Rebecca Fielding-Miller PhD, MSPH

University of California, San Diego
Curriculum Vitae

Rebecca Fielding-Miller PhD, MSPH
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Addressing Health Disparities With Social Science

Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health and a faculty member of the Center on Gender Equity and Health. Her research is community-driven and examines structural drivers of COVID-19, HIV, and gender based violence in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on the intersection of race, gender, and economic inequality.

Dr. Fielding-Miller holds a PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University, and an MSPH in International Health with a focus on Social and Behavioral Interventions from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa from 2006-2008 and as a Fulbright Scholar in Swaziland in 2013-2014.

National dissemination meeting for southern Africa’s first campus climate survey (University of Eswatini, 2019)

Research

The facilitators of #GameChangers / Baguculi Betintfo (Eswatini 2019)

SASEA

Safer At School Early Alert

Installing a new SASEA wastewater monitoring robot at Vista Grande Elementary (October 2020)

As children, teachers, and staff members return to school and child care, we want to make sure that COVID-19 does not spread. The Fielding-Miller Lab is leading a partnership between the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and the County of San Diego to develop wastewater and surface monitoring strategies to detect asymptomatic COVID-19 infections in school and childcare before they become outbreaks. More information on SASEA is available at sasea.ucsd.edu and facebook.com/SaferAtSchoolEarlyAlert.

Ramani

How do the places where women live, work, and access healthcare affect their access to HIV treatment? Ramani (“map” in Swahili) is a mixed-methods study in rural Tanzania which uses spatial methods, latent class analysis, and qualitative methods to understand how neighborhood to neighborhood variations can affect female sex workers' access to HIV testing and care. This research is part of Project Shikamana and is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH112436)

#GameChangers / Baguculi Betintfo

Rebecca with her collaborators (from left to right): Dr. Sakhile Masuku, Dr. Pinky Mahlangu, Dr. Fortunate Shabalala, Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller, Dr. Mercilene Machisa, Deb Chard (Eswatini 2019)

We are working to build the evidence base to reduce sexual assault for University women in the Kingdom of Eswatini. In partnership with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Eswatini, we are conducting the first campus climate survey on the African continent and then conducting a randomized control trial of our local adaptation of EAAA, an evidence-based sexual assault resistance intervention first developed in Canada. This project is supported by an SVRI/World Bank Innovations to Reduce Gender Based Violence Development Marketplace Award.

Community-Engaged Research Ethics

Research on HIV, gender based violence, and substance use often requires the collection and transformation of trauma into data. This qualitative study in frontline study staff in the Kingdom of Eswatini explores how interviewers, transcriptionists, and survey administrators process exposure to participant trauma and suggests strategies to reduce emotional distress in low resource settings. Even while frontline staff are frequently recruited from the communities which researchers wish to understand, those study results are rarely shared back to the same broader community. In a concurrent qualitative study, supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, we are talking to community members and leaders to develop innovative strategies for community research dissemination.

Fielding-Miller Lab

Equitable community partnerships are at the heart of our research in the Fielding-Miller Lab. We use community-engaged research approaches to understand and address social determinants of health in historically marginalized communities from Eswatini to San Diego. Dr. Fielding-Miller’s particular areas of expertise include the social epidemiology of COVID-19, HIV, and gender-based violence.

Carrissa Wijaya, MPH, MSW

She/Her
Carrissa Wijaya is a Project Coordinator for the Safer At School Early Alert (SASEA) project under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller. She received her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington and her Master of Public Health from San Diego State University. Her research interests include dissemination and implementation, adolescent health, and prevention of gender and sexual orientation health disparities.


Laura Kohn, MPA

She/Her
Co-Investigator, Education and Child Care Subject Matter Expert Laura is an advocate and policy expert in K-12 and early childhood education. She is SASEA’s liaison with the school and child care sites, and she helps guide the development of implementation plans.


Marlene Flores, MA Latin American Studies

She/Her
Marlene Flores is a Qualitative Researcher at UCSD. Her studies focused on gender, migration, and sociology.


Anh Vo, BA

She/Her
Anh Vo received both her B.A in Global Health and B.A in International Studies- Anthropology at UC San Diego. She is a qualitative researcher working on a research project focusing on COVID 19 early alert monitoring system in K-12 settings and daycares in Dr.Rebecca Fielding-Miller’s Lab. Anh is also currently working under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller on a project that focuses on sexual resistance intervention and gender based violence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her research interest include Human Rights, Gender Equity, Global Health and Infectious Disease.


Tina Le, BS

She/Her
Tina Le graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S in Public Health and is currently pursuing a Master in Public Health. She is a graduate student researcher helping Dr. Fielding-Miller study the perceptions of COVID-19 among elementary school staff and families. She is passionate about health equity and and her research interests include infectious diseases, and women, infant, and children’s health.


