cash transfer program on violence against adolescent girls and boys.” (with Zambia CGP Evaluation Team). Research from The Transfer Project at UNICEF's Office of Research - Innocenti. Presented at Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 17, 2015.
5. “Effect of education on women’s experience of intimate partner violence: Universal Primary Education as a natural experiment in Malawi and Uganda.” (with Amber Peterman & Julia Behrman). Research from a grant to Stony Brook University from SVRI/South Africa Medical Research Council (MRC). Presented at Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 16, 2015.
Current Research Projects:
1. “Identifying the casual effect of education on adult women’s experience of intimate partner violence and forced sex in Malawi and Uganda.” 9/1/2014-8/31/2015. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Julia Behrman (New York University) and Amber Peterman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Building Evidence for Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence in Low and Middle Income Countries RFP, Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Medical Research Council (MRC) South Africa. Project Funding $55,000.
2. NICHD R03HD073461 Palermo (PI). 3/1/13-2/28/15. “Experimental evidence and validation of measures on gender-based violence.” National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Project Funding $157,000. Collaborators: Amber Peterman (University of North Carolina) and Amelia Hoover Green (Drexel University).
Description: The adverse public health effects of gender-based violence include increased exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), gynecological fistula, unwanted pregnancy, psychological sequelae, chronic pain, physical disability, and depression and substance abuse. Additionally, there are negative social and economic impacts, including costs of medical treatment and lost worker productivity, of gender-based violence on survivors and their families. Stakeholders including policymakers and community organizations often seek to estimate the prevalence of sexual and intimate partner violence in an effort to garner support to address it or to more accurately tailor interventions. Prevalence of gender based violence is often estimated, but many existing estimates have severe limitations. A two-part study will be conducted to address these issues. In the first part we will analyze recent data from 23 countries using Demographic and Health Surveys, and in the second part we analyze new data from an original, randomized-design survey in Uganda. The aims of our study are to (1) quantify bounds for underestimation in existing estimates of gender-based violence, including sexual violence in conflict, based on police reports and medical facility-based studies; (2) depict how women who report to medical, legal and social institutions after experiencing violence differ from women who do not seek care or report to better understand which groups are more likely to be included in current estimates of gender-based violence prevalence; and (3) test the effects of questionnaire design and fieldwork implementation on women’s reporting of sexual violence using a randomized design.
3. “Identifying the casual effect of education on adult women’s experience of intimate partner violence and forced sex in Malawi and Uganda.” 9/1/2014-8/31/2015. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Julia Behrman (New York University) and Amber Peterman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Building Evidence for Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence in Low and Middle Income Countries RFP, Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Medical Research Council (MRC) South Africa. Project Funding $55,000.
Select Current Research:
1. “Identifying the casual effect of education on adult women’s experience of intimate partner violence and forced sex in Malawi and Uganda.” 9/1/2014-8/31/2015. Role: co-PI. Collaborators: Julia Behrman (New York University) and Amber Peterman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Building Evidence for Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence in Low and Middle Income Countries RFP, Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Medical Research Council (MRC) South Africa. Project Funding $55,000.
2. NICHD R03HD073461 Palermo (PI). 3/1/13-2/28/15. “Experimental evidence and validation of measures on gender-based violence.” National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Project Funding $157,000. Collaborators: Amber Peterman (University of North Carolina) and Amelia Hoover Green (Drexel University).
Select Publications
Palermo T, Handa S, Peterman A, Prencipe L, on behalf of the Zambia CGP Evaluation Team. “Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfer in Africa Does not Increase Fertility.” UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti Working Paper. WP-2015-09. Florence, Italy. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/785
De Groot R, Palermo T, Handa S, Ragno LP, Peterman A. (2015). Cash Transfers and Child Nutrition: What We Know and What We Need to Know. UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti Working Paper. WP-2015-07. Florence, Italy. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/782
Handa S, Palermo T, Rosenberg M, Pettifor A, Tucker Halpern C, Thirumurthy H. (2016). “How does a national poverty program influence sexual debut among Kenyan adolescents?” Global Public Health, online ahead of print: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17441692.2015.1134617
Kidman R and Palermo T. (2015). Orphanhood disparities in child sexual violence: Evidence from thirteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Child Abuse & Neglect (in press).
Peterman A, Bleck J, Palermo T. “Early and often: Age of initiation among women experiencing intimate partner violence and implications for programming.” Journal of Adolescent Health (in press).
Kidman R, Palermo T, Bertrand J. (2015). “Intimate Partner Violence and Contraceptive Use in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the influence of community-level factors.” Social Science & Medicine (in press).
Shah C*, Griffith A*, Ciera J, Palermo T, Zulu EM. (2015). “Equity and Achievement in Access to Contraceptives in East Africa between 2000 and 2010.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (in press).
Palermo T, Infante Erazo M, Hurtado V. (2015). “Women’s opinions on abortion in Chile and trends over time.” Culture, Health & Sexuality (in press).
Peterman A, Bleck J, Palermo T. (2015). “Age and Intimate Partner Violence: An Analysis of Global Trends Among Women Experiencing Victimization in 30 Developing Countries.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(6): 624-630.
Palermo T, Peterman A & Bleck J*. (2014). “Tip of the iceberg: Reporting and gender based violence in developing countries.”American Journal of Epidemiology, 179(5): 602-612.
