Sara Baumann is a global health, mixed methods researcher. She is the Founder and Director of the Global Women’s Health Research (GLOWHER) collective and co-director of the Concept Mapping Institute at Pitt Public Health. Her primary research interests encompass three cross-cutting domains: 1) the innovative application of participatory, arts-based, and visual research methodologies; 2) women’s and adolescent reproductive health, and 3) mental health. Her research using arts-based and embodied tools is characterized by a commitment to community-engaged methods, a transformative research paradigm, and is guided by principles of design justice. Dr. Baumann has over 15 years of experience conducting research and programming in global health and development in South Asia, with a current focus on Nepal. She also has ongoing collaborations in Madagascar, the Republic of Georgia, and Vietnam.
Dr. Baumann’s scholarly contributions have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, Qualitative Health Research, Global Public Health, Health Promotion Practice, and more. Her work has been featured on diverse media platforms, ranging from NPR to Glamour Magazine, and her films have been screened at the Smithsonian Institute, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and United Nations Headquarters in New York. Dr. Baumann’s scholarship has been supported by a 5-year Career Development Award (K01) from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, a Fulbright Scholarship to Bangladesh, and a Boren Fellowship to Nepal. She is affiliated faculty of the Center for Women’s Health Research and Innovation (CONVERGE), the Asian Studies Center, and the Ford Institute for Human Security at the Graduate School of International Affairs.
2019 | University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA | PhD
2018 | Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | Intensive Nepali Language Program
2009 | BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh | MPH
2008 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI | BA
Certifications & Trainings
2022 | Arts in Health Research Intensive, University College London & University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine
2021 | Introduction to Social Network Analysis, Statistical Horizons
2019 | Certified Practitioner of Human-centered Design, The Luma Institute
BCHS 3007 Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods
PUBHLT 401 Can Art Heal? An Introduction to Arts in Health Research and Interventions
Women's Reproductive Health
- Baumann, S. & Thompson, J. (2023). Toward a more expansive and inclusive definition of women’s health: A content analysis of Twitter conversations. Healthcare for Women International. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2023.2183956
- Burke, J., Baumann, S., Shensa, A., Jones, J., Joshi, N.*, & Lhaki, P. (2023). Introducing the Power in Nepali Girls (PING) Empowerment Scale. Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2276866
- Baumann, S., Merante, M.*, Wiltrot, C.*, Cutlip, T.*, Finkel, M., Maharjan, B.*, Lhaki, P., & Burke, J. (2021). Is Criminalization the Answer? Perspectives of Community Members and Police Regarding Menstrual Seclusion (Chhaupadi) Policy in Far-West Nepal. Health Policy and Planning. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czab032
- Baumann, S., Lhaki, P., Terry, M., Sommer, M., Cutlip, T.*, Merante, M.*, & Burke, J. (2021) Beyond the Menstrual Shed: Exploring Caste/Ethnic and Religious Complexities of Menstrual Practices in Far-West Nepal. Women’s Reproductive Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2020.1861413
- Baumann, S., Lhaki, P., & Burke, J. (2019). Assessing the role of caste/ethnicity in predicting menstrual knowledge, attitudes and practices in Nepal. Global Public Health.  https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2019.1583267
Arts + Health & Innovation
- Naserrudin, N.A,* Lin, P.Y.P., Monroe, A., Culleton, R., Baumann, S., Hod, R., Jeffree, M.S., Ahmed, K., & Hassan, M.R. (2023). Exploring barriers to and facilitators of malaria prevention practices: A photovoice study with rural communities at risk to Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in Sabah, Malaysia. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16173-x
- Baumann, S., Kameg, B.*, Wiltrout, C.*, Pelcher, L.*, Murdoch, D., & Burke, J. (2022). Visualizing Mental Health Through the Lens of Pittsburgh Youth: A Collaborative Filmmaking Study During COVID-19. Health Promotion Practice.
- Baumann, S. & Burke, J. (2021). Creating Community During COVID-19: A Participatory Virtual Art Gallery Exploring Resilience, Social Cohesion and Creativity During the Pandemic. Health Promotion Practice.
- Baumann, S., Merante, M.*, Sylvan, M., & Burke, J. (2021). Creating a way forward: Exploring the role of community art and trauma, mental health and resilience in the aftermath of the 2015 mega-earthquake in Nepal. Health Promotion Practice, Arts & Public Health Supplement. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320941826
- Baumann, S., Lhaki, P., & Burke, J. (2020). Collaborative Filmmaking: A Participatory, Visual Method. Qualitative Health Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320941826
- Baumann, S., Merante, M.*, Folb, B. & Burke, J. (2019). Is Film as a Research Tool the Future of Public Health?: A Review of Study Designs, Opportunities, and Challenges. Qualitative Health Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319871251
Human Centered Design
- Baumann, S., Rabin, M.,* Devkota, B., Hawk, M., Upadhaya, K.,* Shrestha, G.R., Joseph, B.,* & Burke, J. (2024). Centering Communities in Global Health: Using Human-centered Design to Facilitate Collaboration and Design Interventions. Community Health Equity Research and Policy.
- Baumann, S., Leeson, L., Raonivololona, M. & Burke, J. (2024). Embracing Human Centered Design Tools to Explore Community Impacts of an Innovative, Youth-Led Comprehensive Sexuality Education Model in Madagascar. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297106
- Abua, J., Hagert, Z., Baumann, S., Batey, S., Creasy, S., Davis, D., Kay, E., Hawk, M. (2023). Elucidating Harm Reduction Principles in a Client-Centered Representative Payee Program. Community Mental Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-023-01180-4
Selected Commissioned Studies/Technical Reports
- Burke, J. & Baumann, S. (2020) Joint Documentation of Empowerment Outcomes among Adolescents Who Have Undertaken the ‘Rupantaran’ Social and Financial Skills Package. Funded by UNICEF South Asia.
- Baumann, S. Literature Review on Harmful Practices in Nepal. (2020, January). Funded by UN Development Operations Coordination Office, UN Population Fund, and UN Women.