Ashkan Hassani, Public Health, Epidemiology Concentration (General Biology minor)

He/Him
Ashkan is proficient at many hobbies including tennis, cooking, bouldering, sculpting, but does not excel at any of them. He is a firm believer of master of none, better than a master of one. Currently. Ashkan is working as a phlebotomist and preparing to take the MCAT.


Dawn Duong, BSPH

She/Her
Dawn is a student researcher in Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller's Lab here at UCSD. She is studying the impact of environmental testing as an early alert system in school and childcare centers while working toward her BS in Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys rollerblading by the beach, surfing, and practicing yoga.

Selected Publications

  • Fielding-Miller R., Sundaram M., Brouwer B. (2020). Social Determinants of COVID-19 Mortality at the County Level. PLoSONE
  • Parmley L, Fielding-Miller R, Mnisi Z, Kennedy CE (2019) Obligations of motherhood in shaping sex work, condom use, and HIV care among Swazi female sex workers living with HIV. African Journal of AIDS Research. 18:3, 254-257, DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2019.1639521
  • Fielding-Miller R., Shabalala F., Masuku S., Raj A. (2019). Epidemiology of campus sexual assault among university women in Eswatini. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
  • Hay, K., McDougal, L., Percival V., Henry S., Klugman J., Wurie, H., Raven, J., Shabalala, F., Fielding-Miller, R., Dey, A., Dehingia, N., Morgan, R., Atmavilas, Y., Saggurti, N., Yore, J., Blokhina, E., Huque, R., Barasa, E., Bhan, N., Kharel, C., Silverman, J., Raj, A. (2019). Disrupting Gender Norms in Health Systems: Making the Case for Change. The Lancet.
  • Sileo, K. M., Fielding-Miller, R., Dworkin, S. L., & Fleming, P. J. (2019). A scoping review on norms of masculinity and HIV care engagement among men in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS Care.
  • Fielding-Miller R, Cooper HLF, Caslin S, Raj A. (2018). The interaction of race and gender as a significant driver of racial arrest disparities for African American men. Jounral of Urban Health
  • Sileo KM, Fielding-Miller R, Dworkin SL, Fleming PJ. (2018). What role do masculine norms play in HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa?: A scoping review. AIDS and Behavior, 22(8) 2468-2479.
  • Guest Editor for a Special Issue of the African Journal of AIDS Research on What the World Can Learn from Swaziland
  • Fielding-Miller R, Dunkle K. (2017). Constrained relationship agency as the risk factor for intimate partner violence in different models of transactional sex. African Journal of AIDS Research
  • Fielding-Miller R, Dunkle K, Hadley C, Cooper HLF, Windle M. (2017). Agency as a mediator in the pathway from transactional sex to HIV among pregnant women in Swaziland: A multigroup path analysis. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 20(1)
  • Ruark A, Fielding-Miller R (co-first authors) (2016). Using qualitative methods to validate and contextualize quantitative findings: A case study of research on sexual behavior and gender based violence among young Swazi women. Global Health: Science and Practice
  • Fielding-Miller, R., Dunkle, K. L., Jama-Shai, N., Windle, M., Hadley, C., & Cooper, H. L. (2016). The feminine ideal and transactional sex: Navigating respectability and risk in Swaziland. Social Science & Medicine, 158, 24-33
  • Fielding-Miller R, Davidson P, Raj A. (2016). Blacks face higher risk of arrest in White neighborhoods. International Journal of Drug Policy, 32 100-103.
  • Meagley K, Schriver B, Geary R, Fielding-Miller R, Stein AD, Dunkle KL, Norris SA. (2016). The gender dimensions of help-seeking behaviors of young adults in Soweto, South Africa. Global Health Action, 9
  • Fielding-Miller R, Dunkle K, Murdock D. (2015). “Not everyone can afford an apple a day”: Stigma and food insecurity in rural South African young adults. African Journal of AIDS Research, 14(4) 361-369
  • Fielding-Miller R, Dunkle K, Cooper HLF, Windle M, Hadley, C. (2015). Cultural consensus modeling to measure transactional sex in Swaziland: Scale building and validation. Social Science and Medicine, 148 25-33
  • Fielding-Miller R, Mnisi Z, Dlamini N, Baral S, Kennedy C. (2014) 'There is hunger in my community': food security as a cyclically driving force in sex work in Swaziland. BMC Public Health, 14(1) 79
  • Kennedy CE, Baral SD, Fielding-Miller R, Adams D, Dludlu P, Sithole B, Fonner VA, Mnisi Z, Kerrigan D. (2013) "They are human beings, they are Swazi": intersecting stigmas and the positive health, dignity and prevention needs of HIV-positive men who have sex with men in Swaziland. J Int AIDS Society, Suppl 3:18749
  • Surkan PJ, Fielding-Miller R, Melchior M. (2012). Parental relationship satisfaction in French young adults associated with alcohol abuse and dependence. Addictive Behaviors, 37 (3) 313-317

Teaching

Dr. Fielding-Miller teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the UCSD Bachelors of Science in Public Health, Global Public Health and the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use. She also mentors undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. Previous mentored students have completed research on ethics in community based research, mental health in college students in Eswatini, portrayals of mental health in popular media, and COVID-19 health behavior messaging.

