Iccha Basnyat

Associate Professor

Culture, gender and health, health inequalities, global health communication, South and South East Asia

Iccha Basnyat is an Associate Professor in the Global Affairs Program, and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Communication. Dr. Basnyat received her B.A. in Communication from the University of Utah, MPH from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Ph.D. in Communication from Purdue University with emphasis on health communication. Dr. Basnyat taught in the Department of Communication & New Media at the National University of Singapore for a decade as well as in the School of Communication at James Madison University before joining Mason.

Dr. Basnyat's primary area of research examines the intersections of gender, culture and health inequalities in transnational contexts through an interdisciplinary approach. Specifically, she explores issues of structural limitations/access, structural violence, stigma, social support power, gender roles, race/class injustices and inequalities surrounding health and health risks of marginalized and vulnerable women. As secondary areas of research she examines: (i) the ways in which individuals seek and exchange health information as well as the ways in which health information is disseminated; (ii) the impact of pandemic on health behaviors, information seeking and health messaging.

Dr. Basnyat serves on the editorial boards of Health Communication, Journal of Women & Aging and Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Communication Monographs. She is also an associate editor for Frontiers: Health Communication and on the upcoming 5 volume Wiley International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. She is the current Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Chair in the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association (NCA). She is also serving on the Research Council for NCA as well as on the Applied/Public Policy Research Awards Committee for the International Communication Association (ICA).

Click here for a short video on Dr. Basnyat's research and teaching.

Selected Publications

Edited Book
Ho, E. Y., Bylund, C. L., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Five Volume Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley-Blackwell. (Forthcoming 2023).

Journal Publications
Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2021) Barriers of seeking and receiving family support for caregivers of people with Dementia in Singapore. Dementia. 20, 2278-2293. DOI: 10.1177/1471301221990567

Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2021). Gendered social practices in reproductive health: A qualitative study exploring lived experiences of unwed single mothers in China. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43, 1237-1253. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13292

Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2021) Lived Experiences of Unwed Single Mothers: Exploring the Relationship between Structural Violence and Agency in the Context of Chinese Reproductive Health Discourse. Health Communication. 36, 293-302. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1683953

Basnyat, I. (2020) Exploring Interlinkages of Gender, Power & Health in the Entertainment Establishment Based Bars and Restaurant Settings in Kathmandu Nepal. Qualitative Health Research, 30, 1409–1418, DOI: 10.1177/1049732320913854.

Basnyat, I. (2020). Stigma, Agency & Motherhood: Exploring the Performativity of Dual Mother-Female Sex Workers Identities in Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 13, 98-113. DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2020.1735486.

Basnyat, I. (2017). Theorizing the Relationship between Gender and Health through a Case Study of Nepalese Street-Based Female Sex Workers. Communication Theory, 27, 388-406. DOI:10.1111/comt.12114.

Basnyat, I. & Chang, L. (2017). Examining Live-in Foreign Domestic Helpers as Coping Resource for Family Caregivers of People with Dementia in Singapore. Health Communication, 32, 1171-1179, DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2016.1220346.

Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2017). Exploring Family Support for older Chinese Singaporean women in a Confucian society. Health Communication. 32, 603-611. DOI. 10.1080/10410236.2016.1146568.

Basnyat, I. (2017). Structural Violence in HealthCare: Lived Experience of Street-based Female Commercial Sex Workers in Kathmandu. Qualitative Health Research. 27, 191-203. DOI. 10.1177/1049732315601665.

Basnyat, I. (2014). Lived Experiences of Street-based Female Sex Workers in Kathmandu: Implications for Health Intervention Strategies. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 16:9, 1040-1051. DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2014.922620.

Expanded Publication List

Gender, Culture and Health
Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2021). Tensions in support for family caregivers of people with dementia in Singapore: A qualitative study. Dementia. 20, 2278-2293. DOI: 10.1177/1471301221990567

Zhao, X*., & Basnyat, I. (2018). Online Social Support for “Danqin Mama”: A Case Study of Parenting Discussion Forum for Unwed Single Mothers in China. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 12-21. DOI: 10. 1016/j.chb.2017.10.045.

