Rachel Kidman, Ph.D.

Dr. Kidman is a social epidemiologist whose work focuses on the experiences of children and youth living with adversity. Much of her research examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on child and adolescent welfare in sub-Saharan Africa, factors that create vulnerability or resilience in this population, and interventions that can effectively meet their needs. Her current work in this area examines adversity in the lives of HIV-infected adolescents and its role in HIV transmission risk in South Africa. She also leads a 5-year study in Malawi to examine the role of adverse childhood experiences in shaping divergent HIV risk trajectories during adolescence. Past work includes evaluation of national policies to improve health for vulnerable adolescents; longitudinal impact evaluations of community-based programs for children affected by AIDS in South Africa; investigation of health and educational disparities among children affected by AIDS in Malawi, case studies of community programming for orphans in Botswana, and research on best-practices for programs serving vulnerable children and their families for UNICEF.

Education:

PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University

MSc, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health

BA, Swarthmore College

Academic Interests:
Social epidemiology; program evaluation; children and adolescents; HIV and AIDS; intergenerational transfers of vulnerability; childhood adversity; social policy; Africa

Select Publications:

Kidman, R., Breton, E., Behrman, J. R., Zulu, A., & Kohler, H. P. (2023). Longitudinal Associations Between Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi. Journal of interpersonal violence, 38(11-12), 7335–7354. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221145720.

Kidman, R., Breton, E., Behrman, J., & Kohler, H.P. (2022). "A prospective study on adverse childhood experiences and HIV-related risk among adolescents in Malawi." AIDS, 36(15), 2181-2189. https://doi.org/10.1097/qad.0000000000003377.

Kidman, R. (2021) "Use HIV’s lessons to help children orphaned by COVID-19." Nature 596: 185-188. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02155-9.

Kidman, R., R. Margolis, E. Smith-Greenaway, A. Verdery. (2021) “COVID-19 and Parental Death: Estimates and Projections of the U.S. Child Population.” JAMA Pediatrics, 175(7): 745-746. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0161.

Kidman, R., Piccolo, L. R. *, & Kohler, H. P. (2020) “Adverse Childhood Experiences: Prevalence and Association With Adolescent Health in Malawi.” Am J Prev Med.  58(2):285-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.08.028.

Kidman R., S. Nachman, J. Dietrich, A. Liberty, & A. Violari. (2018) “Childhood adversity increases the risk of onward transmission from perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and youth in South Africa.” Child Abuse & Neglect.79: 98-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.01.028.

Kidman, R. (2017) “Child marriage and intimate partner violence: A comparative study of 34 countries” International Journal of Epidemiology, 46 (2), 662–675. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw225.