Media

Covid

  • Why You Should Stay Home On New Year’s Eve KPBS Midday Edition, December 2020
  • ‘It’s do or die for them.’ Life for San Diego’s refugees was tough. Then came COVID-19. inewsource, October 2020
    “None of us are safe until the people at the highest risk are safe. It’s an airborne infectious disease. To me, as a public health social scientist, the thing that we always need to be building for is ensuring that the people at the margins are taken care of,” Fielding-Miller said. “Because when they’re taken care of, everybody is taken care of.”
  • Uncounted: San Diego County’s pandemic victims far surpass official totals inewsource, October 2020
    “There’s no way we’re not undercounting folks who are undocumented, folks who are migrant workers, folks who live in mixed-status households,” said Rebecca Fielding-Miller, an assistant professor of public health at UC San Diego.
  • San Diego County’s Contact Tracing Struggles Explained KPBS, September 2020
  • San Diego Beaches, Parks And Restaurants Are Open, But Playgrounds Remain Closed KPBS, September 2020
  • New COVID-19 study offers ways to slow down spread in San Diego's Latino community CBS News 8, September 2020
  • UCSD epidemiologist discusses the science behind reopening San Diego County schools CBS News 8, August 2020
  • "Oh god... Here we go": San Diego State parties reveal a much deeper problem for colleges CBS News 8, August 2020
  • UC San Diego Assistant Professor Explains What County Must Do to Get Off Watch List NBC 7 San Diego, July 2020
  • Farmworkers Are Among Those at Highest Risk for COVID-19, Studies Show FRONTLINE , July 2020
  • Public Health officials urge protesters to get tested for COVID-19 KUSI News, June 2020
  • Contact Tracers Face Challenges As Businesses Reopen NBC 7 San Diego, June 2020
  • Coronavirus Magnifies Social Inequity In At-Risk Communities, Like The Unsheltered Population KPBS, June 2020
  • VOSD Podcast: The Blurry Lines of Stage 2 Reopening Voice of San Diego, May 2020
  • Commentary: An infectious disease expert says staying home is an act of ‘love, solidarity, science’ San Diego Union-Tribune, March 2020

Pre-Covid

"There's a spectrum of men having access to resources & power and women doing what they need to to get these resources, move their careers, feed their family." In the U.S. it may mean smiling at your boss and "putting up with more nonsense than we want."https://t.co/aUwP61DI5C

— not that kind of dr (@rkfmiller) January 2, 2020

Meet Rebecca Fielding-Miller, assistant professor in our Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health: https://t.co/o9Hnwlk5UX #WomenInSTEM #WomensHistoryMonth

She says: "believe in your own passion and skills — women too often denigrate their own expertise" pic.twitter.com/2VC9rNL8Yr

— UC San Diego School of Medicine (@UCSDMedSchool) March 27, 2019

Women are the backbone of the Democratic Party and we will no longer be silent, compliant, or complicit. We demand change.https://t.co/1Ywk7o5dIC

— not that kind of dr (@rkfmiller) April 6, 2018
  • Mothers Nurse Infants Downtown in Protest of Migrant Family Separations NBC 7 San Diego, June 2018
    “We’re here to show solidarity with families that are fleeing violence to seek a better future for their children,” said Rebecca Fielding-Miller, an activist, and mother to 9-month-old Esther.
  • Why Resistance? Sexual Violence Research Initiative, August 2017
  • Let Girls Learn. Center on Gender Equity and Health, May 2017
  • Solidarity with the vulnerable at Washington march. The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 2017
  • Ignoring ‘identity politics’ will only make us sicker. Medium, December 2016
  • Campus Sexual Assault in the United States: What the Research Tells us . Center on Gender Equity and Health, October 2016
  • The right kind of sex. UNAIDS Science Now, May 2016
  • Study: What Swazi Women Want for Sex. Times of Swaziland, January 2016

Presentations

What do we mean when we say transactional sex?

17 Feb, 2016 - STRIVE Learning Lab

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  • Background Photo: Mbabane, Eswatini