Basnyat, I., & Lim, C.** (2018). Perspectives of Young Chinese Singaporean Women on Seeking and Processing Information to Decide about Vaccinating against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Women & Health, 58, 806-821. DOI: 10.1080/03630242.2017.1342741.

Basnyat, I. (2018). Self-reflexivity for Social Change: The researcher, I, and the researched, Female Street Based Commercial Sex Workers’, Gendered Contexts. In Dutta, M. and Zapata, D. (Eds.), Communicating for Social Change: Intersection of Theory and Praxis. Palgrave-McMillan, Singapore.

Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2017). Exploring Family Support for older Chinese Singaporean women in a Confucian society. Health Communication. 32, 603-611. DOI. 10.1080/10410236.2016.1146568.

Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2015). Negotiating biomedical and traditional Chinese medicine treatments among elderly Chinese Singaporean women. Qualitative Health Research, 25, 241-252. DOI: 10.1177/1049732314551991.

Basnyat, I. & Dutta, M. (2012). Reframing motherhood through the culture-centered approach: Articulations of agency among young Nepalese women, Health Communication, 27, 273-283. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2011.585444.

Basnyat, I. & Dutta, M. (2011). Family Planning (re)Defined: How Young Nepalese Women Understand & Negotiate Contraceptive Choices, Asian Journal of Communication, 21, 338-354. DOI: 10.1080/01292986.2011.574711.

Basnyat, I. (2011). Beyond Bio-Medicine: Health through Social and Cultural Understanding, Nursing Inquiry, 18, 123–134. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1800.2011.00518.x.

Health Information: Seeking, Exchange and Dissemination
Jiang, S., Basnyat, I., & Liu, P. (2021). Factors Influencing Internet Health Information Seeking in India: An Application of the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking. International Journal of Communication. 15, 22.

Richards, S., & Basnyat, I. (2021, Online First). A qualitative examination of women’s experiences with risk information exchange during pregnancy: Similarities in experiences across a multi-state U.S. based sample. Journal of Communication in Healthcare Strategies, Media and Engagement in Global Health. DOI: 10.1080/17538068.2021.1947095

Basnyat, I., Nekmat, E., Jiang, S., & Lin J. (2018). Applying the Modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking to Online Health Information Seeking in the Context of India. Journal of Health Communication, 23, 563–572. DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2018.1493058.

Basnyat, I., & Lim, C. (2018). Perspectives of Young Chinese Singaporean Women on Seeking and Processing Information to Decide about Vaccinating against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Women & Health, 58, 806-821. DOI: 10.1080/03630242.2017.1342741

Chang, L., Basnyat, I., & Teo, D. (2014). Seeking and Processing Information for Health Decisions among Elderly Chinese Singaporean Women. Journal of Women & Aging, 26 (3), 1-23. DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2014.888881.

Dutta, M., & Basnyat I. (2010). The Radio Communication Project in Nepal: Culture, Power, and Meaning in Constructions of Health. In. K.K. Liew. (Ed.). Liberalizing, Feminizing and Popularizing Health Communications in Asia, Surrey, UK: Ashgate.

Dutta, M., & Basnyat, I. (2008). Interrogating the Radio Communication Project in Nepal: The Participatory Framing of Colonization. In H. Zoller & M. Dutta. (Eds.). Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Interpretive, Critical, and Cultural Approaches, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Dutta, M. & Basnyat, I. (2008) The Case of the Radio Communication Project in Nepal: A Culture-Centered, Rejoinder. Health Education & Behavior, 35, 445-460. DOI: 10.1177/1090198106296009.

Dutta, M. & Basnyat, I. (2008). The Radio Communication Project in Nepal: A Culture Centered Approach to Participation. Health Education & Behavior, 35, 442-454. DOI: 10.1177/1090198106287450.

Pandemic Related Research
Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2022). Online Information and Support Seeking during COVID-19 Lockdown in Wuhan: Implications for Health Promotion. Health Promotion International, 37, 1-11. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daac057

Sun, Y., Hu, Q., Grossman, S., Basnyat, I., & Wang. P. (2021). Comparison of COVID-19 Information Seeking, Trust of Information Sources, and Protective Behaviors in China and the US. Journal of Health Communication. 26, 657-666. DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2021.