Dowd JB, Palermo T, Chyu L, Adam E, McDade TW. (2014). “Socioeconomic status, stressful life events and immune function in Add Health.” Social Science & Medicine (in press).
Pichardo M*, Arribas L, Heredia G, Coccio E, Jagroep S*, Palermo T. (2014). “IUDs as EC? Patient acceptability of the Intrauterine Device as Emergency Contraception: Evidence from Buenos Aires, Argentina.” Contraception, 90(5): 522-528.
Clouston S, Kidman R, Palermo T. (2014). “Social inequalities in vaccination among children aged 0-5 in Madagascar: The impact and importance of considering parental SES.” Vaccine, 32(28): 3533-3539.
Palermo T, Bleck J*, Westley E. (2014). “Knowledge and use of emergency contraception: A multi-country analysis.” International Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health, 40(2): 79-86.
Westley E, Kapp N, Palermo T, Bleck J*. (2013). “A review of global access to emergency contraception.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 123(1): 4-6.
Peterman A, Ng SW, Palermo T, Lee IH. (2013). “Pregnancy, postpartum and time allocation: How does the lifecycle affect women’s labor-intensive activities in rural China, Mexico and Tanzania?” Studies in Family Planning, 4(4).
Dowd JB, Palermo T, Brite J, McDade TW, Aiello A. (2013). “Seroprevalence of Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in U.S. children ages 6-19, 2003-2010.” PLoS ONE, 8(5), e64921.
Palermo T, Rawat R, Weiser SD, Kadiyala S. (2013). “Food security is correlated with health-related quality of life outcomes among PLWH in Uganda.” PLoS ONE 8(4): e62353.
Palermo T & Dowd JB. (2012). “Childhood obesity and human capital accumulation.” Social Science & Medicine, 75: 1989-1998.
Palermo T (Corresponding Author), Kenya OVC-CT Evaluation Team. (2012). “The impact of the Kenya Cash Transfer Program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children on Household Spending.” Journal of Development Effectiveness, 4(10): 9-37.
Parente V*, Hale L, Palermo T. (2012). “Association between Breast Cancer and Allostatic Load by Race: NHANES 1999-2008.” Psycho-Oncology, Published online ahead of print 31 January 2012.
Dowd JB, Palermo T, Aiello A. (2012). “Family poverty is associated with cytomegalovirus antibody titers in U.S children,” Health Psychology, 31(1): 5-10.
Palermo T & Peterman A. “Undercounting, overcounting, and the longevity of flawed estimates: Statistics on sexual violence in conflict.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 89(11).
Peterman A, Palermo T, Bredenkamp C. (2011). “Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Population-based estimates and determinants.” American Journal of Public Health, 101(6).
Campbell P, Handa S, Moroni M, Odongo S, Palermo T. (2010). “Assessing the ‘orphan effect’ in determining development outcomes for children in 11 Eastern and Southern African countries.” Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 5(1): 12-32.
Schiavon R, Collado ME, Troncoso E, Soto Sánchez JE, Otero Zorrilla G, Palermo T. (2010). “Characteristics of private abortion services in Mexico City after Legalization.” Reproductive Health Matters, 18(36): 127–135.
Palermo T, Wilson K, Garcia S, Diaz-Olavarrieta C. (2010). “Public opinions on abortion, women’s roles, and reproductive health issues in Tlaxcala, Mexico.” Salud Publica de Mexico, 52(1): 52-60.
Palermo T, Peterman A. (2009). “Are female orphans at risk for early marriage, sexual debut and teen pregnancy?: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa.” Studies in Family Planning, 40(2): 101-112.
Diaz-Olavarrieta C, Paz F, Abuabara K, Martinez Ayala HB, Kolstad K, Palermo T. (2007). “Abuse during pregnancy in Mexico City.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 97(1): 57-64.
*Student collaborator
Honors, Awards & Affiliations:
- Member: Population Association of America, 2006-Present
- American Public Health Association, 2012-Present
- NICHD Fellowship, Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill (2004-2005)
Research Blog Posts
Palermo, T. (February 2016). UNICEF Connect. Cash Transfers and Fertility: new evidence from Africa. https://blogs.unicef.org/blog/cash-transfers-and-fertility-new-evidence-from-africa/
Palermo, T. (December 2015). More on cash transfers for adolescents and HIV. Center for Global Development Blog. http://www.cgdev.org/blog/more-cash-transfers-reduce-hiv-among-adolescents
Palermo, T. (2015). Evidence from Africa shows cash transfers increase school enrollment. UNICEF Connect. http://blogs.unicef.org/2015/02/20/evidence-from-africa-shows-cash-transfers-increase-school-enrollment/
-Re-posted 148 times on social media
Palermo, T. (2013). “Global Study of Rape Survivors Confirms our Worst Fears.” Women Under Siege blog entry, February 8, 2012. http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/global-study-of-survivors-of-gender-based-violence-confirms-our-worst-fears
Palermo, T. (2012). “When the numbers don’t add up: Researchers and media struggle with stats on sexualized violence.” Women Under Siege blog entry, February 8, 2012. http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/researchers-and-media-struggle-with-stats-on-sexualized-violence
Research Briefs:
Tip of the Iceberg: Reporting and Gender-based violence in developing countries, March 2015
Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 2011
