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 a secondary research area, she also examines the ways in which individuals seek and exchange health information as well as the ways in which health information is disseminated.
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 currently the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Chair in the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association (NCA). She is currently serving a three year term 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.
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.