Zhao, X., Fan, J., Basnyat, I., & Hu, B. (2020). Social Media in Times of Crisis: Online Health Information Seeking using “#COVID-19 Patient Seeking Help” on Weibo in Wuhan, China. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 22, e22910. DOI: 10.2196/22910.

Basnyat, I., & Lee, S.T. (2015). Framing of Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic in a Singaporean Newspaper. Health Promotion International, 30 (4), 942-953. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/dau028.

Lee, S.T. & Basnyat, I. (2013). From Press Release to News: Mapping the Framing of the 2009 H1N1 A Influenza Pandemic. Health Communication, 28, 119-132. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2012.65855

Other collaborative research
Basnyat, I., & Zhao, X. Structural Violence (Accepted). In Ho, E., Bylund, C., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. (Wiley Publishing).

Burns, J., & Basnyat, I. (Accepted). Feminist Approaches to Health Communication. In Ho, E., Bylund, C., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley Publishing.

Lantz, J., Liu, J.C., & Basnyat, I. (2022). Piloting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Facilitate Online Discussion in Large Online Classes: A Case Study. In Cases on Innovative and Successful Uses of Digital Resources for Online Learning (pp. 204-222). IGI Global.

Kuang, K., Zhao, X., Basnyat, I., Tianping H.* (2022). From Offline to Online: Understanding Chinese Single Mothers’ Uncertainty Management in Interpersonal and Online Contexts. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.845760)

Dutta, M., Ramasubramanian, S., Barrett, M., Elers, C., Sarwatay, D., Raghunath, P., Tallam, E., Roy, S., Sorriano, C., Kaur, S., Dutta, D., Johnson, G.M., Mandal, I, Dutta, U, Basnyat, I., Ganesh, S., Pavarala, V., Sreekumar, T.T. (2021). Decolonizing Open Science: Southern interventions. Journal of Communication, 71, 803-826. (IF 7.270). DOI: 10.1093/joc/jqab027

Quah, P. L., Fries, L. R., Chan, M. J., Fogel, A., McCrickerd, K., Goh, A. T., Airs, I.M., Lee, Y.S., Pang, W.W., Basnyat, I …. & Wee, H. L. (2019). Validation of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire in 5 and 6 year-old children: The GUSTO cohort study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 824. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00824.

Lim, S.S., & Basnyat, I. (2016). Face and Online Social Networking. In In Lim, S.S. & Soriano, C. (Eds.) Asian Perspectives on Digital Culture: Emerging Phenomena, Enduring Concepts. Routledge International Media Studies series.

Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2014). Are you a "woman"? Representation of femininity in two women's magazines in Singapore, Cleo and Her World. Communication Research Reports, 31, 82-91. DOI: 10.1080/08824096.2013.845815.

Lim, S. S., Basnyat, I., Vadrevu, S.* & Chan, Y. H.* (2013). Critical Literacy, Self-Protection and Delinquency: The Challenges of Participatory Media for Youths At-Risk. Learning, Media and Technology, 38, 154-160. DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2013.756515

Lim, S. S., Chan, Y. H*., Vadrevu, S*. & Basnyat, I. (2013). Online and offline networks: Investigating the relationship between peer interaction and juvenile delinquency. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 8-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.025.

Lim, S., Vadrevu, S.*, Chan, Y.H.*, & Basnyat, I. (2012) Facework on Facebook: The online publicness of juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56, 346-361. DOI: 10.1080/08838151.2012.705198.

DeSouza, R., Basu, A., Kim, I., Basnyat, I., & Dutta, M. (2008). The Paradox of Fair Trade: The Influence of Neoliberal Trade Agreements on Food Security and Health. In H. Zoller & M. Dutta. (Eds.). Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Interpretive, Critical, and Cultural Approaches, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Mattson, M., & Basnyat, I. (2007). Infusing HIV Test Counseling Practice with Harm Reduction Theory: An Integrated Model for Voluntary Counseling and Testing. In T. Edgar., S. Noar., V. Freimuth (Eds.). Communication Perspectives for HIV/AIDS in the 21^st Century. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.